The San Francisco 49ers have used this offseason to make a boatload of changes on the roster. The 2024 season was super underwhelming for this club, and things will look different going forward.
The 49ers have rookie minicamp running from May 9 to May 10, giving fans the first glimpse at the players who were drafted and signed over the past couple of weeks.
While that is the focus in San Francisco, they still made a big roster move on Friday, officially releasing DE Drake Jackson, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
49ers Released DE Drake Jackson on Friday
Jackson was drafted with the 61st overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft by San Francisco. They were hoping he would be an effective force off the edge. He came into great short-area quickness with fluid moves to get into the backfield.
Despite the traits, he wasn't able to have the production to match. In 23 career games, Jackson had 21 total tackles, five TFLs, and six sacks. Unfortunately, he suffered a patellar tendon tear in his knee during the 2023 season. That injury also took away his 2024 campaign, and the 49ers went in a different direction.
The NFL draft showed how much the 49ers wanted to bolster their defensive front. They added Mykel Williams to the edge group, while adding CJ West and Alfred Collins to the interior defensive front. It's obvious they didn't have too much faith in that unit going into the year, which is why they drafted three defensive linemen.
The 49ers felt that Jackson wasn't going to take the jump they all wanted in the last year of his rookie deal, so they decided to bite the bullet and move on. No matter how you slice it, this selection was a massive miss for the 49ers, and with this release, they acknowledged their mistake.