5 reasons why LA Rams signing UDFA OT Alaric Jackson is a big deal

The LA Rams may not have drafted an offensive lineman, but as we have urged all along, don’t judge too harshly until the Rams form the final 90 man roster.  The reason is simple. The Rams are not done until they are done. And no, they are not even done yet. Still, the exodus of their starting center was a bit unnerving to many fans. And the 2019 injury-riddled patchwork line experience still weighs heavily on the minds of many.

Comparatively, the LA Rams offensive line played very well in 2020. But it was still playing in the shadow of the 2019 disappointment. And the Rams did not create any events that would trigger a new train of thought. The 2019 roster that disappointed many returned in 2020 and played well enough to earn consensus NFL Top-Five grades.

Still, the belief that a fundamental and permanent improvement required new blood. The damage was already done.  Opinions were already formed, and those opinions were firmly established. It’s tough to force minds to change by pointing to young offensive linemen’s careers improving over time without hard evidence, and that evidence is dependant upon playing. It’s a Catch-22, folks.

So many expected the team to target offensive linemen in the 2021 NFL Draft. They didn’t, and in all honesty, never seemed to show much interest. But the team did add a meaningful offensive lineman to the roster when the reports broke about the Rams signing former Iowa starting left tackle Alaric Jackson as an undrafted free agent.

In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter how rookies arrive on the roster, just that they get there. So now that he’s here, what can we say about him?

V – 42 starts as Iowa’s left tackle counts for something

There is an inherent value to experience. At one point, part of an employee’s wages was tied to ‘longevity’ pay. In theory, the longer a person worked at a job, the more valuable they became. I think that same concept can apply here. After all, Iowa faces some of the toughest competition in the NCAA each year playing against Big-Ten schools.

42 starts in college are the NFL equivalent of 2.75 NFL seasons. In the Big-Ten football conference, that means he’s seen a lot of talented NFL players before they became professional. While it may have embedded some poor mechanics due to not being coached to correct those flaws, the fact that he stood toe to toe with some of the nation’s best defenders should not be so easily discounted.

In a year when many top prospects opted out, Jackson played. Like a Jeep, he handled the sun, the rain, the wind, and the occasional snow. And he just went out there and did his job. There was one pause when a knee injury derailed his NFL aspirations. He was out for three weeks in 2019. But when he returned, he wasn’t 100 percent recovered.

So he chose the other option. He returned for another season at Iowa and delivered all that was expected of him. He measured himself once more against the best of the Big-Ten. When it was over? He found himself facing the typical draft analysis. A starting offensive tackle lacking the ‘desired length’ for the starting NFL offensive tackle role. Even as NFL rushers are becoming smaller and faster, the offensive tackle standard has remained the same.

IV – Versatility is a huge plus

Okay, so when the LA Rams seek help on the offensive line, they typically look for three things. They want a lineman who can pass protect. They also seek out a lineman who can create movement forward for the running game. But the final characteristic that is a universal consensus is the ability to be versatile in the NFL. Few NFL offensive linemen start and remain at the only position for their entire NFL career.

Los Angeles Rams

Either on the way up, the way down, or both, NFL offensive linemen will inevitably come face to face with the need to learn another position.  Perhaps it’s to make the 53-man roster? Perhaps it’s to remain a starter on the offensive line?  Perhaps it’s even the ultimate transformation necessary to remain on the 53-man roster.

For NFL coaches, the more a player can do successfully, the value of that player is amplified.  Thanks to the NFL salary cap and 53-man roster limits, the more an offensive lineman can do, the fewer linemen are needed as backups. The Rams had a far greater number of injuries to offensive linemen in 2019. So the team opted to carry a greater number of offensive linemen on the roster than usual.

A player like Jackson has seen plenty, even from the confines of NCAA football. In each game, he’s gained more experience, played with a bit more polish and shine. He was a bonafide veteran of the war-in-the-trenches time and time again. It’s there in the film.  He does more than just show up. He puts everything he’s got on the field of play.

III – Undervalued player

One of the struggles in any assessment of an ‘unknown’ is to apply the correct value. Based on what we witnessed from the LA Rams in the 2021 NFL Draft, it was clear that the Personnel department was looking through a different lens than many other NFL analysts. But even the Rams advanced analytics and scouting department made what may have been the cardinal sin against Alaric Jackson. They allowed a less than stellar Senior Bow performance to eclipse years of great tape.

Well, in the draft at least.

Alaric Jackson is a solid size for an NFL offensive lineman at nearly 6-foot-6 and 321-pounds. And he has flashed the brilliance of a run blocker who will penetrate to knock down linebackers and defensive backs. He definitely shows eliteness at the run blocking aspects of blocking.

He comes from the Iowa football program, home to Tristan Wirfs, Brandon Scherff, and Marshall Yanda. Is he the next NFL offensive lineman who will launch a noteworthy NFL career from his Hawkeye background? The Rams hope so. And Jackson has already made the changes to be quicker and leaner for his NFL playing days.

That’s a huge lifestyle change, one that was prompted by a slower-than-hoped-for recovery after his 2019 injury. With the resources now available to him through the LA Rams, he will be at the top of his game.

II – The equivalent of a Day Three drafted player

So when the NFL Draft profiles were created around the nation, there was not a uniform consensus for Iowa offensive tackle Alaric Jackson. Some viewed him as a projected round-six player. Other websites viewed him as a projected fourth-round player. But the overall consensus is that he would be a valued prospect on Day Three.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz has been with the Iowa Hawkeyes for 22 years. And when Alaric Jackson’s Senior Bowl performance (which wasn’t bad, but just wasn’t as dominating as some had hoped), he chimed in on the defensive of his starting left tackle:

"“All these evaluations, all these measurements and all these different pro days, combines etc., sometimes can lead you down the wrong path either in a positive way or a negative way,” Ferentz said. “We’re talking about guys that really played well on tape and in Alaric’s case, that’s four years of evidence, really. Obviously, he’s a better player now than he was as a redshirt freshman.” – Kirk Ferentz per The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman"

Did the LA Rams pan a nugget of gold out of the ranks of undrafted free agents? Evidence is building that sort of conclusion. Even with his Senior Bowl performance, most projections pegged Jackson between rounds four to six. The Rams signed him to the roster after the 2021 NFL Draft. That means that 259 times NFL teams (not just the Rams) passed him by.

The draft process is flawed. Look no further than the LA Rams history for proof of that. Darious Williams was an undrafted defensive back. Inside linebacker Cory Littleton was an undrafted linebacker. Whether it was the inability to highlight the right attributes, or simply the limited number of draft picks, sometimes gems fall out of the draft. Alaric Jackson has the ‘feel’ of such a diamond-in-the-rough.

I-The tale of Brandon Scherff and Alaric Jackson

With the fifth pick of the 2015 NFL Draft, the Washington Football team selected Iowa offensive tackle, Brandon Scherff. The offensive coordinator at the time? Coach Sean McVay.  The assistant offensive line coach at the time? Coach Kevin Carberry.

Washington drafted the versatile offensive lineman to start at offensive guard. Scherff was 6-foot-5, 319-pounds, arm length 33 3/8ths, hand size 11 inches. He put up 5.05-sec 40-yards, 1.8-sec 10-yard split, 2.98-sec 20-yard split, 4.57-sec 20-yard shuffle, 7.18-sec three-cone drill, 32.5-inch verticle jump, 8-foot-11 broad jump, and 23 reps 225-pound lift.

Fast forward to 2021, and the LA Rams have signed Iowa offensive tackle Alaric Jackson. Jackson is 6-foot-5.5, 321-pounds, arm size 33 7/8ths, hand size 9.75 inches, He put up 5.28-sec 40-yards, 1.78-sec 10-yard split, 7.70 -sec three-cone drill, 25-inch verticle jump, and 20 reps 225-pound lift.

Scherff was a Top-5 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, Jackson was undrafted. So obviously, their circumstances are as different as night and day, right?  Perhaps, if you have that mindset. But keep in mind that Sean McVay led Washington’s offense then, and leads the Rams’ offense now. Keep in mind that Coach Kevin Carberry coached Iowa offensive lineman Brandon Scherff then, and will coaching Iowa offensive lineman Alaric Jackson now.

Where a player is drafted no longer matters. Now it’s up to Alaric Jackson to seize this opportunity. Clearly, the perception is that the Rams are looking for offensive linemen. The Rams did lose veteran Austin Blythe to free agency. Now, who will rise to the challenge of filling the void in 2021?  It won’t be easy for Jackson.  But somehow I like his arrival to the Rams roster.

If he doesn’t work out, he can still be assigned to the team’s practice squad to compete for a 53-man roster spot in 2022. But if he does work out? The Rams could have a cheap and effective replacement for offensive guard Austin Corbett next year. And that is what makes Alaric Jackson’s signing such a big deal. In all honesty? He could be one of the most important rookies to the team in 2021.