The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t pick a pass rusher in the first two days of the 2023 NFL draft, but added an intriguing one on Saturday when they took Louisville’s Yasir Abdullah with the first pick of the fifth round.
Abdullah was a highly productive player for the Cardinals, but landed in Day 3 due mostly to his lack of height and length.
At 6’1, 237 pounds, Abdullah will have to follow in the footsteps of rare exceptions like Haason Reddick, who have managed to rack up sacks despite not being very tall.
So who is the Jaguars’ new pass rusher who plans to defy the odds? Here are five things to know about Abdullah:
1. Abdullah finished second in Louisville history in tackles for loss
Louisville has produced some serious NFL talent on defense over the years, including Elvis Dumervil, Sam Madison, and Jaire Alexander, among many others.
So Abdullah’s lofty place in the school’s record books is no small feat.
He finished his Cardinals career with 23.5 sacks (eighth all-time) and 43 tackles for loss (second all-time). The only player ahead of him on the TFL list is Dewayne White, a defensive end who later played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions.
2. His father was a linebacker for the national championship-winning Florida Gators
Xavier McCray, who also goes by Xavier Abdullah, was a linebacker in college for the Florida Gators. In his junior year, on a team — that included players like Mike Peterson, Fred Taylor, and Jevon Kearse — Florida won its first ever national championship by blowing out Florida State in the 1997 Sugar Bowl.
After graduating and getting married, McCray decided to end his football career instead of playing his senior season with the Gators.
McCray eventually became a high school football coach and coached his son for two years at Cypress Lake High School in Fort Myers, Fla.
3. Abdullah was roommates with Elvis Dumervil's nephew
In a conference call with Jacksonville media, Abdullah said he’s modeled much of his game after five-time Pro Bowler Elvis Dumervil’s game.
The parallels are pretty obvious. Both were highly productive pass rushers at Louisville, despite being undersized. Dumervil managed to record 105.5 sacks in the NFL at 5’11, and Abdullah is hoping to put up serious numbers as a 6’1 pass rusher.
It helps too that Abdullah was able to learn a thing or two from Dumervil in college. In his conference call, Abdullah said he was roommates with Dumervil’s nephew, Dejmi Dumervil-Jean, who was a defensive tackle on the team and tragically died at age 22 in 2021.
4. Abdullah used his NIL money to award scholarships
Abdullah, who is a devout Sunni Muslim, didn’t rake in NIL money in college, but what little he did make, he gave back to the community.
“This world is a cruel place sometimes, but just giving back to the community fills my heart up,” Abdullah told the Louisville Courier Journal. “Allah is going to reward us for that, giving out blessings and receiving them back.”
Abdullah gave scholarships to students at Miami Carol City and Nur Ul Islam Academy.
5. The Jaguars didn't have much contact with Abdullah leading up to the draft
There wasn’t much of a pattern regarding the interest shown by the Jaguars in prospects. While the team added players that it brought in for private visits like Tyler Lacy and Cooper Hodges, it didn’t have much contact with other picks like Brenton Strange and Abdullah.
While other teams — like the Pittsburgh Steelers — were on Abdullah’s radar, he told Jaguars.com that he hadn’t really spoken with Jacksonville since a chat at the East-West Shrine Bowl, which happened a couple weeks before the Super Bowl.
