Guard Donovan Jackson had quite the debut for the Vikings in Week 1 on the road against the division rival Chicago Bears. His performance was more than that of just a simple offensive lineman, though. He was playing a complete game, and it was evident from the moment the first snap on offense went that he was going to have a different day.
To get some added context, we can turn to Pro Football Focus for that.
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PFF’s Dalton Wasserman took a deep dive into the work of all 32 first-round draft picks who made their debut this past weekend. PFF offers us some deeper insight into the performance, and Wasserman was able to lay out what the work of Jackson looked like.
Wasserman writes, “Jackson kicked off his NFL career in style with an 88.1 PFF pass-blocking grade against the Bears — tied for the best mark among guards in Week 1. He let up no pressure on 31 pass-blocking snaps, most of which came against Grady Jarrett, and held his own across 25 run-blocking reps. It was a sensational debut for the left guard.”
His work wasn’t against anyone easily, either, as PFF pointed out. Most of his matchups in the trenches came against season-veteran Grady Jarrett, who has stuck around the league for quite a while and is a proven difference maker.
Week 2, he will be introduced to more tough tests in the form of the Falcons’ feisty defensive front. We will circle back this time next week to see what PFF thought of it all once again.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: What did PFF think of Donovan Jackson’s performance against the Bears?