RD 3 - Bengals select MALIK JEFFERSON, LB

[|BlackJesus|]

[Jason]

Athletic as all get out.

[oldschooler]

 

[|BlackJesus|]

Malik Jefferson 

6'2

236 lbs 

4.52 (40)

27 reps 

36 " inch vertical 

 

Texas' landing of Jefferson was seen as a turning point for the program, as he was the High School Butkus Award winner as the nation's top linebacker, as well as a Parade All-American and top-20 overall recruit from Mesquite. Longhorn coaches could not wait to get him on the field in 2015, as the true freshman's long, lean build, exceptional athleticism, and quickness allowed him to start nine of 11 games played (he missed time with an ankle injury). He started with a bang, picking up nine tackles, 2.5 for loss, in the season opener against Notre Dame. The Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year, honorable mention All-Big 12 selection, and consensus Freshman All-American finished the year with 61 tackles, seven for loss, 2.5 sacks, three pass breakups, and a forced fumble. Jefferson struggled with a concussion as a sophomore, starting in nine of 11 games again but still garnering second-team All-Big 12 accolades by league media (62 tackles, 8.5 for loss, 5.5 sacks, three pass breakups). He was healthy enough to start all 13 games in 2017, leading the Longhorns with 110 tackles (10 for loss, four sacks) and earning second-team Associated Press All-American status and first-team all-conference accolades.

 

Draft Projection

Rounds 3-4

NFL Comparison

Jordan Hicks

Overview

Jefferson has the desired combination of height, weight, speed that teams covet and draft, but his career production never matched his athletic traits. He lacks the instincts and play demeanor to be a middle linebacker and could move to a weakside linebacker spot in a 4-3 to take advantage of his athletic gifts. Jefferson has athletic talent, but needs to play with more of a glass-eating mentality to fit in with NFL linebackers. He has eventual starter talent and should become a very good core special teamer.

Strengths

• Built like an NFL linebacker with a long, athletic frame and good musculation
• Explosive with loose hips and good speed
• Has ability to range far and wide for the tackle
• Covers ground quickly when scraping
• Can access a second gear when he commits to the pursuit
• Substantially more productive when Texas put him in position to think less and just play
• Tackles improved from 60 to 104 under new defensive coordinator
• Reactive quickness and agility to spring suddenly into runners trying to burst by him
• Has recovery speed to make up for slow diagnosis or mistakes in reads
• Can be a nemesis as A-gap blitzer or off the edge
• Possesses man cover talent
• Crowds and squeezing routes
• Has seven career passes defensed
• Strength to re-route tight ends off the snap

Weaknesses

• Plays through a straw and is lacking in instincts
• Fails to feel climbing blocks and stay ahead of the traffic in his flow
• Pursuit leverage inconsistent
• Runs himself out of runs fits too often
• Doesn't play as fast as he can
• Needs to play with better knee bend
• Waits on second level rather than tilting downhill and bringing it to blockers
• Passive taking on blocks
• Ducks head into contact and allows blockers to swallow him
• Gets pushed around more than he should
• Missing aggressiveness and alpha quality
• Inconsistent coming to balance as open field tackler
• Slides off tackles rather than wrapping and running feet to completion
• Movement in space as zone defender can be undisciplined and inefficient

Sources Tell Us

"He was better this year because Todd Orlando (defensive coordinator) had him attack and run instead of trying to process and react. I see him as a better tester (Combine) than player." -- AFC regional scout

 

[VonBlade]

To the people who watch way more college football than I have a hope to do here in drizzly old England, is this guy as allergic to contact as they are making out, or is it standard draftnik BS? Because after our FS was a poor tackler the last thing we need is to draft another in our endless parade of poor tackling LBs.

[oldschooler]

 

[oldschooler]

 

[|BlackJesus|]

 

[oldschooler]

 

[oldschooler]

His twitter ...

 

 

https://twitter.com/malikjefferson

[|BlackJesus|]

 

[oldschooler]

 

[|BlackJesus|]

 

[Jason]

I remember tOSU recruited this kid hard.

[oldschooler]

 

[oldschooler]

13 minutes ago, VonBlade said:

To the people who watch way more college football than I have a hope to do here in drizzly old England, is this guy as allergic to contact as they are making out, or is it standard draftnik BS? Because after our FS was a poor tackler the last thing we need is to draft another in our endless parade of poor tackling LBs.

 

 

 

I didn't watch much of Texas this year, but this dude was the #1 LB in the country coming out of high school.

 

 

[bigboi]

13 minutes ago, oldschooler said:

 

This guy is a monster, great pick. 

 

[oldschooler]

2018 NFL Draft: Malik Jefferson scouting report

The Predator is ready to take his speed and upside to the next level.

By Wescott Eberts@SBN_Wescott  Apr 26, 2018, 1:15pm CDT

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Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Living up to the outsized expectations that accompanied Malik Jefferson to the Forty Acres was never going to be easy.

But the former Texas Longhorns standout linebacker conducted himself with grace and maturity off the field and showed flashes on the field before turning in an excellent junior season.

Compared to Tim Tebow by former head coach Charlie Strong after he signed, Jefferson helped the Horns close out the 2015 recruiting class with a bang.

As the No. 10 player nationally, the top outside linebacker, and the best player in Texas, Jefferson was expected to make an early impact when he arrived on campus in January of 2015.

It didn’t take much game time before Jefferson put a big hit on a Notre Dame running back, ultimately finishing the game with nine tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. In starting nine games, Jefferson finished with 61 tackles, seven tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, three passes broken up, one forced fumble, and a fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown against Rice.

Jefferson’s sophomore season featured more adversity, though his season got off to a strong start against Notre Dame with eight tackles and a sack.

Then, Jefferson admittedly “got too high” on himself after that game. Eventually, head coach Charlie Strong had to bench him for several games.

“Never brought myself down to that phase where you continue to try to get better,” Jefferson said. “I wasn’t trying to get better. I thought everything would be handed to me, and I had to realize you have to work for things.”

It was an uncharacteristic stretch for a player who had always been willing to work hard, but helped remind him that he needed to work hard to progress.

Jefferson was back to his old self against Texas Tech, recording eight tackles and 1.5 sacks — as a spy on Red Raiders quarterback Pat Mahomes, Jefferson had one of the best games of his career.

An injury sustained against West Virginia limited him for the rest of the season, but that performance against Texas Tech helped a re-focused Jefferson launch himself into a critical junior season that saw him fully live up to the hype for the first time.

Of Jefferson’s 110 tackles, 79 were solo. He added 10 tackles for loss, four sacks, and six quarterback hurries. As a result, he was named the Big 12 co-Defensive Player of the Year and second-team All-American.

After recovering from a turf toe injury that forced him to miss the Texas Bowl, Jefferson ran a 4.52 40-yard dash and posted a 36-inch vertical leap at the NFL Combine, remarkable numbers for a player who weighs 236 pounds.

From a physical perspective, Jefferson has it all — height, weight, speed, overall athleticism. He’s never had any issues off the field and learned from his experiences as a sophomore. He won’t be a bust and NFL teams will find it hard to pass up his unique physical traits.

However, there are concerns that his production never matched his athleticism and that he lacks the instincts and ability to play inside linebacker in the NFL.

The thing is, there’s a beauty in watching Jefferson range sideline to sideline or find that little bit of extra burst in pursuit. Even if his reactions to a play are a little bit slow, he has recovery speed that is extremely rare in linebackers, especially linebackers at his size.

Areas for improvement at the next level include taking on blocks with better effort and technique, as well as on stunts into the line of scrimmage. Especially early in his career, he was too passive when he was asked to fill a gap while stunting.

At times, he also had issues finishing tackles, with several missed sacks in the Rice game as a freshman and occasional issues for the rest of his career.

Will Jefferson’s production ever match his athleticism at the next level? That’s the question he has to answer moving forward, but because it is a legitimate concern, he’ll likely come off the board in the third or fourth round instead of earlier in the draft.

 

 

 

https://www.burntorangenation.com/2018/4/26/17286190/malik-jefferson-2018-nfl-draft-texas-longhorns-scouting-report

[|BlackJesus|]

The Bengals like to go after guys that were the #1 player at their position coming out of HS ... 

 

I believe Burfict was the #1 LB leaving HS as well, I know Fitzpatrick was the #1 CB and AJ Green the #1 WR in the nation leaving HS. 

 

Malik Jefferson was the #1 LB leaving HS. 

[oldschooler]

Malik Jefferson NFL Draft 2018: Scouting Report for Cincinnati Bengals' Pick

MATT MILLERAPRIL 27, 2018

 

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

POSITIVES

—Top-tier athlete with special burst and open-field speed.

—Has the natural strength to stack blockers or press in coverage at the line of scrimmage.

—Scheme and position versatility with upside as a pass-rusher or off-ball linebacker.

—Can chase down ball-carriers with ease and has the speed to run with tight ends up the seam.

—Still developing nuances of the position; his best football could still be ahead of him.

—See-ball, get-ball type linebacker who can be a mismatch for offenses to worry about.

       

NEGATIVES

—Moved around the Texas defense with only one year of notable production.

—Nagging injuries affected him in his first two seasons.

—Instincts are a step late, which he covered up with speed at Texas.

—Missed tackles were an issue; needs to square up ball-carriers better and make less whip-style tackles.

 

 

Malik Jefferson LB NFL Draft

        

OVERALL

On athleticism and upside, Malik Jefferson is a first-rounder, but every team must evaluate him differently. He isn't a fit in a scheme that wants him to sit and read, but if he's freed up to make plays either in space or coming off the edge as a pass-rusher, he could make a huge immediate impact.

       

GRADE: 6.99 (Round 2)

PRO PLAYER COMPARISON: Ryan Shazier, Pittsburgh Stealers

 

 

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2769474-malik-jefferson-nfl-draft-2018-scouting-report-for-cincinnati-bengals-pick

[|BlackJesus|]

When it comes to natural talent Malik Jefferson is the most physically gifted of all the 4 picks so far. Hopefully that ability can be molded. 

[bigboi]

 

[oldschooler]

 

[oldschooler]

 

[oldschooler]