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49ers Rookie EDGE Drake Jackson Turns Heads With Insanely Athletic Backflips, Inverted Pull-Ups

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  • Drake Jackson is one of the most athletic players to hear his name called in the 2022 NFL Draft.
  • The former USC Trojan has ridiculous bounce for his size and recently turned heads with a unique, very difficult workout.
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With the No. 62 overall pick in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers selected Drake Jackson out of USC. Jackson, who played defensive end for the Trojans, will slot as an EDGE rusher on the next level, whether that be at end or outside linebacker or both.

Wherever he ends up on the defense, he has the sheer athleticism to become a real problem for opposing offensive linemen.

As a four-star recruit out of high school, Jackson committed to the Trojans over offers from Illinois, Oregon, Washington and Arizona State, among others. Jackson started right away as a freshman and recorded 103 total tackles, 25 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks in 27 games over the course of his three-year career.

He was a monster who wreaked havoc on Pac-12 quarterbacks.

While 49ers rookie Drake Jackson’s on-field tape at USC is strong, he is almost more impressive during his off-field workouts.

He is a self-proclaimed freak.

At 6-foot-3, Jackson played closer to 250 in college but weighed-in at the NFL Combine at about 270. He plans to cut down to about 265 for the fall, but that’s crazy.

While at the Combine, he posted a 36.5″ vertical, a 10’7″ broad jump, a 4.28-second shuttle and a 7.09-second three-cone drill. All impressive numbers.

Despite his size, Jackson is incredibly nimble and light on his feet. Here he is in the red shorts:

https://twitter.com/CoachBTJordan/status/1481360435148296192

And here is Jackson in the grey hoodie with some fast hands:

https://twitter.com/CoachBTJordan/status/1481774255012388864

Over the course of his collegiate career, even at his size, he was often throwing down the most casual backflips. His spring is crazy.

He also often showed off his incredible athleticism with explosive stunts.

Jackson even celebrated being drafted with a backflip.

Most impressively, however, is a video that has recently gone viral of Jackson doing upside down pull-ups. More technically, they are called invert suspension pulls. The core/overall body strength that is necessary for Jackson to do what he does is rather nuts.

Now that Jackson is in San Francisco, he is getting acclimated to his new environment and is in the middle of rookie camp, OTAs and eventually fall camp.

The freakishly athletic edge rusher will line up opposite from Nick Bosa this fall and the 49ers are excited about his potential. That 1-2 punch could be a PROBLEM if they can both get going.