USC Football: Austin Jackson will face pressure of protecting Tua Tagovailoa

USC football rookie Austin Jackson will face a career-long setting of pressure to block for his quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for the Miami Dolphins.

The Miami Dolphins came into the offseason needing a complete rework of their team. After acquiring multiple defensive veterans in free agency, the Dolphins needed to draft some young elite talent with a portion of their top first-round picks.

After drafting their franchise quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa, they needed to take their care of their biggest need of a pass protector. The Dolphins were able to secure a key offensive tackle with the 18th overall pick in Austin Jackson. This season will be the start of a career-long helping of pressure for Jackson.

The Dolphins have selected two quarterbacks in the first round since they selected Dan Marino in the 1983 NFL Draft. Miami selected Ryan Tannehill with the eighth overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

They were hoping to find their franchise quarterback since Marino retired before the 2000 season. In the final two years of his career with Miami, Tannehill suffered a torn ACL that forced him to miss all of 2017 and then struggled significantly in 2018. This was due to a lack of efficient blocking from the offensive line.

Before Miami drafted Jackson in the first round, they drafted only two offensive tackles in the opening round since 2008.

In fact, they selected Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long with the first overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in the first four of five seasons with the Dolphins. Miami failed to get Long back in 2013 when he took a free agent deal with the Rams instead of an extension.

After a season of inefficient blocking in 2013, the Dolphins needed to find another high-caliber blocker. They thought they found that blocker in Ja’Wuan James with the 19th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. James was a more efficient run-blocker but was average when it came to pass-protection. His last season for the Dolphins was after the 2018 season.

The Dolphins feel that they have a reliable franchise quarterback in Tagovailoa. He has already suffered two significant lower-body injuries in his colligate career at Alabama. The Dolphins had one of the worst offensive line units in the league. Last season, the Dolphins gave up 58 sacks, which was tied for most in the league.

This was an area that the Dolphins needed to address the most in the offseason.

Jackson is an athletic tackle with a huge frame at 6-foot-5 and 322 pounds. While he was not fully consistent against some of the top pass rushers in college football, he did perform well in keeping the pocket clean. He is highly-athletic for a tackle his size as well as lock a defender down once he gets solid hand placement. He is also able to get into the second level efficiently as well as move throughout the field for multiple different blocking schemes.

His technique could use some serious work and adjustments, to say the least. He has problems leaning in when trying to make contact while in pass protection. There are some problems with hand placement when aiming for a defender’s chest level, appears to be jumpy with footwork, and overextends on blocks.

Jackson possesses raw attributes that can be coached into complete efficiency. His technique issues can be adjusted to make him more reliable in pass protection. Considering he will not be coached in person by NFL personnel for an unknown amount of time, this 2020 season will be tough against pro-caliber defensive edge rushers.

The Dolphins will likely not play Tagovailoa until much later in the season to help him heal his hip injury and to get him used the NFL play systems. Jackson will likely start this season to get him as much experience and training as he can.

The Dolphins, despite filling multiple needs, are not expected to compete heavily for the AFC East title. Miami is expected to start 37-year-old Ryan Fitzpatrick for the majority of the 2020 season with former first-round quarterback Josh Rosen as a backup.

Jackson will face a high amount of pressure throughout his career as he and the rest of the offensive line will need to keep the pocket clean for Tagovailoa.

The Dolphins will look to take every careful measure to ensure that the health of their high-velocity franchise quarterback is 100 percent. After the Dolphins gave up 58 sacks last season, they knew they needed to acquire the best potential long-term pass protector. They see that in Jackson, whom they know they will need to develop in his first season potentially without Tagovailoa as the starting quarterback.

The pressure will be on Jackson, not just this season, but throughout his entire career with the Dolphins. If Jackson can keep Tagovailoa pressure-free, the Dolphins can generate one of the most electrifying offenses in the NFL.