All Aboard the Tyson Jackson Bandwagon?

Posted Apr 24, 2009 by Luke Easterling

Updated Apr 24, 2009 at 07:20 PM

Much like using anything but actual english to text your friends or paying $150 for jeans that are so torn up even Goodwill wouldn’t accept them, the NFL Draft seems to have its own fads and trends that baffle the minds of those who happen to subscribe to comment sense.  The latest of these happens to be the sky-rocketing draft stock of LSU DE Tyson Jackson.  Up until today, Jackson has been pegged for the middle of the first round as a perfect fit for a 3-4 defensive end.  All of a sudden, however, Jackson has made appearances in the top 5 picks in mock drafts from NFL.com and ESPN.com experts, the most popular spot being to Kansas City at #3 overall.

Of the four expert mocks on NFL.com, only Steve Wyche doesn’t have Jackson going to the Chiefs at #3 (Wyche has Jackson going #12 to the Broncos).  ESPN.com’s Mel Kiper, Jr. also has Jackson at #3, while Todd McShay has him going #5 to Cleveland. 

While Chiefs’ GM Scott Pioli was part of a Patriots’ front office that scored big with Richard Seymour in the top 10, I don’t see Jackson making such a huge leap this late in the process, especially when considering that Wake Forest OLB Aaron Curry will almost certainly be available at #3.  Some of those same expert mocks even have Curry, widely regarded as the top defensive prospect in the draft, falling all the way to #12.  The reasoning for this is that evidently teams don’t want to use such a high pick and top dollar on a player who won’t spend much time rushing the passer.  Quite the double standard, when you think about how much a 3-4 end usually gets to the QB.

I’m not jumping on that bandwagon.  And even if Jackson’s name is the third one called tomorrow, I don’t see the sense in taking him over Curry.