Yasir Abdullah

Pos: LB/EDGE

School: Louisville

Ht. 6’1″ 

Wt. 237

Games Watched: Wake Forest, Syracuse, Florida State

One Liner: Explosive linebacker that wins with short area quickness, get off, and versatility

Strengths: 

  • Very good athleticism. Abdullah has the ability to fly off the edge with great short area quickness and explosiveness out of his stance. He has great bursts within the line of scrimmage
  • Very good get off. Abdullah flashes a great get off that is seemingly consistent whenever he comess of the edge and attacks upfield. He has mastered the art of timing the snap, and is able to get to the POA very fast right off the snap. 
  • Very good versatility. Abdullah lined up all over the field for Louisville and made impact plays from multiple positions on the turf. He demonstrated immense pass rush upside, defended the run from the strong side and also dropped back into zone and man coverage where he had winning reps. 
  • Good bend. Abdullah flashes good bend off his rush and is able to flatten with good ankle flexion to work around taller tackles. He flashes this, but I would love to see him use his bend to his advantage more often to efficiently attack the QB.
  • Good play recognition. Abdullah displays great play recognition at times and is able to diagnose certain running schemes early in their development and attacks the play accordingly. 

Weaknesses:

  • Marginal rush technique. At this point, Abdullah wins his pass rush reps with pure athleticism and his ability to fly off his stance from the snap. I would like to see him use his hands better and develop some rush counters and utilize the finesse moves that his profile allows for a player like him. 
  • Adequate size. Abdullah’s size can be an issue moving forward, not necessarily because he is too small, but because he plays a bit like a tweener, where I am not sure if this athleticism is enough for him to be a full time rusher, or if he has the fluidity to be a consistent off ball linebacker moving forward. 
  • Adequate fluidity. Abdullah is a good athlete, but his hips don’t seem to be loose enough to flip consistently and smoothly in coverage when he drops back. He is a great linear athlete, but leaves some room for doubt in terms of how he can move and change directions in the pros. 

Overall Assessment: Yasir Abdullah is a linebacker prospect flying under the radar due to some size issues and raw technical traits. However, Abdullah jumps out on film with an explosive get off and immense athletic talent. I think that his size is less of an issue than some make it out to be, as he has the necessary bend and agility to work around and capitalize his smaller size as a pass rusher or as a zone coverage defender. Abdullah has some solid traits that have upside at whatever position he gets drafted to play. He is a tweener however, and I wonder whether he has the fluidity to be an every down off the ball linebacker. However, teams will be getting an excellent special teams weapon at the very least, and have the luxury of using Abdullah in a wide variety of ways moving forward in the NFL. 

Scheme Fit: even front SAM linebacker that can drop back in coverage when needed, find pass rushing looks. Could play 3-4 outside linebacker as well early on.

Pick Projection: Round 3 – Round 4

Grade: 6.23