Will Cincinnati Bengals DT McKinnley Jackson be on the outside looking in during roster cuts?
John Sheeran discusses Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson.
Video Transcript
You could make the argument that the flashes, that third round pick from the 2024 NFL draft McKinley Jackson has shown have been even better than what Chris Jenkins has shown as someone drafted ahead of him.
And if you remember correctly, Jackson was considered a major reach during that 2024 draft.
He was considered like a fifth or a sixth round prospect, but as one of the, you know, guys that I guess looked the part of a nose tackle in a r- in a weak nose tackle class.
The Bengals did their thing in which they didn't address a position in free agency properly, and they entered the draft with a pretty strong need.
They had an extra third round pick at the end of the round, and they used it to reach on McKinley Jackson just to fill a body in there.
And Jackson, I think, has shown in his first two years that he's not a traditional nose tackle.
Like he looked like the body of a nose tackle, a lot like McKinley Jackson, but McKinley Jackson doesn't necessarily play that way.
And I think that's what has allowed him to provide more disruption as a pass rusher in some of his opportunities when he's just allowed to just one-gap from the one technique spot.
So there have been some promises with McKinley Jackson, but also at the same time, the team just doesn't really trust him, and that's why he requested a trade in the middle of last season when he was just a healthy scratch week in and week out when the position was just definitely not a strength for the Bengals at all
