Yasir Abdullah NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for Louisville Edge

HEIGHT: 6'0 5/8"

WEIGHT: 237

HAND: 9 1/4"

ARM: 32 3/8"

WINGSPAN: 79 7/8"

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40-YARD DASH: 4.47

3-CONE: 7.0

SHUTTLE: 4.33

VERTICAL: 36 1/2"

BROAD: 10'9"

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POSITIVES

– Accelerates off the ball really well and can win with speed when he times up the snap count.

– Solid rip or dip-rip move with impressive bend to win around the edge as a pass rusher.

– Solid at working the offensive lineman's hands after initial contact when rushing the passer.

– Good block recognition to put himself in a position to stay in his gap as a run defender. Also, has the agility to run his feet and avoid getting reached against outside zone runs.

– Quick to sniff out screens.

– Decent in coverage, he can take away short routes against tight ends and running backs and click and close.

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NEGATIVES

– Undersized for an NFL edge and pretty full-framed already, doesn't have much room for growth.

– Doesn't take on blocks with his hands as a run defender, often ends up chest-to-chest with offensive linemen and struggling to get extension.

– Not strong enough to hold up at the point of attack against base blocks from offensive tackles. Poor knee-bend and struggles to set the edge, too.

– Lacks the strength and size to win with power as a rusher.

– While he has active hands after contact, he needs to do a better job of knocking the OL's hands down to start his pass-rush moves.

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2022 STATS

– 13 GM, 63 total tackles (34 solo), 14.5 TFL, 9.5 sacks, 4 PD, 4 FFs, 2 INTs

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NOTES

– Born April 12, 2000

– A 3-Star recruit in the 2018 class, No. 813 overall, No. 53 OLB, per 247Sports' composite rankings

– 40 career starts

– 2022 Honors: First-Team All-ACC, led ACC in sacks (9.5) and ranked fourth in TFL (14.5)

– 2021 Honors: Second-Team All-ACC

– Father, Xavier, played at Florida

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OVERALL

Yasir Abdullah is an exceptional athlete as an edge defender. He earned a 9.72 RAS score at the combine and has some quick twitch and bend to him that could make him an intriguing pass-rusher at the next level. However, his run defense is a work in progress.

Abdullah does have good instincts as a run defender to put himself in a position to take on blocks, but he lacks size and strength, which will be a bigger issue against NFL offensive tackles. He'll struggle to hold his ground and set the edge, and he doesn't use his hands when taking on blocks, which makes escaping difficult.

The Louisville prospect would be best as a pass-rush specialist on Sundays. An odd front team could see him as a standup linebacker on the line of scrimmage, but his size will still be an issue in that scheme, and he doesn't have much room for growth. Given that, switching to off-ball linebacker could be in the cards for him, and he did show solid coverage skills in college.

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GRADE: 5.9 (Backup or Draftable/Rounds 6-7)

OVERALL RANK: 194

POSITION RANK: EDGE22

PRO COMPARISON: Antwan Barnes

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Written by B/R NFL Draft Scout Matt Holder