The Good and Bad of Malik Muhammad's Final Scouting Report After the NFL Combine

After stunning the Senior Bowl and Combine, where does Manny's stock stand?

Texas Longhorns defensive back Malik Muhammad celebrates after he intercepts a pass during the first half at the Cotton Bowl. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

There are less than two months to go to the NFL Draft, and several Texas Longhorns are doing everything they can to boost their stock.

Seven of those players competed in this year's combine, which wrapped up over the weekend.

Each of those players' film has been reviewed and will be graded over the next week, continuing with cornerback Malik Muhammad. Linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. has already been profiled.

The Good

Texas Longhorns defensive back Malik Muhammad against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Malik 'Manny' Muhammad is a 6"0, 185 lb corner who arrived in Austin as the No. 5 cornerback in his high school recruiting class and made an impact early, appearing in every game as a freshman.

Muhammad took over, starting outside corner duties the next season and never looked back, starting all but two games for the Longhorns over the next two seasons before declaring for the draft as a junior.

There is perhaps no Longhorn who has done more to boost their stock in the pre-draft process than Muhammad, who earned praise at the Senior Bowl and was stunned at the Combine.

Most impressive was his 4.42-second 40-yard dash, which he achieved without shedding much of his playing weight and assuaged concerns about his long-speed.

As a player, Muhammad is a technically sound deep-third and fourth cover corner with some added versatility.

Muhammad's fluid hips and zone-discipline made him quietly excel on the back end of the Longhorns' defense for years, rarely giving up big plays.

He is excellent in trail and bail technique but also showed an ability to play man-motor technique.

His years of playing high-level college football show in his route recognition and pre-snap communication.

Muhammad is physical in pass coverage, which helps him compensate for his size. He is forceful at the top of the route, frequently gets hands on receivers' backplates and plays through their hands at the catch-point.

He also makes up for his size with length, measuring in with ideal 32 3/8 inch arms.

Muhammad is more than a soft-zone corner. His physicality, hips and speed allow him to play man coverage well and he can explode out of his backpedal to make plays on the ball.

Malik Muhammad continues to stack good rep after good rep pic.twitter.com/AQNk9J2Poz

— TJ Wengert (@TJWengert) January 28, 2026

The Bad

Texas Longhorns defensive back Malik Muhammad against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Despite playing in 41 games and making 29 starts in his college career, Muhammad lacks on-ball production. He only logged three interceptions across nearly 1,200 coverage snaps.

He can get overpowered by receivers, even of similar stature, when they make it a point to do so.

His strength can also be exploited in the run game, as he often struggles to disengage from blockers.

He times blitzes well but gets stonewalled by any impediment to his rush path.

While he is a willing tackler he has inconsistent form, posting a career missed-tackle rate of 15.4%.

These run-stopping, blitzing and tackling deficiencies likely preclude Muhammad from a move to the slot, which some evaluators have thrown out as a possibility due to his size.

While his physicality is a plus, Muhammad could be described as overly-handsy, which may lead to penalties at the next level.

Muhammad also showed occasional lapses in concentration on runs and non-dropback passes, often having his eyes in the wrong place for a prolonged period of time.

He struggles to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage and lacks explosion out of his shuffle. He is also susceptible to double moves

While he tested very well, he still showed a lack of long speed on tape at times, particularly with receivers running across the middle of the field.

Final Grade

Texas defensive back Malik Muhammad during the NFL Scouting Combine | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Overall, Malik Muhammad is an undersized but fluid outside cover corner with the ability to play a variety of coverage techniques at a high level.

While he possesses man-zone versatility, he is not a scheme-independent chess piece. Still, his athleticism and length do however give him the potential to add a few clubs to his bag.

Final Grade: Round 3