Seahawks 2025 UDFA profile: Can D’Eryk Jackson boost Seattle’s linebacker depth?

D’Eryk Jackson wasn’t part of Seattle’s initial UDFA class, but he was able to impress in rookie minicamp.

The Seattle Seahawks looked like they were one of the best teams in the 2025 undrafted free agent pool. They signed the best DL available (Jared Ivey), the best CB available (Zy Alexander), and they had signed the best LB available (Jackson Woodard). Obviously, their position on the boards is no guarantee that they will become great players, but it’s a start.

The last piece listed was “traded.” After minicamp, Jackson Woodard was cut and in his place the team signed another LB who was in minicamp, but as a tryout player, D’Eryk Jackson from Kentucky. He was basically the last UDFA to arrive, just like Jalen Sundell in 2024.

Could Jackson make an impact?

Who is D’Eryk Jackson?

Jackson was born in Dublin, Georgia and has always tried to stand out for his physicality, including his great idol in sports being none other than Ray Lewis. He played American football and basketball (Power Forward) in High School. He always accumulated many tackles, leading the team in consecutive years in this criterion.

He arrived at College as a 3-star prospect and received offers from Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Purdue, before accepting to play for Kentucky. In 2021 he suffered an Achilles injury in spring training and was expected to miss the entire season. He returned seven months later after a good recovery. In 2022 and 2023 he had healthy seasons and led the Wildcats in tackles in both years. In 2024 he played eight games and suffered another injury, this time in the shoulder that made him miss the final four games of the season.

In five years at Kentucky, he played 47 games, started 31 consecutively, had 216 career starts, made 17 tackles for loss, 9 sacks, 5 interceptions, and 9 pass breakups.

His rating on the boards

In most of my articles, I take into account the NFL.com, Dane Brugler, and Bleacher Report boards. Of course, this is not a verdict, but it is a first impression. I confess that although some analysts I follow have listed Jackson as a Day 3 bet, I saw little of his tape before Seattle signed him.

Therefore, my expectations were not as high as those I had with Jackson Woodard, one of the best linebackers covering the field in the entire class. In addition, the UNLV player was instinctive and physical. He was basically my bet to be the “Tyrice Knight” of 2025. However, Woodard performed very poorly with a 4.86s forty-yard dash.

I still don’t think he’s that slow on the field (and the Houston Texans got a great deal on waivers with him), but the Seahawks clearly had their eye on good players and Jackson is much better than Woodard in that regard.

Going back to Jackson’s evaluation on the more well-known boards…the outlook was not good. Bleacher Report and NFL.com had no page on him and in Dane Brugler’s Guide he was ranked as the 130th LB in the class, while Woodard was 21st and Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Jackson’s teammate at Kentucky was 25th (signed as a UDFA with the Packers.

Watching the Tape

Run Defender

As mentioned during the article he is outstanding in the tackle department. However, at times he goes too low or too high and even with good numbers he could still improve this technique.

He was more tasked with infiltrating the backfield than making these longer lateral coverages. Here he shows his speed and taking the best angle for the tackle.

He makes a good decision here. If he went straight to the QB the RB could have taken him out of the play. The LB plays more cautiously and makes the shed block to then make the tackle.

Good processing and fast. He notices the pullers (who will open new gaps) and notices that his NT, Deone Walker (No. 0), absorbs the block by opening space for the outermost gap. He infiltrates and makes the play.

This is something he does often and that can catch Mike Macdonald’s attention. The starters do it very well. The shuffle to move laterally, he can adjust two gaps inside and make the tackle.

He quickly notices the puller and sees that he has the chance to not only absorb the block, but to make the tackle. Physical.

Coverage

He has good speed to cover deeper routes, but he needs to hesitate less to lose less space.

Jackson notices and anticipates routes that develop behind him well, closing the passing lane. He is also able to keep an eye on leak routes, crossing routes, etc.

He has the receiver in his sights and keeps his eyes on the QB to attack the ball and make the play.

He is locked on the eyes of the QB. At times he can be moved by them, at others he can be a bit reticent and that’s what prevented him from deflecting the pass here, although it was a good play in the end.

Blitzer

As a blitzer he is not very physical nor does he have great moves like pass rush. He basically uses his speed and vision to see the path to the QB. Just like the tape at the beginning of the article, he misses the chance to tackle, in this case, a sack.

He is physical, strong and fast, but does not have great change of direction. Something that needs to improve in coverage, run defense and pass rush.

Final Thoughts

Although analysts do not see him as a prospect as good as Zy Alexander and Jared Ivey, Jackson has a chance to make the roster due to the team’s lack of pieces in the sector. Patrick O’Connell, Josh Ross and Drake Thomas are the players he would have to beat to achieve such a feat.

Thomas is the only one who has ever played regular-season snaps on defense. Ross is a special teams player, but he is familiar to Macdonald from his time at Michigan and with the Ravens. Patrick O’Connell has been with the Seahawks since 2023, bouncing between the practice squad and elevations to the 53, finishing last year on the active roster. However, he is also a special teams guy.

The Seahawks are not looking for someone to replace Ernest Jones IV and Tyrice Knight, but it would be nice to have someone on the roster with more potential than has been shown so far. Jackson has a chance to show his physicality and ball-tracking ability in practice (he has already earned a spot in the 90) and in the preseason, especially with an eye toward moving ahead of Ross and O’Connell for the final spots, depending on how many LBs the Seahawks take to the final 53.