The New York Jets came calling for another Seminole on Saturday, selecting Florida State defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr. with the 103rd overall pick in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Congratulations are in order for a guy who earned this moment.
Jackson, a Havana, Florida native, started 25 games across three years at Florida State, recording 80 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, one pass breakup, and one forced fumble. His path to the draft wasn’t the straightforward kind, though. Jackson moved from Maryland to the University of Miami to FSU across a five-year college career and was forced to miss the 2023 regular season due to NCAA transfer rules. He made his Florida State debut in the Orange Bowl against Georgia and never looked back.
At his best, Jackson is strong and violent at the point of attack, with plenty of knockback power and the ability to stand up offensive linemen with his upper body strength. He measured in at 6-foot-5½ and 315 pounds, with 34¾-inch arms and 11-inch hands, which is the kind of combination NFL teams covet when they’re looking for a space-eater on the interior. Along with his All-ACC honorable mention honors, Jackson earned the Bobby Bowden Leadership Award and had a career game against Miami with four tackles, 2.0 sacks, and a forced fumble.
The Jets landed a player with some real upside, even if the production numbers were modest relative to his physical tools, because Jackson often ate double and even triple teams on the interior, which is a gritty and often underappreciated role in a defense. He generated 42 quarterback pressures during his collegiate career, and that kind of disruption doesn’t always show up cleanly in the sack column. There’s refinement needed, but the foundation is there for a quality NFL interior lineman with good coaching this year.
Jackson’s selection extends FSU’s streak of having at least one player drafted to 43 consecutive seasons, the seventh-longest active streak among all colleges nationally. He is the 58th Florida State defensive lineman drafted all-time and FSU’s 303rd draft pick overall, with 217 of those coming since the current streak began in 1984. Unfortunately, Jackson Jr. was the only Seminole to hear his name called.
The Jets connection is worth noting, too. New York has now drafted 12 Seminoles all-time, including five in the last six years. Jackson joins former Nole Azareye’h Thomas, who was New York’s third-round pick in 2025, in the Jets’ secondary and defensive core. He is also the second consecutive FSU defensive lineman from Gadsden County High School to be drafted, after Joshua Farmer was selected in the fourth round in 2025.
It’s been a long road for Darrell Jackson Jr., and he made the most of the opportunities FSU gave him. Wishing him nothing but success in New York. Thanks for reading and Go Noles!