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Packers draft pick profiles: Domani Jackson has athleticism, pedigree
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- Packers draft pick profiles: Domani Jackson has athleticism, pedigree
The Green Bay Packers added a second cornerback from the 2026 NFL Draft class on Day 3, selecting Alabama’s Domani Jackson in the sixth round.
A corner with high level college pedigree, Jackson will look to make the initial 53-man roster and try to work his way up the totem pole from there. Here is a deep dive into the intriguing cornerback:
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The Basics
Jackson was born in Oceanside, California, but moved all around the country growing up, as his father served in the military for 22 years. He attended Mater Dei High School, which has produced numerous NFL players, including Amon-Ra St. Brown and Bryce Young .
A five-star recruit, Jackson was ranked behind only Travis Hunter among cornerbacks nationally. He committed to USC, changing his mind from Alabama at the last minute.
A three-year starter in college, Jackson was hampered by a knee injury suffered in his final year in high school for his first two college seasons, which impacted his play with the Trojans. He then transferred to Alabama in order to play for Nick Saban, who retired within two weeks of him arriving.
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Jackson possesses great size for the cornerback position at 6-0 ¾, 194 pounds, and has the kind of speed NFL teams covet, running a 4.41 in the 40 yard dash, which ranks in the 91st percentile at corner.
Asked about what attracted the Packers to Jackson, general manager Brian Gutekunst said: “He’s a rare athlete with his combination of size, explosiveness, speed."
His testing was incomplete, as he did not do the broad jump or either of the agility drills, but he posted a 9.04 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) out of a possible 10 based on the information available. Jackson’s most notable athletic comp is A.J. Terrell.
In terms of PFF grading, his overall grade improved in each year he was a starter, going from 60.7 to 67.3 to 73.4 between 2023 and 2025. His coverage grade also jumped from 60 to 64.3 to 74.4 during that time.
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Jackson’s run defense grades were consistently good at 69.1, 81.5 and 66.4, and his tackle grade took a huge leap in 2025, up to 83.6 from 48.6 and 61.5 in 2024 and 2023 respectively.
He was benched for performance reasons for a period in 2025, starting only once in a six-game stretch. However, he bounced back and produced his best two games according to PFF's coverage grades versus Georgia and Indiana in the playoffs.
On that experience, Gutekunst said: “He’s played a lot of really good football at a high level of competition and he’s been through some adversity, he’s made it to the other side of that, which was something that drew him to us."
He will turn 24 in November, and interestingly is the second player on the current Packers roster to have been diagnosed with narcolepsy, after Nazir Stackhouse , who was signed as an undrafted free agent a year ago. It does not have a serious impact on Jackson.
The Stats
Despite his PFF grades suggesting he was better in coverage in his final season, Jackson regressed in many statistical areas between 2024 and 2025.
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He allowed 76.2% of targets to be completed, up from 54%, and his 2025 mark ranked 193rd of 201 draft eligible cornerbacks. His passer rating allowed jumped from 63 to 108.2, which ranked 161st.
Jackson did not have an interception in his final 22 college games, and only had two in his career, both coming in 2024. His pass break ups dropped from five to just one between 2024 and 2025, and his 5% forced incompletion rate ranked 179th in the class.
There were some more encouraging stats though. His yards per reception allowed dropped each year as a starter from 20.6 in 2023, to 11.5 and then 8.4 in his final season, which ranked 16th among 201 draft eligible corners.
He was rarely targeted in 2025, which is a compliment in itself, ranking second in the class in snaps per target, and 15th in snaps per reception.
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Jackson allowed four touchdowns in his college career, which is not egregious by any means.
After playing a high rate of man coverage in 2024 at 34.1%, and allowing a passer rating of just 11.3, he played a lot less of it in 2025 at just 20.7%, and his success rate also plummeted, as he allowed a passer rating of 135.9, which ranked 188th in the class.
He did improve in zone coverage though, with his passer rating allowed going from 99 in 2024 to 84.8 in 2025.
In run defense, Jackson racked up 108 tackles solo in his career according to PFF, and dramatically improved his missed tackle rate between 2024 and 2025, as it fell from 22.4% to just 6.5%. His 3.8% miss rate on pass plays ranked 18th in the class.
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The Tape
Jackson has the most important tool for a corner, and one that cannot be taught: speed. He has more than enough top speed to stay in phase on go routes and deep crossers, and is able to turn and run, staying in phase on vertical routes and running stride for stride with opponents.
He is a smooth enough mover overall with good foot quickness, and is capable of mirroring receivers on their release, as well as flipping his hips efficiently.
The ability to trigger and fire downhill is vital at corner, and Jackson has it. He possesses real burst to close on underneath routes or ball carriers in a hurry, and can read the quarterback's eyes, drive and make plays on the football.
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It also allows him to stay patient in off coverage, knowing he can break with receivers and close the gap.
Jackson is happy to take the fight to the receiver and uses contact to his advantage in coverage, slowing receivers early before they get too far downfield and potentially create a penalty, or subtly using his hands throughout the route to keep opponents where he wants them.
He can use contact to help him hang on to receivers when they stop on curl routes, will squeeze opponents to the sideline to limit the target area or bump them when they get up to him in off coverage to slow their momentum.
In zone, Jackson has a good sense for danger, able to drop to depth quickly to cut off vertical routes or pick up crossers working into his vicinity in cover three. He generally passes off and picks up routes well or mid-points them, showing an understanding of where he needs to be.
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When in man coverage, Jackson showed he can stick to receivers on their routes, and his speed means he does not have to open up too early to respect the threat of a deep route, allowing him to stay with opponents when they break or stop on a route.
On one impressive rep, he closed a huge gap in off man coverage against a shallow crosser, having to get through traffic to the other side of the field, and made a tackle immediately after the catch to make it a minimal gain.
He shows he can sort out routes and pick up his assignment against switch releases, and plasters late in the play when it turns into a scramble drill. Jackson also shows he can locate the ball and turn back to it late to break up passes.
Against the run, Jackson is more than happy to put his face in the fan, making tackles near the line of scrimmage frequently and fighting to shed blocks in space. He beat blocks to make tackles on the edge regularly, and is eager to fire down in run support when called upon.
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Jackson shows good tackling form, coming to balance and wrapped up with assertiveness. He safely got ball carriers to the ground on the perimeter, which was vital at times as there was no one behind him if he missed.
He was asked to line up in run support positions in or near the box quite a lot, and showed he can beat pullers to make tackles there. Even when initially in coverage, Jackson will hang around to clean up ball carriers who get loose late in the play.
Cornerbacks need to have a certain level of attitude, and Jackson has it. He is a trash talker and will push receivers after the whistle.
On the flipside, arguably Jackson’s biggest deficiency is his lack of confidence or trust in his technique and athleticism, which may be too much to overcome at the next level.
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He relies too much on contact to get the job done, wrapping his hands around the hips of receivers when they get past him, or reaching out to grab them when they are threatening to. The bumps he gives opponents on their routes border on blatant at times and could lead to flags.
Jackson allows too much cushion in zone coverage, leading to easy pitch and catch completions. He plays with a cautious mindset rather than a playmaking one, and his trigger is too conservative, which undermines the burst he should be able to weaponize more often.
Opponents are not overly impacted by his punch in press coverage, and he can miss badly, allowing receivers to stack him easily.
In man coverage he is reactive to movement rather than anticipating based on route clues, and is liable to being set up by receivers or forced to back off, creating easy separation or space underneath.
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He takes false steps, biting on releases and putting himself in compromised positions quickly. While he is a good athlete, he can be broken off on routes fairly easily if he is running hard to keep up.
Jackson opens up his hips before he needs to and receivers twist him up at times as he guesses or reacts incorrectly to what they present.
It is not all good in run defense, as he takes bad angles to the ball at times or willingly engages with a blocker unnecessarily rather than beelining to the ball carrier, taking himself out of the play.
Runners can get loose when he does not hold the back side due to a poor angle or inability to beat a puller. He did miss some tackles in the open field which led to big gains, and hesitated in pursuit in the open field, where if he had not, he may have prevented a long touchdown run.
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At times he does not notice the running back has broken out as he is too engaged with a receiver, even if they are not running a route. There are instances of him not anticipating receiver screens and then getting blocked out of the play.
He had a bit of a rough week of practice at the East-West Shrine Bowl, with his coverage deficiencies showing up in one on ones, as he stopped his feet and got beat deep, was twisted up on a route and also drew flags for being too handsy.
Overall, Jackson has good size and high-end athleticism, which particularly shows up in the juice he has to fire downhill. He has the movement skills and foot speed he needs, but does not trust himself, playing timid and reactive rather than confident and assertive.
The physicality he plays with is a double-edged sword, and he is satisfactory and willing in the run game, even if it is not perfect. He was well worth the pick late on Day 3 and has tools to develop, but whether he has the intangibles to become a viable NFL contributor remains to be seen.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers draft pick profiles: Domani Jackson has athleticism, pedigree
