Macon's Kareem Jackson climbing up NFL draft boards
Alabama cornerback Kareem Jackson is shooting up teams' draft boards.
"I think Kareem Jackson is almost as good as Kyle Wilson. [He] belongs in the top 25 picks and has a chance to make an immediate impact coming from Nick Saban and that defense," said Todd McShay, an ESPN draft analyst. "He might be the most underrated player in the entire draft right now.”
Jackson originally committed to Vanderbilt out of Westside-Macon. He was a NCAA academic qualifier, but the school wanted a higher aptitude test score.
He went to Fork Union Military Academy to work on his studies, but decided to enroll at Alabama instead of Vanderbilt. He was a running back in high school, but converted to cornerback while at Fork Union.
After the Crimson Tide won the national title, Jackson decided to enter the draft a year early -- against Saban's wishes.
"I had a couple of meetings with him," Jackson said. "He thought I should come back, but I was pretty confident in my decision and I stuck with it."
He played right cornerback in Alabama's 3-4 defense.
"We play the NFL-type defense," Jackson said. "It shows my mental capacity is maybe a lot stronger than some of the other players in the draft, as far as learning a defense."
He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds at the NFL scouting combine and has impressed teams during the interviewing process.
"I want to get better at everything I do; as far as my game [and] my technique," Jackson said. "But I think my physicality will help me a whole lot, at the line of scrimmage. We played a lot of press-man [coverage]."
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
