NFL draft: Rams take Washington State OLB Brennan Jackson in 5th round

HERMOSA BEACH — Brennan Jackson kept his circle tight as he waited to learn his fate on the third down of the NFL draft. He sat in a home in his hometown of Temecula with his parents, grandparents, fiancé, her family and select friends.

When the Washington State edge rusher’s phone rang, he clutched the watch bequeathed to him by his late grandfather as he answered. On the other end was his hometown team, the Rams, calling to bring him home to Southern California with the 154th overall pick in the fifth round.

“It’s amazing, it’s an amazing feeling just knowing that my family is right here,” Jackson told reporters over Zoom. “I grew up in Southern California, I went to school literally an hour-and-a-half away from the stadium, just to know that I’m back here, I’m back home and now I get to play in front of people that have been watching me play for years and years is just an incredible feeling.”

Jackson, a Great Oak High graduate, spent his entire collegiate career with Washington State. As a redshirt senior, he earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors after leading the Cougars with 12.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks, to go with three pass breakups and four fumble recoveries.

He developed a reputation as a high-motor, relentless-energy player in the Pac-12, a reputation that he reinforced when he wiped sweat away with a towel after running around his house to fix some technical difficulties prior to his call with media.

“The one thing you can control on the field is your energy and effort. So playing this game of football [I’m] never going to let that be a factor that goes against me,” Jackson said. “I always want to be in the play, I always want to be around the football because good things happen when you’re around the football.”

Jackson said he met with the Rams throughout the draft process, including at the combine and Senior Bowl. He had a phone call last week with outside linebackers coach Joe Coniglio that gave him some confidence that he might end up back in Southern California.

He is the third addition to the Rams’ defensive front this draft, joining first-round pick Jared Verse and second-round pick Braden Fiske as the Rams look to remake their pass rush following Aaron Donald’s retirement.

Jackson figures to fit into a rotation at outside linebacker for the Rams, joining Verse, all-rookie team OLB Byron Young and veteran Michael Hoecht.

“I think we’re just all coming every single day ready to go and compete. I think competition breeds a lot of success and breeds a lot of growth in a room,” Jackson said. “So to be with a lot of guys who are young, ready to go, aspiring to be great, you can just feel the competition is going to rise in the room the minute everyone gets there.”