Seahawks Sign Intriguing Undrafted Rookie LB Following Minicamp Tryout
After impressing during the team’s two-day rookie minicamp earlier this month as a tryout player, the Seattle Seahawks will be adding former Kentucky linebacker D’Eryk Jackson to their linebacking group ahead of the start of OTAs.
According to the Kentucky Wildcats football X account, Jackson has earned a contract with the Seahawks, filling the lone remaining roster spot after the team released fellow undrafted rookie linebacker Jackson Woodard and signed veteran defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins on Tuesday. Seattle has yet to officially announce a signing.
A highly effective all-around defender at Kentucky, Jackson ended his career in Lexington with 216 tackles, five interceptions, three sacks, and 17 tackles for loss, headlined by an impressive 2023 campaign where he posted 89 tackles, two interceptions, and two sacks starring in the middle of Bob Stoops’ unit. Last season, per Pro Football Focus charting, he excelled in coverage, allowing just eight completions on 17 targets with an interception, three pass breakups, and a 36.4 passer rating against.
Unfortunately, Jackson dealt with injuries throughout his college career, including missing most of the 2021 season with an Achilles tear and sitting out the last four games last season with a shoulder issue, casting questions about his ability to stay healthy.
If not for those injuries, the productive linebacker may have been selected at some point on Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft given his numbers against SEC competition and a stellar 4.51 40-yard dash time at his pro day workout. Instead, he wasn’t signed as a priority free agent after the draft, but the Seahawks clearly liked what they saw from him on the practice field during a two-day tryout audition, choosing to sign him to take Woodard’s spot on the roster.
Currently, Seattle has Ernest Jones IV and Tyrice Knight cemented in as starters at the off-ball linebacker spots, while returning third-year veterans Drake Thomas and Patrick O’Connell along with special teams ace Josh Ross fill out the depth chart as reserve options. If the 6-1, 237-pound Jackson can stay on the field and demonstrate better athleticism than his testing numbers would suggest, he could have a viable shot to push for a roster spot at a position with limited defensive experience on the roster behind Jones and Knight.
