Pre-draft 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 2012 season 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). On May 18, 2012, the 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 NFL debut during a 27–21 loss at the
Atlanta Falcons. In the next game against the
Houston Texans, he made his first career tackle on running back
Arian Foster and stopped him for no gain during the third quarter of a 31–25 loss. Jackson finished his rookie year with five combined tackles (three solo) in 14 games and no starts. The Broncos finished atop the
AFC West in with a 13–3 record and received a playoff berth and a first round bye. On January 12, 2013, Jackson played in his first NFL playoff game as the Broncos lost to the
Baltimore Ravens 38–35 in
overtime during the AFC
Divisional Round.
2013 season Jackson entered training camp in 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. In the next game against the
Jacksonville Jaguars, Jackson recorded a season-high seven combined tackles and made a season-high two sacks on quarterback
Chad Henne during a 35–19 victory. On December 1, 2013, Jackson earned his first NFL start and made two combined tackles and forced a fumble in a 35–28 road victory against 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. Jackson finished his second professional season with 42 combined tackles (30 solo), six sacks, four pass deflections, and a forced fumble in 16 games and five starts. The Broncos finished the season atop 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 in the
AFC Championship, 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 season Jackson entered the 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. Jackson finished his third season with 42 combined tackles (33 solo), three sacks, four pass deflections, and a forced fumble in 16 games and three starts. After finishing the season 12–4 and atop the AFC West, the Broncos went on to the AFC
Divisional Round. Jackson started the game and recorded four combined tackles as the Broncos were defeated by the
Indianapolis Colts 24–13.
2015 season 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. During Week 5 against the
Oakland Raiders, Jackson recorded six combined tackles and sacked quarterback
Derek Carr during a 16–10 road victory. Three weeks later, 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 games and starts. The Broncos finished the 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 of the Super Bowl, Jackson scored his only career touchdown after recovering a fumble in the end zone by
Cam Newton that was forced by linebacker
Von Miller, who would go on to win
Super Bowl MVP. 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 season 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. During Week 3 against the
Baltimore Ravens, Jackson collected two combined tackles and recorded his first sack as a Jaguar on quarterback
Joe Flacco in a 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 a 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. Jackson finished his first season with the Jaguars with 33 combined tackles (28 solo), 6.5 sacks, and four pass deflections in 16 games and starts.
2017 season 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,
Marcell Dareus, and was headed by
Calais Campbell. They adopted the name "
Sacksonville" and became one of the top defensive lines in the league. Jackson started in the season-opener at the
Houston Texans and made three solo tackles, deflected a pass, and a sack during a 29–7 road victory. On December 19, 2017, Jackson was named to his first Pro Bowl. Jackson finished the 2017 season with three passes defensed, four forced fumbles, eight sacks, and 40 total tackles as the Jaguars finished with a 10–6 record and finished atop the
AFC South. In the
Wild Card Round against the
Buffalo Bills, Jackson started the game and recorded a sack and 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 season During 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, he 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. During Week 16 against the
Miami Dolphins, Jackson made his first sack in almost three months when he sacked
Ryan Tannehill in the 17–7 road victory. In the regular-season finale against the
Houston Texans the following week, he made a season-high 1.5 sacks in the 20–3 road loss. He finished the 2018 season with 3.5 sacks, 32 total tackles, 12 quarterback hits, and one pass defensed. 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. During the season-opener against the
Washington Redskins, Jackson suffered a foot injury. He was placed on
injured reserve on September 10, 2019. In the 2020 season, Jackson appeared in 15 games and started six. He had 2.5 sacks, 28 total tackles, 13 quarterback hits, and two passes defensed. On March 17, 2021, the Eagles released Jackson.
Cleveland Browns Jackson signed with the
Cleveland Browns on March 23, 2021. He appeared in and started 16 games for the Browns in the 2021 season.
Retirement Jackson announced his retirement in July 2023. ==NFL career statistics==