Overview
Position: Inside/Outside linebacker
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 236 pounds
School: Texas Longhorns
Combine Performance Data
40-yard dash: 4.52 seconds
Bench Press: 27 reps
Vertical Jump: 36 inches
Broad Jump: 10 feet 5 inches
Malik Jefferson 2018 NFL Draft Profile
The former High School Butkus Award winner Malik Jefferson attended high school in Mesquite, TX and committed to the Longhorns as the nation’s top-ranked linebacker. Jefferson saw plenty of playing time during his freshman year in Charlie Strong’s defense and finished 2015 with 61 tackles, seven tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and three pass deflections. That was good enough to earn him Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year and was named a consensus Freshman All-American.
Due to a concussion, Jefferson only started nine games his sophomore year but still finished the season with 60 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks, earning second-team All-Big 12 honors. One year later, Jefferson was healthy and had the best season of his career. In 13 games, he totaled up 110 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and was named to the first team All-Big 12 and second-team All-American team. Jefferson initially started off as a middle linebacker under Strong but shifted to outside linebacker when Tom Herman took over head coaching duties.
Strengths
- Ideal body frame for a linebacker;
- has speed to cover sideline to sideline;
- has good instincts for finding the ball;
- very capable blitzer coming off the edge;
- big hitter and plays with a low pad level;
- elusive in getting by blockers;
- capable of spying athletic quarterbacks;
- takes good angles;
- can play both inside and outside linebacker.
Weaknesses
- struggles to get off blockers in the run game;
- below average in coverage;
- relies too much on arm tackles;
- lacks a full arsenal of pass rushing moves;
- slow in making initial reads;
- does not always take blockers head on which can create bigger holes.
NFL Comparison: De’Vondre Campbell
Projection: Late first, early second round
Bottom Line
Jefferson is an extremely talented player but is still unpolished in a lot of areas. He is best suited as an outside linebacker in a 4-3 but has the versatility to be move inside as a 3-4 down the road. Jefferson has a high motor which allows him to make tackles on plays away from him while also being a factor in the pass rushing game. However, his initial reads and his inability to shed blockers will hurt his chances on getting snaps during early downs run situations but he should see plenty of time in nickel and dime packages his first year.
