What the 49ers Want out of Drake Jackson From the Offseason

When Drake Jackson was drafted by the 49ers at the end of the second-round, it was a clear selection of the best player available. Taking him was also viewed as a steal considering he has first-round talent. The idea of him in an already dominant pass rush group was only going to get him rounded out as the season went on.

But Jackson never looked like a steal throughout his rookie campaign. In fact, not only did he not look too impressive, but he also ended up falling off towards the end of the season. Three sacks are all Jackson mustered this season, and while sacks don't tell the whole story, he overall just wasn't an impactful player in his limited snaps. The 49ers ended up making Jackson a healthy scratch on game days due to his ineffectiveness by the end of the season. It was kind of surprising to see, considering it happened under the watch of renowned defensive line coach Kris Kocurek.

All is not lost for Jackson as there is promise to his game. He just needs to add more to his arsenal of tricks when rushing the passer. And there is one specific thing that the 49ers want out of Jackson to work on. It's his strength.

“I think Drake showed a lot this year on what he can be," said Kyle Shanahan. "But he needs to get to what he can be. I thought he was closer to that earlier in the year. It was a long season and I think he learned as a year goes, if you lose any power in this league, it gets a lot harder. And we had a decent group of rushers and I think as the year went out and towards the end, it got too long for him, and his body wasn't quite ready for what we needed. If we had an injury or something, we were definitely going to get him up, but we felt, towards the end of the year, better with other guys, and still he’s the exact same talent that we drafted."

The potential is there for Jackson. He clearly has a speed rush down nicely, but it won't matter if he doesn't have the power behind it to avoid getting mauled by offensive linemen. This is why the 49ers elected to go with veterans who could actually disrupt blocks and make a play. I'm usually of the sort where a rookie should continue to play to figure it out. It's why the coaches are there and get paid the big bucks. But with Jackson, you could tell it wasn't a coaching fault. He just isn't there yet physically.

So, what the 49ers want from him is to just get stronger, both physically and mentally. An entire season of football, especially for a playoff team, goes on forever and is straining. It really isn't too surprising that Jackson dropped off despite getting only around 20 snaps per game. Remember, a college season is only 12 games long and that is assuming that a player gets through a whole season. This year was really a reality check for Jackson.

Gaining strength and maintaining speed with a strong mind is critical for him. The 49ers need him to pick it up next year. Nick Bosa cannot be the sole hero of the defensive line. He needs another player to help pick up the slack and make offenses pay for focusing him. Jackson can be that guy, and this offseason is going to be a defining one for him going into year two.

"He's got the ability to really help us, so we're counting on him to do the right things to maximize his ability.”