D'Marco Jackson

Chicago BearsUNDERPAID

Pos LB

Updated October 9, 2026

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Model Score

76.6 MODEL

2025

78.7

2026

76.6

How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →

STM Take

First STTM ranking at tier 1 (#1) for a 2022 5th-round Appalachian State pick is one of the most outlier-positive draft-slot-vs-outcome arcs at the LB position. The Bears' change-of-scenery context plus the structural starter role appears to be the catalyst. The 2026 question is whether Jackson holds tier 1 territory across a full second Chicago season or whether the 2025 finish was a one-year context spike that won't repeat.

Jackson came out of Appalachian State as the New Orleans Saints' 5th-round pick (161st overall) in 2022 and spent three years as developmental depth before being acquired by the Chicago Bears in 2025. He emerged into a structural starter role and delivered a tier 1 (#1) STTM finish in 2025. His STTM career history shows tier 1 (#1) in 2025 as his first sustained STTM appearance.

Strengths

Tier 1 (#1) STTM finish in his first sustained NFL starter season as an Appalachian State 5th-round pick puts him in the rarest outlier-positive class at the LB position.
Bears' structural defensive system plus the year-four starter role gives him real veteran developmental foundation.

Concerns

Single tier 1 finish without any prior top-50 STTM history puts the 2025 production entirely in the one-year-sample risk category.
Chicago's broader defensive identity around the multi-year rebuild plus the QB development around Caleb Williams compresses the structural support.

What to watch: Whether Jackson holds tier 3 or better across the full 2026 Bears season, the threshold for confirming the 2025 finish was structural rather than situational.