Massive Florida State DT Darrell Jackson drafted early in Round 4 by New York Jets
Former Florida State star Darrell Jackson didn’t have to wait long on Saturday to hear his name called.
The massive defensive tackle, who was thought to be a possible third-round pick when the NFL Draft started this week, was taken very early in the fourth round on Saturday by the New York Jets.
Jackson was the third pick of the fourth round, the 103rd selection overall, and becomes the first Seminole to be selected in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Last year’s 103rd pick, wide receiver Chimere Dike, signed a four-year, $5.4 million contract with the Tennessee Titans last season. He received a $1.1 million signing bonus.
So, while Jackson didn’t go quite as high as he might have liked, it was still a very good day for the Gadsden County High School product. He joins former high school and college teammate, Joshua Farmer, in the NFL East division. Farmer was drafted in the fourth round by the New England Patriots a year ago.
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Jackson also becomes the eighth player off the 2023 Florida State defense (although he wasn’t eligible to play in the regular season, he was eligible to play in the postseason) to be drafted. He becomes teammates again with cornerback Azareye’h Thomas, who was drafted in the third round by the Jets a season ago.
Jackson finished his college career with 129 tackles, 12 for loss and 7.5 sacks. He started his career at Maryland before transferring to Miami and then finally to Florida State before the 2023 season. Jackson had a career-high 45 tackles in 2025 despite facing constant double-teams.
He’s listed at 6-foot-5, 337 pounds.
Jackson becomes the 58th Florida State defensive lineman to be drafted in the NFL.
He also extends FSU’s draft streak to 43 straight years. The last time a Seminole wasn’t selected was 1983.
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Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.
