Malik Jefferson, linebacker, Texas
This is an exciting year for Jefferson, who’s transitioning from inside to outside linebacker. He’s such a natural athlete who flows to the ball with ease and who utilizes excellent discipline to attack ball carriers without over pursuing.
Malik Jefferson is so good. There was a point in this game where he made the tackle about 10 plays in a row pic.twitter.com/cGqDl8WRTO
— Jayden (@JaydenDat) May 8, 2017
Jefferson has been wowing scouts since his high school days. He won the Butkus Award for top linebacker in the nation following his senior season at Poteet High School in Texas. Then he stepped right onto campus and made an immediate impact for Texas, earning Freshman All-American honors in 2015. Last year he continued to assert himself as an elite player, logging 60 tackles, nine for a loss and 6.5 sacks.
Now he’s moving outside, where his speed and athleticism will be of better use to him and the Longhorns.
We expect to see double-digit sack totals from Jefferson this year, and it won’t be all that surprising if he ends up working his way into the top half of the 2018 NFL Draft.