Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - In the days leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, WGR will provide profiles on some players that could be a good fit for the Buffalo Bills at positions of need.
This week, we are focusing on defensive end, and one prospect the Bills apparently really like is Landon Jackson from the University of Arkansas.
While speaking to reporters at the NFL Combine, Jackson said he has met with the Bills eight times already, including a formal interview at the Combine.
There is plenty to like about the Texarkana, Texas native. Jackson was an All-American in high school, a four-star prospect and rated as the seventh-best defensive linemen in his recruiting year.
Jackson committed to Louisiana State University, but in his freshman year in Baton Rouge, he played in only five games and his game action was solely on special teams.
After transferring to Arkansas, Jackson’s career took off.
The 6-foot-6, 264-pounder was a First-Team All-SEC member in 2023, and a Second-Team All-Conference member last season. In three years with the Razorbacks, Jackson totaled 116 tackles, 26.5 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, five passes broken up and a couple of forced fumbles.
At the NFL Combine, Jackson mentioned that he added about 40 pounds over his time at Arkansas, but dropped a lot of weight in preparation for the Combine and an NFL career. He ran a 4.68 40-yard dash and had a 40.5-inch vertical jump.
Jackson has Alopecia, which is a condition that causes hair loss.
He has been a voice for the Alopecia community, and says he will continue to do that with his NFL platform.
Here is what Joe Marino from the “Locked on Bills” and “Locked on NFL Scouting” podcasts has to say about Jackson:
Positives:
Landon Jackson is a really clean, stylistic fit to what the Bills traditionally prefer from their defensive ends. He's got length, he's got hand power, he's got a lot of hand moves. He's got the play strength to really shave rush angles, and I think he's got a very good finishing burst, really good contact balance and he knows how to play through the edges of blocks.
I really like his hands. The hands are sudden, they're violent, and that enables him to take early control of reps. I think he's got good rush variety and a very strong inside rip move.
I like that he's a very self-aware player. He knows that he's not the type of player that's going to win with pure speed and bend off the edge, and he doesn't try to win that way. He's really leaned into the power components of being a rusher, and I think that allows him to be the best version of himself in addition to providing a high-end rush defense profile.
Concerns:
It's just that he's got some tight hips. He's not super bendy or flexible. When you talk about cornering and really flattening and turning steep angles, that's not going to be his game. But I think it's more important to be able to play through contact then be able to run around and I think he mitigates that with his power components.
He's a bit of a high cut player, meaning his hips are high, and that leads to some natural built-in challenges with playing with good leverage. He has to be very careful to keep his pads low. That way he's not robbing himself at functional strength whether that's rushing the passer or defending the run.
WGR will provide full coverage of the 2025 NFL Draft during all seven rounds, starting Thursday, April 24 and continuing through Saturday, April 26.
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