Darius Jackson
Introduction
Darius Jackson (born December 1, 1993) is an American football running back for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Michigan University. Jackson was selected 216th overall by the Dallas Cowboys in the 6th round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Early years
Jackson attended Sparta High School in Sparta, Illinois. He was a two-way player as a senior, registering almost 1,100 rushing yards, while playing quarterback, running back and safety. He received All-conference honors on both sides of the ball and was an Academic All-state selection. He also practiced baseball.
College career
He accepted a scholarship from Eastern Michigan University. As a sophomore he appeared in 7 games (one start) and had 201 rushing yards. The next year he played in all 12 games (4 starts), posting 295 rushing yards. As a senior he became a full-time starter and had a break out year, rushing for 1,078 yards on 208 carries (5.2 avg.), 14 rushing touchdowns, 21 receptions for 201 yards, 2 receiving touchdowns and 16 total touchdowns (school record).
Professional career
| Ht | Wt | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0 in | 220 lb | 4.40 s | 1.56 s | 2.51 s | 4.29 s | 6.87 s | 41 in | 11 ft 1 in | 20 reps | ||||||||||
| All values from 2016 EMU Pro Day. | |||||||||||||||||||
Dallas Cowboys
Jackson was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round (216th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft, in part because of the athletic traits he displayed during his pro day. He made the Cowboys 53-man roster, in order to protect his rights from being claimed by another team and was declared inactive in 14 games. On December 13, he was waived to make room for running back Darren McFadden, who was being activated from the Non Football Injury List.
Cleveland Browns
On December 14, 2016, Jackson was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns. He was declared inactive for the remaining 2 games.