Malik Jackson

Malik Barron Jackson (born January 11, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers.

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.

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.

Jackson was selected by the Denver Broncos in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

He has also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia Eagles, and Cleveland Browns.

Jackson attended Birmingham High School, where he played high school football.

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.

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 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 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 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 NFL playoff game as the Broncos lost to the Baltimore Ravens 38–35 in overtime during the AFC Divisional Round.

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.

He was ranked the 18th best defensive end prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.