Josh Jackson's 'official' 40 time is costly for first-round NFL Draft prospect

INDIANAPOLIS — For a short time Monday, it looked as if Josh Jackson had gotten himself the right time in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.

The former Iowa cornerback, seen by most observers as a first-round NFL Draft choice, appeared to turn in a 4.49-second sprint, a time that emphatically answered the only remaining question about his skills.

That time drew raves from NFL analysts on Twitter. The consensus was that Jackson needed to run 4.5 or less in order to solidify his status as a potential top-15 choice.

Alas, it was an unofficial time.

Jackson’s run was later downgraded to 4.56 seconds.

So, how significant is that seven-hundredths of a second?

“That (time) meshes with his workouts. Tight in his pedal, breaks,” one NFL analyst told the Register. “That doesn’t translate to top 15-20, in my opinion. The traits aren’t there in terms of testing.”

The slower time won’t necessarily knock Jackson out of the first round of next month’s draft, but it almost certainly will put him into the second half of that round. It might allow a prospect such as Jaire Alexander of Louisville to move ahead of Jackson on teams' draft boards. Alexander, at 5-foot-11 and 192 pounds, ran a 4.38 40 on Monday.

More observations about Jackson’s day:

It's a 'stopwatch position'

Jackson has considerable size for his position at 6 feet, 3/8 inches and 196 pounds. He had an astounding eight interceptions and 18 passes broken up as a junior at Iowa, his only year as a starter.

But his 40 time was drawing such intense interest for a reason.

“He’s got to run fast. And that’s the concern there,” NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock had said. “If he goes out and runs a 4.5, plus or minus, I think that’s a good time for him. … If he runs a 4.58, it’s a different conversation.”

Jackson went from one end of that conversation to the other in a hurry. His second 40-yard dash produced a 4.60, which seemed to confirm that he lacks the elite speed teams wanted to see.

“Cornerback and wide receiver are the ultimate stopwatch positions. You’ve got to run in the 4.4s,” ESPN NFL analyst Matt Bowen had said of Jackson.

“The cornerback class is wide open,” Pro Football Focus’s Josh Liskiewitz said. “That’s typically one of the positions where those exercises (like the 40) are viewed as more impactful.”

Jackson can try again at Iowa’s Pro Day on March 26. But he experienced a volatile swing of fortunes Monday.

The Marcus Peters comparison

Mayock has twice drawn parallels between Jackson and current Los Angeles Rams cornerback Marcus Peters. Peters stood 6-foot, 197 pounds when he came out of Washington three years ago and ran a 4.53 40 at the Combine. He was a late first-round draft pick and had 19 interceptions in his first three NFL seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.

“The ball finds them, and they both have the ability to finish because of their elite ball skills,” Mayock said during the NFL Network’s Combine coverage Monday. “Now, I think Marcus Peters is a little twitchier than Josh Jackson, but I loved watching Josh Jackson play.

Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, working alongside Mayock, seemed to concur.

“That’s a heck of a comparison,” he said.

Other current NFL cornerbacks that Jackson has been compared to include Jalen Ramsey (6-1, 209, ran a 4.41 40), Aqib Talib (6-2, 202, 4.44) and Richard Sherman (6-3, 195, 4.56).

So Jackson was appreciably slower than two of those, but identical to Seahawks star Sherman, who is three inches taller. Of course, Sherman was also a fifth-round draft pick.

What Jackson can sell

Jackson will still be a high draft pick because of his production and physicality.

“He’s not going to have that elite transition speed. But at the point of attack, he’s going to give you something different, because he’s got that length to go find the football,” Bowen said.

“NFL GMs want turnovers. Turnovers win games in this league. Teams that create turnovers go to the playoffs. You want guys that can get their hands on the ball, and not just get their hands on the ball, not passes broken up. You want guys that can finish and get you a pick. He’s got tremendous catch radius. He can catch the ball outside of his frame. He’s got great eyes. He’s got great body control at the point of attack. “

Jackson has also shown that he can play a pressing style of defense even in a Cover 2 scheme. He also can play man-to-man and even work in the slot. He projects as an immediate starter in the NFL.

He just might not be as high of a draft pick as some had him projected to be.

All because of seven-hundredths of a second.