An underrated standout of the Raiders OTA’s & minicamp thus far has been former Auburn standout, and Bo Jackson’s nephew, Shedrick Jackson. Jackson, who will turn 27 in October, is a former UDFA out of Auburn in 2023. Jackson would sign with the Bengals where he spent two seasons bouncing back and forth between the practice squad and roster. The Raider signed Jackson prior to the end of the 2024 season, and he’d debut with the team in 2025 where the former UDFA hauled in 4 receptions, 56 yards, and a touchdown
along with 2 first downs across five games.
Jackson, who stands at 6’1, 193-pounds, has electric speed and can factor into the Raiders offense under Klint Kubiak in a specific role. During his pro day, Jackson logged an official 4.31 40, with reports of multiple scouts logging him at the 4.22-4.25 range. Additionally, his 1.48 10-split is among the fastest in the NFL in recent seasons. I pointed out a while back, that I liked the role of Shedrick Jackson for the Raiders, largely in a role similar to that of Seahawks standout Rashid Shaheed. While not a true return specialist like Shaheed, both ran similar route concepts in college, and Jackson has the ability to be a 15-30% snap share receiver who can run true go, post, fly, and various downfield concepts where defenses will need to respect his speed, but he can also have the ability to get open with decent route running on top of the speed.
Raiders reporter Levi Edwards noted that after the Raiders first day of OTA’s that Jackson was someone to watch. Jackson reportedly hauled in 5 receptions including a 45+ yard touchdown on 7-on-7s. While hard to truly evaluate during 7-on-7 periods, Jackson was able to get open and win downfield. Additionally, Jackson has stood out in previous practices getting open downfield, becoming open on the sideline, and improving his ability to work the intermediate areas instead of being a true downfield threat. Edwards wasn’t the only one to note Jackson, as Vinny Bonsignore also noted that Jackson stood out during camp. During minicamp, Jackson reportedly hauled in multiple 40+ receptions, and also flashed when working with Kirk Cousins & Fernando Mendoza.
While he’s shown the ability to possibly play for the Raiders in 2026 on a consistent basis, it’s not only an uphill battle, but a hard journey to see. The Raiders will carry Tre Tucker, Jalen Nailor, and Jack Bech on the roster without any doubt. Their final three spots, unless they choose just five, are going to be a battle to watch heavily. Jackson is a true deep threat, and that does give him the edge over Dareke Young, Chase Roberts, and possibly Dont’e Thornton, however the Raiders drafted Malik Benson in the 6th round who thrives on the downfield passing game. Jackson will need to improve his intermediate threat, or win heavily on special teams as a gunner and/or returner. Dareke Young is likely on the roster, leaving a 5th and 6th spot between Thornton, Jackson, Roberts, and Benson. Thornton, a 4th rounder in 2025, has traits but a strong uphill battle. As mentioned, Jackson & Benson are similar, and Roberts is likely on the practice squad to refine his hands, route running before a true roster threat.
