Theo Jackson (American football)
American football player (born 1998)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thedarrius Jackson (born October 2, 1998)[1] is an American professional football safety for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers.
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Jackson in 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 26 – Minnesota Vikings | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Safety | ||||||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | October 2, 1998 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Overton (Nashville) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Tennessee (2017–2021) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2022: 6th round, 204th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Early life
Jackson was born on October 2, 1998. He was raised in Brentwood, Tennessee.[2] He played on youth teams coached by his father Nate Foster who formerly played college football for Western Kentucky.[3]
Jackson played high school football at Overton where he earned several accolades during the 2016 season. He was rated a three-star recruit and top-25 prospect in Tennessee.[3] On February 1, 2017, Jackson signed a letter of intent to the University of Tennessee.[4]
College career
Jackson played five seasons (2017–2021) for the University of Tennessee, as a member of the Volunteers football team. He played under head coaches Butch Jones, Jeremy Pruitt, and Josh Heupel.[5][6] He started 24 of 56 games and recorded 190 career tackles. He earned an undergraduate degree in communications.[3] He earned Second Team All-Southeastern honors for 2021.[7]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0+7⁄8 in (1.85 m) | 198 lb (90 kg) | 32+3⁄4 in (0.83 m) | 9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 4.46 s | 1.54 s | 2.59 s | 4.25 s | 7.34 s | 37.0 in (0.94 m) | 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) | 12 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[8] | ||||||||||||
Tennessee Titans
Jackson was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round, 204th overall, of the 2022 NFL draft.[9] He was waived on August 30, 2022, and signed to the practice squad the next day.[10][11]
Minnesota Vikings
On October 11, 2022, Jackson was signed off the Titans' practice squad by the Minnesota Vikings, who were in need of safety depth after a season-ending injury to Lewis Cine.[12] As a rookie, he appeared in 11 games in the 2022 season.[13]
In Week 2 of the 2023 season, Jackson recorded his first professional interception against the Philadelphia Eagles.[14] He appeared in 15 games in the 2023 season.[15]
Against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 16 of the 2024 season, Jackson recorded his second career interception against Geno Smith after filling in for Harrison Smith. [16]
On March 6, 2025, Jackson and the Vikings agreed to a two-year, $12.65 million contract extension.[17]
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |