Jaguars sleeper draft pick could be a huge pass rush weapon

You never know when you’re going to strike gold on Day 3 of the NFL Draft, and the Jacksonville Jaguars may have done just that with the selection of Louisville’s Yasir Abdullah. Abdullah might be a sleeper to a lot of NFL fans, but Louisville fans certainly won’t be shocked to see him light it up at the pro level after he contributed to their defense significantly over the last four seasons.

His production really ramped up in 2021, however, as he racked up a career-best 16.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in 13 games. He followed that up in 2022 with 14.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and two interceptions in a stellar final campaign for the Cardinals.

At the NFL Scouting Combine, Abdullah checked in a little undersized at around 6-foot-1, 237 pounds, but he posted some of the best numbers out of any “linebacker” at this year’s Combine as well, earning a 9.59 on the RAS scale.

Yasir Abdullah could be a sleeper pick for the Jacksonville Jaguars

It’s not a one-for-one comparison, but the fact that Yasir Abdullah is coming from the Louisville program as a pass rusher at around 6-foot-1, 237 pounds…I don’t know, is anyone else maybe feeling some Elvis Dumervil types of vibes here?

Elvis Dumervil was outrageously productive at Louisville, racking up 20 sacks and 22 tackles for loss in his final year of college alone. He was picked in the fourth round (126th overall) by the Denver Broncos in 2006 and went on to have a tremendous NFL career rushing the passer, utilizing his quickness off the ball and arm length to win as a pass rusher.

Again, this isn’t a one-for-one comparison, but at just under 6-feet tall, Dumervil had 32 5/8-inch arms and Yasir Abdullah has an arm length of 32 3/8-inches. These guys have very different overall body types but you get the idea here. If nothing else, maybe Abdullah could be one of the latest Day 3 sleepers out of Louisville, and do the school proud just as Dumervil did throughout his career.

Abdullah’s listed 10-yard split of 1.47 on the RAS card is absolutely mind-boggling, but the NFL.com Combine page has him listed as 1.56. This still meets the 1.60 threshold for EDGE players who have routinely done well in the NFL, so even though that difference of 0.09 is big, he would fall into the elite category either way.

The reason we have a player with these traits falling to Day 3 is of course the fact that he doesn’t have the ideal size to hold up off the edge on a full-time basis. At least as of right now, a projection of Abdullah would seem to be as a rotational rusher, but then again, they said the same types of things about Elvis Dumervil before he became an every-down player in the NFL.

It’s not impossible for EDGE guys to play in the 240-pound range, especially since Abdullah is a bit denser overall in his physical makeup.

The Jacksonville Jaguars may have found themselves a gem here. This team had an absolutely massive draft class, 13 players in total. Abdullah has competition even from others in this draft class to stand out and really make his mark as a pass rusher, but there’s a decent chance we see him flourish early on with the kind of production he’s capable of putting forth on third down.