Texas Football: 3 biggest Longhorn NFL Draft busts since 2010
player. Pick Analysis. Linebacker. Malik Jefferson. 56. Scouting Report. 2018-Present. 1
Texas didn’t get much better linebacker play over the course of the last decade from any one player than they did the former All-American honoree Malik Jefferson. While Jefferson suited up for the Longhorns from 2015-2017, he was thoroughly dominant and held together all levels of this defense.
However, like is true for most of the names on this list, this Texas Ex linebacker just wasn’t able to find his footing at the next level. But the difference between Jefferson and then Brown and Kindle was the fact that injury history and/or off-the-field issues didn’t play him as much. Jefferson was placed on injured reserve in 2018, by the team that originally drafted him, but it came in late December.
By that time, Jefferson was far out of the playoff race and wasn’t looking to make much of an impact until the following season.
Jefferson was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, 78th overall. He would only get to play in 12 games with the Bengals before he would hit waivers. The Cleveland Browns picked up Jefferson prior to the start of the 2019 regular season. But he would be cut by the Browns less than two months later.
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It’s a little too early to tell if we can officially label Jefferson as a bust. But he certainly didn’t make the impact that the Bengals were looking for out of him as highly touted as he was coming off the Forty Acres.
Jefferson was signed by the Los Angeles Chargers to a future/reserve contract back in December 2019, which is the roster he still sits on to this point.