Mandatory minicamps in the NFL are right around the corner, and while stars like Aaron Rodgers get all the press for not attending OTA’s, the Orange have been well represented in the optional lead-ups to the season. A lot of hard work is going unnoticed, and someone is going to shock a lot of people.
It was a shock for a lot of Syracuse fans when Trishton Jackson took his talents to the NFL Draft after just one season on the Hill. The Michigan State transfer shined with 1,023 yards and 11 touchdowns in 12 games, but the consensus was that he still hadn’t shown enough for long enough to hear his name called by the commissioner. The consensus was right. Jackson was scooped up by the Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2020, only to sit on the bench the entire season.
But this is Jackson’s year. Now with one full season to learn the system and the coaches under his belt, Jackson can let his talent take over. At 6-foot-1, 191 lbs, he can use his physicality to get open on NFL corners the same way he did in the ACC.
Right now, Jackson is listed as a third-string wideout. The Rams have an elite receiving core in Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and DeSean Jackson, but if one of them gets hurt, the Syracuse product will see some serious snaps. He plays a very similar style with a similar frame to Woods, so he could step into the playbook seamlessly.
Then there’s the quarterback factor. The Rams’ blockbuster deal for Matthew Stafford from the Lions makes the LA offense elite. That means Jackson will have everything he ever wanted in a signal caller, the reason he went to Syracuse in the first place, a big-armed QB who will feed him downfield (Tommy DeVito never gave that to him at SU).
When Syracuse fans think of Jackson, they remember a receiver who should have stayed. But that will change this year on Sundays when this now elite offense gives him a chance to show what he can do with a QB he can trust next to receivers that will draw a lot of the attention in the secondary.
