Bengals Roster Breakdown: Shedrick Jackson is the dark horse receiver to watch for in Cincinnati

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By John Sheeran | Last updated Jul 11, 2024 3:43 PM ET

Throughout the summer leading up to the regular season, we will go through the entire 2024 Cincinnati Bengals roster. Every single day until the season opener against the New England Patriots, we will break down a player on the roster including his background, contract status, and path towards making the team.

Today, we catch up with wide receiver Shedrick Jackson. One of a several second-year players whom the Bengals re-upped for another year in January, Jackson has the makings of a player who could exceed expectations this summer.

Shedrick Jackson

Age: 24
Year: 2nd
Position: Wide receiver
College: Auburn
Previous Teams: None
Jersey Number: 12

Jackson signed with the Bengals as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NFL Draft. He played five years at Auburn, appearing in 53 games and making 26 starts for the Tigers. His best season came in 2021 when he achieved career highs in receptions (40) and receiving yards (527).

If the name Jackson rings a bell with the school Auburn, you're not making an unwise assumption. Jackson's great uncle is in fact legendary multi-sport Bo Jackson. Shedrick is just a tad slower than his relative, clocking in an official 4.25 40-yard dash time at Auburn's pro day last year.

Despite his Hall of Fame bloodlines, Jackson did not make the Bengals' initial 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie last year. He was signed to Cincinnati's practice squad after being waived at final cuts. He remained there for the entire season, but was elevated to the active roster in Week 10, 11, and 16. He had five total snaps on offense and 38 on special teams snaps.

Contract details

Jackson signed a one-year futures deal with the Bengals back in January that will pay him the minimum salary for a player with his level of experience.

His salary will cost $915,00 for the entire season if he's kept on the team for the entire regular season, and his cap hit for the year is the same amount.

Roster chances

When looking at Cincinnati's receivers on the bubble, Jackson has a decent shot at making the initial roster. Having already earned three elevations last year as a rookie and a spot on the offseason roster this year, he's in good standing compared to the rest of the depth chart below the top five guys.

Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Jermaine Burton, Andrei Iosivas, and Trenton Irwin should all be safe from cuts. Charlie Jones figures to have the best argument to fit in as #6, but if there's a guy Jackson can topple, it's probably Jones. The fact that Burrow mentioned his name in his minicamp presser was telling enough.

"It's been really exciting to see guys like Andrei and Trenton and Shed have have really good OTAs, and continuing to get better," Burrow said back in June. "That's always exciting."

Jackson booting out Jones entirely after just one year is unlikely, but he might be closer to Jones than we think. He had a really promising preseason last year and did enough in practice to earn regular season reps when the situation presented itself. If there's a pre-training camp favorite to be wideout #7, it might just be Jackson.

Chances of making the roster: 20%