New England Patriots Draft Countdown: Making the Case for Tre' Jackson

One by one, the New England Patriots offensive linemen shuffled in and out of the lineup. In came Jordan Devey, out went Marcus Cannon; out went Ryan Wendell, in came Josh Kline. After four weeks of the carousel, the Patriots finally settled on a starting offensive line that worked, and that was the group they stuck with until the end of the season.

You can understand why there's some puzzlement as to the continued status of Dan Connolly, an unsigned free agent who appears to be everything the Patriots need on the offensive line but is seemingly not what they want right now.

That's where Florida State guard Tre' Jackson comes into play. The 6'4", 330-pound behemoth has already visited the Patriots this draft season, according to Mike Huguenin of NFL.com's College Football 24/7. The Patriots tried to load up on offensive linemen in last year's draft by selecting center Bryan Stork, tackle Cameron Fleming and guard Jon Halapio, but Halapio didn't make the roster and Fleming played a menial role.

The Patriots need to call in more reinforcements up front, and there's reason to believe Jackson is the right fit. 

Need

Connolly's absence leaves the Patriots without a true guard to start the 2015 season, and while Wendell performed admirably at right guard last season, who knows if he will stand the test of time at guard or if he'll be exposed with more and more tape on him at that position. 

Rob Rang and Derek Stephens of CBS Sports describe Jackson as "arguably the most accomplished right guard in the draft." Jackson started 42 games for the Seminoles, and he was named first-team All-ACC in 2013 and a consensus All-American in 2014. With that kind of experience, there's little, if any, doubt that Jackson could step in and bear the burden of a heavy workload. 

The question is whether he can fix his technique issues, which have not yet plagued him at the college level, where he's been able to use his superior size to physically dominate his competition. Those problems, however, will quickly manifest themselves on the field if not corrected.

The Patriots can take solace, however, in the fact that they'll get a good read on him one way or another thanks to the presence of former offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia, who has helped in the scouting process. 

Fit

Jackson is not a perfect fit for New England's offensive line—you're not likely to find many perfect fits when you're looking at third-round prospects—but he has a lot of the tools he'll need to be successful in its system.

We'll get the bad stuff out of the way, the areas where Jackson is not a fit. He lacks agility and smooth footwork in pass protection, which is not necessarily surprising given his 6'4", 330-pound frame. He posted a 5.52-second 40-yard dash and an 8.4-second three-cone drill at his pro day. 

Those traits would seem to be his boon in terms of his ability to pull out in front of plays as well, but Rang and Stephens say he "has the short-area quickness to get to the second level but doesn't have great balance or change-of-direction agility to adjust to moving targets." That being said, he's shown the potential to execute in those scenarios in the past. 

Whether it's blocking linebackers at the second level, getting out in front of a play to block in space or getting a hold of his man on a zone stretch, he's flashed the ability to do it. 

He can play on either the left or right, but Jackson will be at his best as a mauling, bulldozing presence at right guard. He has the blend of size and power to win at the point of attack, helping the Patriots execute more power-blocking assignments up front. The Patriots have not had a powerful, imposing presence at guard in quite some time, and adding Jackson could boost the team's physicality in the running game. 

Value

A player like Jackson will be intriguing to several teams, but he may not be highly coveted by any of them. 

The Patriots could use a third-round pick to scoop up Jackson for their offensive line, finding a raw prospect with starting-caliber potential who can come in and contribute right away to their offense. 

If he earns Scarnecchia's stamp of approval, the Patriots can be fairly confident he'll one day develop into their ideal fit at guard.