Donovan Jackson Scouting Report

By: Michael Higgins

(Image courtesy of Robin Alam/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

School: Ohio State

Class: Senior

Position: IOL

HT: 6’4

WT: 320 lbs

Background: Donovan Jackson is a former 5-star, top 10 player in the class of 2021. Out of Bellaire, Texas, Jackson played for Episcopal High School. He was widely regarded as the best IOL in the country and a top player in Texas. Jackson was a high school All-American and participated in the Army All-American Bowl. Jackson committed to Ohio State over schools such as Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Alabama.

College: Jackson was an All-Big 10 selection in 2022 and 2023 as a left guard. Due to injuries to other offensive linemen on the team, Jackson was forced to play just as much offensive tackle as guard in 2024, and he excelled. He earned All-Big 10 First Team honors as a guard but showed his versatility along the offensive line. He has also received conference academic honors during his time in Columbus.

Strengths: As a pass protector, Jackson is elite on the interior of the offensive line. He does not get backed up in pass protection as he anchors himself and his feet do not move backwards. Jackson gets wide and maintains leverage throughout the snap. Getting wide allows him to get the best possible pad level on his opponent. Donovan has strong hands that he digs into the chest of defenders to stunt them back and knock them off their rush. These strong and violent hands are some of the best in the country. Linemen are getting more athletic every year seemingly; Jackson is no exception. Jackson is extremely quick-footed and excels with pulls where he has to get on his horse and block an assignment on the other side of the hash marks. Donovan also handles stunts with ease. He is able to diagnose stunts and twists, shutting them down right as they enter the phone booth. He uses his athleticism as a run blocker as well. Moving to the second level of the defense after quickly finishing his original blocking assignment, between the tackles runners will love Jackson. Many outlets will tell you that Jackson cannot combat speed rushers, but you won’t see that on tape, so I beg to differ.

Weaknesses: An area that Donovan Jackson could afford to improve upon is his footwork in pass protection. While he can anchor himself, he cannot shuffle side to side as well as other linemen. That is the one negative I could find in Jackson’s game. Additionally, Jackson gets himself off balance by lunging into defenders to force contact instead of absorbing the contact and planting his anchor. This leads to defenders winning the battle of leverage at the point of first contact.

Conclusion: Donovan Jackson has shown his ability to be an elite player all over the offensive line. He will be best suited at guard in the NFL, but he can more than hold his own at tackle. If he can polish up his technique in pass protection, it will be hard to find weaknesses in his game as he checks all the boxes.

Scheme Fit: Zone Rushing Offense

Ideal Role: Right Guard

Best Team Fits: MIA, DAL, SEA

Player Comparison: Elgton Jenkins

Player Grade: Round 2 (89.7)