2023 NFL Draft: Yasir Abdullah Reacts to Being Drafted by the Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars double-dipped in the linebacker pool, selecting Louisville’s Yasir Abdullah with their first fifth-round selection.
The South Florida kid makes his return to his home state, an exciting prospect for Abdullah and his family.
“I was mostly with my family,” Abdullah told local media. “Mother father, sister, my brother and his family as well. But, you know, it was long feeling. My head was hurting throughout the weekend just waiting for the call and Jacksonville picked me up and I’m so excited and grateful for the opportunity. I’m just ready to go to work.”
An “undersized” linebacker at 6’1” and 242 pounds, the 23-year-old received a flurry of questions about how that’ll impact his performance at the pro level. Abdullah made clear that though his size will be questioned, nothing is more important than the production on the field and he constantly carries that chip on his shoulder. A chip that’ll serve him well at the start of his NFL journey.
“When I look at size I don’t really, you know, to me it doesn’t really matter,” Abdullah said. “It matters what you do on the field no matter what size, how big you are, how tall you are.
"There’s a lot of guys in the league that have been productive and they are shorter than you are, like Hasson Reddick, Elvis Dumervil, James Harrison, both legends. When people talk about my height and everything it just gets me extra fueled and stuff to show them that I can be this small, I can be this big and still dominate. I’m just ready. I’m thankful for Jacksonville picking me and I’m just ready to go to work and prove everybody wrong.”
