American Football

Breaking Down Khyree Jackson

April 29, 2024

Oregon v Utah — Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images

A deep dive into the Vikings’ newest cornerback

With the 108th pick (fourth-round) in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings selected Khyree Jackson, cornerback, Oregon. He was ranked 100th on the consensus board and the 11th ranked cornerback.

Top-Line Assessment

Jackson is a very long, physical cornerback who is best in press-man coverage. He is also physical and willing in run defense and can be effective as a blitzer. He also has special teams ability.

He’s only had 14 starts in college- most coming last season in Oregon- despite turning 25 later this summer. He needs a bit of development but has the skillset to be a quality starter as an outside cornerback. But his size and quickness for his size are rare so if he can develop a bit and polish his technique, he could compete for a starting job. Kevin O’Connell has said this off-season that they were looking to play more man coverage behind their blitzes this season, so adding a cornerback like Jackson appears to be preparing for that.

Traits

Jackson is a tall and long-limbed cornerback with good long speed. He is also said to have good ‘recovery-speed’ which belies his 10-yard and 20-yard split times, but those low times could be due to having longer legs and not being as adept coming out of a starting block in the 40-yard dash. That may account for the difference on tape vs. Combine results. There was also some confusion around the split times as a couple sites reported 1.5s 10-yard split time (82%ile), but apparently the ‘official time’ per @mathbomb is 1.6s.

Jackson is an older draft pick who will turn 25 in August.

College Stats

Jackson didn’t play football or attend college in 2017 and 2018, then spent a couple years at community colleges before signing on with Alabama as a top JUCO prospect. He saw his playing time increase at Alabama from 2021 to 2022 before becoming a full-time starter after transferring to Oregon in 2023 where he thrived.

PFF Profile, Grades and Stats

Scouting Reports

Lance Zierlein, NFL.com

Extremely imposing outside cornerback with rare size and strength. Jackson’s measurables are a big plus, but he started just 14 games during his college career, so the technique is inconsistent. He can be hit-or-miss from press, but when he catches the receiver with his punch, it’s trouble. A lack of anticipation and sticky hips cause him to get lost at transition points at times. Contested catches tilt heavily in his favor and will continue to do so as he improves with more coaching and experience. Jackson’s size and physicality combined with his NFL-caliber run support should make him an early backup with a chance to climb the ladder into a starting role if he proves he has the necessary speed.

Dane Brugler, The Athletic

STRENGTHS: Tall, rangy frame with excellent body length … long strides eat up grass quickly and allow him to stay connected on go patterns … quick to open up and flashes a make-up burst to close space from trail … outstanding ball skills and length tilts jump-ball chancesin his favor … quick to find the football once he returns his eyes to the QB … will challenge receivers and looks to reroute within the first five yards … body length helps him get runners on the ground, compensating for some wild tackling tendencies … effective blitzer (six pressures and 2.0 sacks on just seven pass-rush snaps in 2023) … wired right for the position; receivers know they’re in for a dogfight … a regular on punt and kick coverages at Alabama (four special-teams tackles in 2022) … took a massive jump with his play on the 2023 tape.

WEAKNESSES: Often caught flat-footed, which leaves him out of position and vulnerable … underdeveloped route recognition and can be stemmed away from the break path (see his matchup with Rome Odunze in 2023)… finds the ball quickly, but he tends to be inconsistent reading receivers to know when the ball is coming … his first instinct is to grab when he loses a step (flagged for pass interference three times in 2023, and that number probably should have been higher) … undisciplined eyes in zone … eager to jam but gives away his intentions and needs to stay on the balls of his feet … only one season of starting experience at the FBS level (717 career defensive snaps) … suspended for multiple games by Nick Saban due to a violation of team rules (November 2022) … will turn 25 before his first NFL game.

SUMMARY: A one-year starter at Oregon, Jackson was a perimeter cornerback in head coach Dan Lanning’s balanced scheme. He has taken a winding road to this point (attended four different programs over the last five years) but got the attention of NFL scouts with his play for the Ducks in 2023, when he led the team in interceptions and passes defended while allowing only one touchdown in coverage. With his body length and athleticism, Jackso n doesn’t allow receivers to get comfortable and plays with the same brash attitude against the run and the pass. With coverage instincts that are still a work in progress, he will lose phase against crafty route runners but does a nice job quickly getting it back. He then uses his long arms to crowd the catch point, making it tough to complete throws over him. Overall, Jackson is still learning how to be disciplined and read routes, but his improvements in 2023 are encouraging, as are as his competitive spirit and ability to disrupt air space with his rare size. He is at his best as a press-man cornerback who can also be productive on special teams.

Greg Cosell, 33rd Team

STRENGTHS

Rare size for an outside corner with the physical and athletic traits to play press-man coverage at a high level

Long strider who covered ground quickly and easily in zone coverage and could close windows with his length

Showed patience and poise in press-man coverage due to good knee bend and balance; controlled and measured

Strong snaps of mirror match press-man coverage, locking onto a receiver and staying in phase throughout the route

Stride length and play speed were big factors when he was beaten off the ball in press man as he showed recovery ability

Did a good job in mirror match press-man, getting his head around and locating-tracking the ball on vertical routes

Showed balance and body control to stop and re-direct at the top of receiver route stem, and could sink and transition

A strong tackler who was willing to play physically, he consistently showed excellent run support on the outside.

WEAKNESSES

While smooth and fluid in his movement, he is not a high-level change-of-direction athlete; long and high-cut

Sticky and segmented at times while opening hips transitioning in press coverage; did not always look comfortable

At times some balance and body-control issues with his jam in a physical press when he overextended with his strike

Could be a little sticky and segmented while opening his hips and transitioning in off coverage, and at times too upright

Some issues in off coverage staying connected at the top of the route stem and lost contact with the receiver

Despite his size and stride length will top-end speed be a concern? Can he run and stay connected to deep routes?

More comfortable at this point playing press-man than off coverage; his high cut limits transitions from backpedal

NFL TRANSITION

Jackson is one of the most intriguing outside corner prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft due to his outstanding length at almost 6-foot-4 with long arms and a wide wingspan and his ability to play and experience in press-man coverage.

Jackson played a lot of press-man coverage in Oregon’s defense, and his ability to play physical press and mirror-match press with the stride length, play speed, ball location and ball tracking consistently stood out on film. Jackson was competitive in press man and he not only played vertical throws effectively but also showed the balance and short-area quickness and body control to sink and stop to play shorter and intermediate routes.

What consistently stood out about Jackson was how physical he was in coverage, staying in phase throughout the route with the length and play speed to carry receivers vertically. Jackson at this point is a press-man corner much more so than an off-coverage corner. His hip tightness and segmented transitions more consistently showed up in the latter. He has the confidence to play mirror match and with targeted physicality, and he would project and transition best to a team that features press as a foundation of its coverage concepts.

Jackson could fit the profile of an NFL boundary corner tasked with matching the boundary X wide receivers, and that is a critical corner position given the proliferation of 3×1 sets with the best wide receiver aligning to the boundary side of the formation. There will be a learning curve because the quality of NFL wide receivers is far better than what Jackson faced in the Pac-12, but he has the physical and athletic traits to become a quality press corner.

OTHER NOTES

Jackson’s college career began at Fort Scott Community College before spending two seasons at Alabama and ending his career with one season at Oregon. Jackson only started 14 games in his college career.

He lined up at the right and left corner with extensive experience playing to the field and the boundary. At times when he was aligned to the boundary he was deployed as a blitzer. Jackson lined up almost exclusively outside in 2023, with only about 20 snaps in the slot.