4. Hamsah Nasirildeen, Florida State
Size: 6-3, 215
The Good: An excellent-sized defender who can run, he brings a different skill set to the mix. When he was healthy, he was a tackling machine with 192 stops over a two-year run with a massive 101-tackle, two-interception, three-forced fumble junior season.
While he didn’t make quite enough plays when the ball was in the air, he’s a sure-tackler, he’s got the length to hold up against the bigger targets, and best of all, he’s a coach on the field.
One of most unique (and overlooked) chess piece defenders in 2021 draft is @FSUFootball SS/WLB Hamsah Nasirildeen. Just one safety in league right now with Ham’s length combo (6032 & 34 1/2 arm). Played only 2 games last fall but showed good versatility on ‘19 tape. This INT 👀! pic.twitter.com/zHwnAss5t9
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) April 13, 2021
The Not-So-Good: He’s still getting back from a knee injury.
Just when it looked like he was about to blow up into a top 30 overall prospect, he suffered a torn ACL that cost him almost all of last season. He returned and he’s able to run and move just fine – he’s still a 4.6 runner – but it’s still a relatively fresh injury.
Even when he was healthy, despite being tall and rangy he was more of a tackler than a pass defender – and he’s not a powerful tackler.
NFL Draft College Perspective Thought: Again, he’s a different type of defender, but he has the skills to be a good, reliable starter who’ll hold up and make stops in the open field and is more than fine when the ball is in the air. More than anything else, though, he’s everything you want as a locker room leader. If and when he’s a starter, he’ll make a defense his.
Projected Round: Third