The San Francisco 49ers must look at the 2022 NFL Draft largely as a bust.
One of the biggest busts from that draft was defensive lineman Drake Jackson, who was just scooped up by Adam Peters and the Washington Commanders.
San Francisco selected Jackson with the No. 61 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The USC product seemed like he could be an edge rusher who would develop into a nice complement to Nick Bosa, but that's not how things turned out at all.
Jackson had three sacks in his rookie campaign in 2022 and had 14 tackles along with one interception. 2023 got off to a promising start as he recorded three sacks in the team's regular-season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but injuries came after that.
He went on injured reserve in November and did not play the rest of the season, as he was limited to just eight games. That ended up being the last season he would play for the 49ers as he missed all of 2024 with a knee injury and was eventually waived in May of this year.
It is always unfortunate when injuries rob a young player of a chance to prove himself, but it is nice to see Jackson getting another opportunity in Washington. With how his career was progressing, it was not out of the question that he could have been forced to retire if no team took a chance on him.
Instead, Peters has extended him a lifeline.
Peters was in San Francisco's front office from 2017 to 2023, so he was in the room when the Niners drafted Jackson and knows that he can be a good player if he can stay on the field.
This is a continuation of the 49ers-to-Commanders pipeline with former Niners like Deebo Samuel and Javon Kinlaw on Washington and former Commanders on the 49ers like Brian Robinson.
The failure of Jackson to pan out is part of why the Niners spent so many resources in this year's NFL Draft on the defensive line. Mykel Williams seems to be panning out thus far, but you never really know with rookies until they have proven they can succeed with consistency.
Jackson's tenure with the 49ers did not pan out, but he has a chance to turn his career around, thanks to an old friend in Peters.