Malik Jackson (defensive lineman)

Malik Barron Jackson (born January 11, 1990) is an American football defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tennessee. Jackson was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft and has also played with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Early years
Jackson attended Birmingham High School, where he played high school football. In 2007, Jackson was named to Super Prep All-Farwest, Prep Star All-West, and Cal-Hi Sports All-State first team. Jackson was named Los Angeles Daily News All-Area Co-Defensive MVP in high school.

College career
Jackson attended the University of Southern California in 2008 and 2009. He transferred to the University of Tennessee in 2010 to play under head coach Derek Dooley. On November 6, 2010, against the Memphis Tigers, he had his first career collegiate interception, which he returned 44 yards, to go along with two sacks. In the 2010 season, he had 48 total tackles, 11 tackles-for-loss, five sacks, five passes defensed, one forced fumble, and one interception. Jackson was named to the AP All-SEC Second Team in recognition of his performance in the 2010 season. In the 2011 season, he recorded 56 total tackles, 11 tackles-for-loss, 2.5 sacks, two passes defensed, and one forced fumble.

Professional career
On January 23, 2012, it was announced that Jackson would play in the 2012 Senior Bowl as a late addition. On January 28, 2012, Jackson played for Washington Redskins' head coach Mike Shanahan's South team that lost 23–13. Jackson attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana as a defensive tackle and performed all of the combine drills. His overall performance was well received and he impressed scouts with a 4.91 in the 40-yard dash. On March 26, 2012, he attended Tennessee's pro day, along with Austin Johnson, Tauren Poole, and seven other teammates. Jackson opted to only perform positional drills for the 21 scouts and team representatives that attended. To prepare for the NFL, he put on 20 lbs since the end of the season and weighed in at 290 lbs at Tennessee's pro day. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Jackson was projected to be a sixth or seventh round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the 18th best defensive end prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.

Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos selected Jackson in the fifth round (137th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft. He was the 27th defensive linemen selected in 2012 and the second defensive linemen drafted by the Denver Broncos after Derek Wolfe (second round, 36th overall).

2012
On May 18, 2012, the Denver Broncos signed Jackson to a four-year, $2.31 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $213,612.

Throughout his first training camp, Jackson competed against Robert Ayers, Derek Wolfe, Jeremy Beal, Ben Garland, Jamie Blatnick, and Jason Hunter for starting defensive end role. Head coach John Fox named him the backup right defensive end behind fellow rookie Derek Wolfe.

On September 17, 2012, Jackson made his professional regular season debut during a 27–21 loss at the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2. The following week, he made his first career tackle on Houston Texans' running back Arian Foster and stopped him for no gain during the third quarter of the Titans' 31–25 loss. He finished his rookie season with five combined tackles (three solo) in 14 games and zero starts. He was inactive, as a healthy scratch, and missed the season-opener and a matchup against the San Diego Chargers in Week 6. The Denver Broncos finished atop the AFC West in 2012 with a 13-3 record and received a playoff berth and a first round bye. On January 12, 2013, Jackson played in his first career playoff game as the Broncos lost to the Baltimore Ravens 38-35 in overtime during the AFC Divisional round.

2013
Jackson entered training camp in 2013 competing for the starting left defensive end position left vacant after Elvis Dumervil departed for the Baltimore Ravens in free agency. Head coach John Fox named Jackson the backup defensive end behind starters Derek Wolfe and Robert Ayers to start the regular season.

On September 23, 2013, Jackson recorded one tackle assist and was credited with half a sack on Oakland Raiders' quarterback Terrelle Pryor during their 37–21 victory. During a Week 5 matchup at the Dallas Cowboys, he two combined and earned his first career solo sack on quarterback Tony Romo as the Broncos won 51–48. On October 13, 2013, Jackson recorded a season-high seven combined tackles and made a season-high two sacks on Jacksonville Jaguars' quarterback Chad Henne during their 35–19 victory. On December 1, 2013, Jackson earned his first career start and made two combined tackles and forced a fumble in the Broncos' 35–28 victory at the Kansas City Chiefs. He remained the starting defensive end for the remainder of the season after Derek Wolfe was unable to return after dealing with seizure like symptoms throughout the season. He finished the season with 42 combined tackles (30 solo), six sacks, four pass deflections, and a forced fumble in 16 games and five starts.

The Denver Broncos completed the 2013 season first in the AFC West with a 13-3 record. On January 12, 2014, Jackson made his first career postseason start and collected three solo tackles and a sack on San Diego Chargers' quarterback Philip Rivers in Denver's 24-17 victory in the AFC Divisional round. After defeating the New England Patriots, the Denver Broncos played the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII. Jackson started the game at defensive end and made five combined tackles and a pass deflection as the Broncos were routed by Seattle 43–8.

2014
Jackson entered the 2014 season the backup right defensive end behind Derek Wolfe after the Denver Broncos signed free agent Demarcus Ware who was named the starting left defensive end. On December 7, 2014, Jackson recorded a season-high six solo tackles and sacked Kyle Orton during a 24–17 victory over the Buffalo Bills. He completed the 2014 season with 42 combined tackles (33 solo), three sacks, four pass deflections, and a forced fumble in 16 games and three starts. After finishing 12-4 and first atop the AFC West, the Denver Broncos went on to the AFC Divisional Playoffs. Jackson started the game and recorded four combined tackles as the Broncos were defeated by the Indianapolis Colts 24–13. John Fox and General Manager John Elway mutually agreed the organization and Fox should part ways following the game.

2015
Throughout his first training camp under new head coach Gary Kubiak, Jackson competed against Antonio Smith and Vance Walker for the starting left defensive end role. Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips employed a 3-4 defensive scheme that moved Demarcus Ware to outside linebacker, vacating his defensive end position. He was named the starting defensive end to start the season, alongside Vance Walker, who was replacing Derek Wolfe, while he served a four-game suspension.

On October 11, 2015, Jackson recorded six combined tackles and sacked Oakland Raiders' quarterback Derek Carr during a 16-10 victory. On November 1, 2015, he collected two combined tackles, deflected a pass, and recorded the first safety of his career in a 29-10 victory over the Green Bay Packers. He made the safety after tackling tight end Richard Rodgers in the end zone during the fourth quarter. He finished the season with a career-high 45 combined tackles (34 solo), seven pass deflections, five sacks, and a safety in 16 game and 16 starts.

The Denver Broncos went on to finish the 2015 season atop the AFC West with a 12-4 record. After defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots, the Broncos went on to play in Super Bowl 50. In the first quarter, Jackson recovered a fumble by Cam Newton that was forced by linebacker Von Miller. The touchdown gave the Broncos an early 10–0 lead and Jackson went on to record five combined tackles in the Broncos' 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers.

Jacksonville Jaguars
On March 9, 2016, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Jackson to a six-year, $85.5 million contract with $31.5 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $10 million.

2016
Under head coach Gus Bradley, Jackson returned to a 4-3 defensive scheme and was named the starting defensive end to start the season. Jackson chose to wear No. 90 after he was unable to receive No. 97 since it was already issued to Roy Miller.

On September 25, 2016, Jackson collected two combined tackles and recorded his first sack as a part of the Jaguars on Baltimore Ravens' quarterback Joe Flacco in their 19-17 loss. The following week, he collected a season-high five combined tackles and deflected a pass during a 30-27 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. During a Week 12 matchup at the Buffalo Bills, Jackson made five combined tackles and sacked Tyrod Taylor twice in the Jaguars' 28-21 loss. On January 1, 2017, he recorded two solo tackles and made two sacks on Colts' quarterback Andrew Luck as the Jaguars lost 24-20. In his only season under head coach Gus Bradley and defensive coordinator Todd Wash, Jackson recorded 33 combined tackles (28 solo), 6.5 sacks, and four pass deflections in 16 games and 16 starts.

2017
Offensive line coach Doug Marrone was hired as the new head coach and opted to maintain defensive coordinator Todd Wash and their 4-3 defense. Marrone chose to switch Jackson from defensive end to defensive tackle to start the 2017 season. He joined a stout defensive line that consisted of Yannick Ngakoue, Dante Fowler Jr., Marcell Dareus, and was headed by Calais Campbell. They adopted the name "Sacksonville" and became one of the top defensive lines in the league.

He started in the Jacksonville Jaguars' season-opener at the Houston Texans and made three solo tackles, deflected a pass, and a sack during their 29-7 victory. On December 19, 2017, Jackson was named to his first Pro Bowl. Overall, in the 2017 season, he recorded three passes defensed, four forced fumbles, eight sacks, and 40 total tackles as the Jaguars finished with a 10–6 record and won the AFC South division. In the Wild Card Round against the Buffalo Bills, Jackson started the game and recorded one sack and a tackle in the 10–3 victory. Pro Football Focus gave Jackson an overall grade of 86.4, which ranked 17th among all qualifying interior defensive linemen.

2018
When asked about his prediction for the Jaguars in 2018, Jackson stated that "I'm callin' it, 16-0. I don't think anybody can beat us as long as we stay healthy and do what we're supposed to do." In week 4 against the New York Jets, Jackson made his first sack of the season when he sacked rookie quarterback Sam Darnold in the 31-12 win. Prior to the week 11 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jackson was benched as a result of his poor quality of play. Without Jackson starting, the Jaguars lost to the Steelers by a score of 20-16. In week 16 against the Miami Dolphins, Jackson made his first sack in almost three months when he sacked Ryan Tannehill in the 17-7 win. Jackson made a season high 1.5 sacks against the Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans in the 20-3 loss the following week. Ultimately, Jackson's lofty predictions for the 2018 Jaguars to have a 16-0 record fell short when they lost to the Tennessee Titans in week 3 by a score of 9-6. The Jaguars eventually finished the season with a 5-11 record and very far from Jackson's goal.

On March 8, 2019, Jackson was released by the Jaguars due to salary cap issues.

Philadelphia Eagles
On March 13, 2019, Jackson signed a three-year $30 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Personal life
His twin brother, Marquis, was a defensive end at Texas Southern University and currently plays for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League.