Yasir Abdullah 2023 NFL Draft Profile

The Louisville linebacker/edge rusher was one of the most productive defenders in the ACC over the past two seasons.

Prospect: Yasir Abdullah
Position: 3-4 Outside Linebacker
School: Louisville
Year: Fifth-Year Senior

Background

Born Dec. 17, 1997 (age 23) to father Xavier McCray and mother Rafena Abdullah. Father played linebacker at Florida, and was a member of the 1996 championship team. A native of Miramar, Fla - which is a suburb of Miami - Abdullah attended Carol City HS for his junior and senior seasons. Also playing at Miramar and Cypress Lake over his first two years in high school, he finished with 137 tackles and 20.0 sacks over his high school career.

Abdullah was regarded as a three-star prospect, ranking as the No. 813 overall prospect in the Class of 2018. He started receiving some attention from Power Five schools after transferring to Carol City, and choose Louisville over LSU, Purdue, Syracuse, Wake Forest and others.

As a freshman in what would be Bobby Petrino's final year as Louisville's head coach, Abdullah played in 11 of the Cardinals' 12 games that season, but was relegated to mainly special teams. He tallied eight tackles and a pass deflection in just 47 defensive snaps.

When Scott Satterfield was brought in to guide the Cardinals starting with the 2019 season, Abdullah saw an increase in his role. Playing in all 13 games while starting eight of the final nine, he logged 45 tackles with 4.0 coming for a loss, as well as his first sack and interception.

2020 is when we first got a taste of what Abdullah was capable of. In 11 games and seven starts, he collected 33 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and three forced fumbles. The latter led the team, and at the time was good for seventh-best in school history.

Abdullah's breakout season finally came in 2021. Starting all 13 games that season, he exploded for 17.5 tackles for loss and 10.0 sacks on top of 61 total tackles and a forced fumble, en route to Second-Team All-ACC honors. Not only did he lead Louisville in both sacks and TFL's, the latter was good for seventh-most in a single season at Louisville, and the former was the most by a Cardinals since Devonte Fields' 11.0 in 2015.

He opted to bypass the 2022 NFL Draft and take advantage of his COVID waiver year, and was a key component of one of the most disruptive front sevens in college football last season. Not only did he log 14.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks and four forced fumbles to lead the Cardinals in all three categories, he also demonstrated his overall versatility in the box, collecting two interceptions and six pass deflections. He was tabbed as a First-Team All-ACC selection, and finished as the runner-up in ACC Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Measurements

At the NFL Combine, Abdullah measured in at 6 feet and 0 5/8 inches (5081) and 237 pounds, along with 9 1/4" hands and 32 3/8″ arms. Abdullah ran the 40-yard dash in 4.47, the short shuttle in 4.33 seconds and the three-cone drill in 7.00 seconds. Finally, Abdullah leapt 10 feet and 9 inches (129″) in the broad jump and 36.5″ in the vertical. Based on these measurements and numbers, Abdullah earned a Relative Athletic Score of 9.63 out of 10, ranking 100th out of 2648 linebackers from 1987 through 2023 (96th percentile).

Scouting Report

Strengths

• One of the more athletic linebacker prospects in the draft class. Has tremendous speed and short-area agility.
• Has a great burst off the line, and his speed moves give him good leverage that make it difficult for blockers to stay in front of him.
• Does not hold back while in pursuit and has excellent closing speed. Also has a knack for finding the football.
• Can play at multiple spots on the football field. Mainly used as an edge rusher, but also has good instincts finding passing lanes in coverage and can run with some receivers. 

Weaknesses

• While very athletic, he is a little undersized in terms of height and length among average NFL linebackers. Sometimes struggles against bigger, longer tackles.
• Has a toned and muscular frame, but strength at the point of attack is a slight concern. Lacks a truly effective speed-to-power move.
• Occasionally gets pinned on the inside, which results in allowing outside rushing lanes.

NFL Comparison

Shaquil Barrett (Colorado State - 2011-13, Denver Broncos - 2014-18, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 2019-22)

Highlights

(Photo of Yasir Abdullah: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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