ATHENS — NFL scouts, coaches and general managers were nearly silent Wednesday as they observed the 40-yard dash participants at Georgia’s Pro Day.
Then “Dirty Dan” Jackson ran.
A low murmur broke out among the wall of NFL scouts, some of which couldn’t contain impressed expressions. Tens of stopwatches had slightly different numbers, but all reflected times around 4.4 seconds.
Some even clocked Jackson at under 4.4, which would make him one of the faster safeties in the entire draft class, if accurate.
Much like he did in his first few seasons at Georgia, Jackson took the lesser opportunity offered to him and made others look foolish for not giving him more.
The former walk-on did not receive an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine — shocking many teammates and fans — but showed Wednesday that his athletic ability compares with some of the country’s top-rated safeties.
Assuming Jackson’s 40-yard dash was in the mid 4.40’s, he would have tested well within the top 10 of safeties at the combine. His 10-foot-3 broad jump also would have been in the top 10, and while his 34-inch vertical leap was less competitive, it still beat five NFL combine safeties, including Malaki Starks.
Starks was one of many Georgia teammates to speak to Jackson’s overlooked value after not receiving a combine invitation.
“When I got here as a freshman, me and Dan were competing for the same spot, and he helped me,” Starks said. “There was no bad blood, no nothing, like I called Dan at 11:00 at night, and he answered the phone, and we’d just talk about plays.”
It was Warren Brinson who arguably made the best defense for Jackson from the combine’s platform. Brinson doubled down on his support of Jackson after his Pro Day performance Wednesday.
“Being a walk-on, people just look down on him just because of how he looks,” Brinson said. “He’s a leader, and we wouldn’t have made the playoffs last year without Dan Jackson.”
Jackson fielded several questions about the combine and immediately pivoted to focus on the support he got from other Georgia players.
“Hearing my teammates have my back, that just means the world to me,” Jackson said. “Sticking around this year and being voted as a captain, that was the biggest honor I could achieve, and then having all the guys have my back, it just shows the brotherhood that we’ve got.”
That walk-on tag is a key part of Jackson’s journey to NFL relevance. In the same way that a player’s “five-star” status can help earn more opportunities, a walk-on’s origin can hold them back despite on-field production.
Jackson said the walk-on label fuels him and continued doubt from things like the NFL Combine only stoke him more.
“I told some people that I’m used to it,” Jackson said. “I’ve definitely always had a chip on my shoulder. I’m going to have that for the rest of the time because I’m chasing after people right now, and hopefully soon, guys will be chasing after me, is how I look at it.”
Jackson appears to have earned the attention of several key NFL decision-makers, including a couple of head coaches. Falcons coach Raheem Morris and Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel both spoke with Jackson on the field.
“I just want them to realize how much that I love the game,” Jackson said. “Sometimes you can tell by watching on film, but I feel like once they get to know me, I think they’ll realize that I don’t just like football. I love it.”
Jackson maintained his walk-on status throughout his six years at Georgia but started seeing scholarship-level playing time in 2021. Jackson played in all 15 games and started four times in the Bulldogs’ first national championship run under Kirby Smart.
A Gainesville native, Jackson displayed two more seasons of consistent play with sporadic starts before taking over in Georgia’s secondary in 2024. Jackson started 13 games last season and tallied 64 total tackles with two interceptions.
Jackson also proved himself a fearless tackler, headlined by the fumble he forced out of Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King’s hands to helped Georgia complete an improbable eight-overtime comeback.
Jackson did get an invite to the Senior Bowl, where he was voted the top safety of the week by his teammates.
Jackson’s story appears ready to extend far beyond Athens, but the walk-on work ethic will continue to push him, regardless of whether a team drafts him. What will drive Jackson even more, he said, is that same love for football he wants the NFL to recognize.
“I think that keeps me grounded,” Jackson said. “Looking back, I might have stopped playing if I like football, but since I feel like I love it, it’s all I wanted to do.”
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