Everyone was curious to see what defensive end Nick Bosa would do in his first action following his holdout. With the focus on the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, everyone seemed to forget about Drake Jackson.
The second-year defensive end recorded three sacks against quarterback Kenny Pickett in the 30-7 rout of the Pittsburgh Steelers. To put that into perspective, Jackson had three total sacks during his rookie campaign.
If this is going to be a breakout year for the young pass rusher, it will be because of some offseason changes.
"I changed my body up during [the] offseason, trying to get bigger, lift more weights, and just get my weight up, and just focus on my body in general," Jackson told Lindsey Pallares of 49ers.com after the game.
With Bosa back and the addition of defensive tackle Javon Hargrave next to Arik Armstead, the 49ers defensive line hopes to replicate the pass-rushing success it enjoyed in 2019. Pallares asked Jackson what was going through his head as he chased down Pickett after Armstead came close to bringing him down.
"We was hunting," Jackson responded. "I didn't really have anything going through my mind, if we're being honest. But we're always hunting, so I got a hunter's mentality. If I see somebody running, I got to go get him. So I seen him breaking out, and I want to just get him down before he could throw a pass or scramble because he is a good scrambler."
It was good for Jackson's head coach to see all of the defensive lineman's hard work pay off.
"I'm really happy for him," Kyle Shanahan said. "I got to see both of his sacks. Drake put in a ton of work this offseason, put a ton of work going into training camp, had a setback when he got injured, so he got to miss a lot of training camp. But he's worked his butt off to get back.
"And when I get on the plane, I'll see how he played overall, but he's got that type of ability, and it seemed like he had a huge effect on the game."
Jackson's teammates also spoke highly of the defensive lineman's offseason efforts.
"I believe in hard work and reaping what you sow," linebacker Fred Warner said. "And I think that he's worked his tail off all offseason, and for him to come out and have a game like that is such a big confidence boost to himself. And we're going to need it all season. We need everybody to play a big role on this defense, and I was so happy for him today."
Said Armstead: "Super exciting. Really happy for him. Drake is a great player. Year two is where typically people have a big jump in their career, and he put in a lot of work this offseason, and it's definitely paying off."
Arik Armstead from the locker room in Pittsburgh on the 49ers early defensive line dominance, jumping out to a 20-0 lead and Drake Jackson's leap from year one to year two. pic.twitter.com/sVb25VYI5z
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) September 10, 2023
