#46

Malik Jefferson

Former linebacker at Texas. 2017: 110 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 4 sacks.

LB · Texas · #46

6′3″ · 240 lb · Mesquite, TX

Cincinnati — drafted 2018, Rd 3, Pick 14, #78 overall

Recruiting

5★

OLB recruit

No. 10 nationally · Signed with Texas

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

Former linebacker at Texas. 2017: 110 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 4 sacks.

Signed as a 5-star recruit to Texas in 2015.
Drafted round 3 by the Cincinnati in 2018.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Two seasons at Texas, 169 tackles — drafted at #78 overall by Cincinnati.

His career

2015

Signed with Texas5-star out of Poteet

2018

Drafted by Cincinnatiround 3, pick 78

Career arc

Recruit

★★★★★

#10 national

CFB

College

Texas

2016–2017

NFL

NFL Draft

R3 · #78

Cincinnati · 2018

Badges

Top-10 Recruit

Coaching lineage · 2016–2017

2 coaches

2016

Charlie Strong

Texas

2017

Tom Herman

Texas

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Charlie Strong → Tom Herman. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

Where He Ended Up · NFL

CincinnatiEntering 9th NFL season

#78Rd 3 · Pick 14

CincinnatiEntering 9th NFL season

View college career stats ↓

2017 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2016Texas5-7HC: Charlie Strong · Run-leaning, fast tempo

2017Texas7-6HC: Tom Herman · Balanced, fast tempo

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: solo tackles (100th percentile). Strength: tackles (99th percentile). Concern: passes defended (19th percentile).

Box-score production (6)

Solo tackles#5 / 2682 · 100th pct

Tackles#29 / 2682 · 99th pct

110

QB hurries#122 / 2682 · 94th pct

Tackles for loss#162 / 2682 · 93rd pct

10.0

Sacks#205 / 2682 · 91st pct

4.0

Passes defended#1669 / 2682 · 19th pct

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2017 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home7g	9.7	0.6	0.2	0.0
Road5g	8.4	1.1	0.5	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-76g	9.0	1.0	0.4	0.0
Weeks 8+6g	9.3	0.7	0.2	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Steve Sarkisian

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2017

Impact starter

Producing measurably more than a replacement-level starter.

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career stats

Season	Team
2017	Texas	110	79	10.0	4.0	--	--	--
2016	Texas	59	43	8.5	5.5	2	--	--
Career		169	122	18.5	9.5	2	--	--

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2017 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	Note
Wk 1	L 41-51vs Maryland	9	5	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 2	W 56-0vs San José State	7	3	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 3	L 24-27@ USC	11	9	2.0	0.0	—
Wk 5	W 17-7@ Iowa State	6	6	1.0	1.0	—
Wk 6	W 40-34vs Kansas State	10	6	2.0	0.5	—
Wk 7	L 24-29vs Oklahoma	11	8	1.0	1.0	—
Wk 8	L 10-13vs Oklahoma State	14	11	0.0	0.0	—	Season-high 14 tackles
Wk 9	W 38-7@ Baylor	8	6	2.5	1.5	—	2.5 TFL
Wk 10	L 7-24@ TCU	10	7	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 11	W 42-27vs Kansas	7	4	1.5	0.0	—
Wk 12	W 28-14@ West Virginia	7	6	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 13	L 23-27vs Texas Tech	10	8	0.0	0.0	—
Total		110	79	10.0	4.0	—

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

2015

2018

2017 snapshot

Splits & context

Awards

Impact starter

Career stats

Game log

How he plays