Saints sign vet TE Jesse James and FB Jake Bargas (1 Viewer)

[Taurus]

Jesse's parents have a good sense of humor. Jesse has a brother named Rick James.

My grandparents went full-send. Dad's name is Frank and my uncle's name is Jesse.

 

[Cougar 2]

Yep, I recall Jeff Nowak pointing this out. With DD out during OTAs, he said Jackson has been in with the 1s at LB during OTAs. He noted dat with the departure of Kaden Ellis, the team never went out to sign someone to replace him. So do they feel they have his potential replacement in D’Marco?

Maybe, but for now, Nowak thinks so.

He went on to predict that Jackson will play extensively during preseason, because the Saints wanna get a good loong look to see what the young man can do.

Quick recaps:

In 2021, Dmarco, a fifth year Senior n team captain, ranked fourth in the FBS with 19 tackles for loss and led his App St D with 119 total tackles, while also posting six sacks, one interception and five pass breakups in 14 starts, to earn the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year Award and first-team all-league recognition.

His highlights:



At the Combine, he came in at 6’1, 233 lbs, ran a 4.55 forty n had a 33in vert n 125in broad jump.

The Saints selected him in the 5th round, but he was placed on IR on Aug 10.


Summary: Not the biggest r fastest, but has really nice speed/athleticism to shoot gaps n get downhill r go sideline to sideline against the run, n can rush the QB r drop in coverage against the pass. Solid tackler, n has a high football IQ. IMO, he knows “how” to play. But I also think he’s now gotten a lil more “developed”, which should allow him to b more comfortable in the D, which will allow him to b even more aggressive n play faster.

I wish him all the best!

We’ll see!

Update:

Here’s a Nick Underhill tweet from ova da weekend:

“Rewatching D'Marco Jackson's 2021 Appalachian State season. I think we might have underrated his blitzing ability coming out of the draft. Some intriguing stuff.”

When asked where he got “this stuff “, Nick replied, “ Got hookups!”

From ME of course!!!



Seriously tho, IMO, LB was one of the thinnest position groups on the team LAST YEAR! With the loss of Kaden, it’s even thinner now! So even IF Jackson can step up n play well, I’d still feel a lil better if we added another vet LB for depth. I think we probably will, but for now, the team seems comfortable n maybe even confident with the current LB they have in house!

We’ll see