Black and Gold in Our Blood | Locked on Saints' Ross Jackson Shares His Story, NFL Draft Insights

We're back talking NFL Draft and so much more on Black and Gold Rush. This week's guest is Ross Jackson, host of Locked on Saints since 2018. As he tells host Rachel Jones, his journey started well before that.

Ross grew up in New Orleans and had New Orleans Saints fandom in his blood from an early age. He has a master's in fine arts from UC Irvine and dreamed of being a SportsCenter production assistant before he found sports writing and podcasting through the website All Saints Considered. Not long afterward, a call from Locked On Network founder David Locke changed his career trajectory - Ross just added partnerships manager to his diverse job roles.

The NFL Draft is Locked On's biggest event of the year, so what are the Saints going to do? Ross and Rachel address their biggest positions of need and discuss Jameis Winston's leadership & how Sam Darnold's trade to Carolina impacts the NFC South.

LISTEN FOR THESE QUOTES

(3:40) "I was born a Saints fan. The way that I like to say it, it wasn't even a learned behavior. I just had it in my blood."

(7:30) "I was always a bit of a performer my entire life. I was always that guy that wanted to make everybody laugh. I wanted to make sure everybody was having a good time - that's who I always have been."

(10:45) "I've always been a believer that don't ever wait for the safety net, just leap. And if you need it, it will appear."

(19:19) "Locked on Saints is not my show. I don't call it my show. It's not my podcast or anything. It's our show. It really is a show that is just as much about the people that are listening as it is about the one person who's lucky enough to sit in front of the microphone."

(24:00) "The best advice that I've ever been given is just go - just do it."

(26:46) "He (CB Asante Samuel Jr.) might be a little small, but he ain't never going to act small, like he'll never be that guy that's going to back down or not get involved in a play or that's going to take a play off or be a 50 percent guy or anything like that. He is somebody that brings a drive, brings in aggressiveness, and that brings a ton of confidence, which we know the Saints love in their DBs."

(29:19) "Sam Darnold is not a quarterback that instills a lot of confidence in me. He's not somebody I've ever been super high on. And we know that he hasn't had the ability yet to live up to his draft expectations, especially considering what the Jets gave up to move up and draft him."

(35:20) Random Round

CONNECT WITH US / LINKS MENTIONED

Ross Jackson Twitter

Listen to Locked on Saints

New Orleans Saints SB Nation page

Rachel Jones Twitter

Rachel Jones Instagram

SUBSCRIBE, RATE AND REVIEW

“Black and Gold Rush is awesome and authentic, and I can’t wait for more.” <--- If that sounds like you, please rate and review my show!

---> Scroll to the bottom on Apple Podcasts, tap to rate out of 5 stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then let me know what you loved most about the episode!