New England Patriots Rookie Profile: Cassh Maluia

Position: linebacker
Age: 21
Hometown: Compton, CA
College: Wyoming

Measurables

Height: 6-foot
Weight: 248 pounds

Combine Results

40-yard dash: 4.53 (pro day)

Cassh Maluia started 38 of 50 games during his time at the University of Wyoming. During that time span, he recorded 197 total tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, and seven passes defended. His speed and ability to diagnose plays quickly on occasion made him a very effective defender in the Mountain West Conference, which earned him honorable mention honors for the conference in 2019. That season he recorded 61 total tackles, seven tackles for loss and two interceptions.

Unfortunately, Maluia does not excel at much else besides being fast. That's why from 2017-19 he earned overall PFF grades of 52.4, 66.6, and 65.3, respectively. His inability to leverage gaps and engage blockers is one of the reasons for his poor grade, along with his inability to consistently read routes when he drops back into coverage, which is part of the reason why he had a coverage grade of 55.7 in 2019.

New England selected Maluia in the sixth round because they needed to take a flyer on a linebacker, as that is a position that will be filled with young, but unproven talent in 2020. Because of that, Maluia will have a chance to compete for a roster spot. However, seeing that New England drafted Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings on Day 2, and they already have Dont'a Hightower, Ja'Whaun Bentley, Brandon Copeland, along with seven other players in the linebacking corps heading into training camp, Maluia will be on the roster bubble to begin his NFL career. He will have to excel during the preseason in order for him to make the roster.

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