Seahawks 90-Man Roster Primer: Gabe Jackson

Originally posted on FanNation Seahawk Maven
By Corbin K. Smith | Last updated 7/21/21

With the calendar flipping to July and offseason programs recently wrapping up, NFL training camps will begin around the league in less than a month. To celebrate the new incoming season, we will be breaking down the Seahawks' 90-man roster over the next several weeks, exploring best and worst case scenarios and what to expect from each player entering the 2021 campaign.

Gabe Jackson, Guard

Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 335 pounds

2020 Stats: Zero sacks allowed in 16 starts

In quick response to quarterback Russell Wilson's public comments about "getting hit too much," the Seahawks promptly upgraded their pass protection by acquiring Jackson from the Raiders for a fifth-round pick in mid-March. As part of the deal, the team rewarded him with a three-year contract through 2023, solidifying the front line in the present and future. A starter immediately upon his arrival as a third-round pick in 2014, Jackson has long been viewed as one of the NFL's best pass blocking guards and finished no lower than 19th in pass blocking grade by Pro Football Focus during that span. While he did allow 26 quarterback pressures in 2020 and didn't have the best season of his career, he didn't surrender a single sack and yielded just two quarterback hits on Derek Carr. In the run game, he hasn't been quite as effective over the years, but he's still a powerful, physical blocker who has found reasonable success both in gap and zone-heavy schemes.

Best Case Scenario: Rejuvenated by the move to the Pacific Northwest playing for a perennial contender, Jackson turns in the best season of his career and doesn't allow a single sack for a second straight year, helping the Seahawks repeat as NFC West champions and earning his first All-Pro nod.

Worst Case Scenario: Dealing with nagging injuries that have bothered him in two of the past three seasons, Jackson misses a handful of games and isn't close to 100 percent when in the lineup, failing to provide the upgrade Seattle hoped he would be as Seattle struggles to protect Wilson once again.

What to Expect in 2021: In terms of consistently, reliability, and dependability, few guards in the league have been better than Jackson for nearly a decade. In five of his first seven seasons, he has given up one or fewer sacks and two or fewer quarterback hits. Now 30 years old, he will step into the starting lineup at right guard, while second-year guard Damien Lewis will slide to the left side next to Duane Brown. With that pairing of big-bodied, physical blockers sandwiched around center Ethan Pocic in the interior, the Seahawks will be counting on him to continue protecting Wilson at an elite level and justify the multi-year investment they made in him. If he's able to accomplish that and help open holes for Chris Carson and the rest of the team's running backs, his arrival could be the type of game-changing addition that propels Seattle on a deeper playoff run.