Top 10 safeties in the 2021 NFL Draft

#8 2021 NFL Draft Prospect: Hamsah Nasirildeen (Florida State)

6' 3", 215 pounds; SR

Hamsah Nasirildeen

Just outside the top-100 overall recruits back in 2017, Hamsah Nasirildeen played for extended stretches as a freshman already and then started in 11 games each of 2018 and ‘19. As a junior, he recorded 61 solo tackles (just over 100 total), three interceptions (including a pick-six) and PBUs each, to go with three forced fumbles, before tearing his ACL late in the year, which also sidelined him for all but two games last year. In 2019, he was named a second-team All-ACC selection.

A more unique athlete like this brings tremendous versatility to a defense, to play pretty much anywhere in the secondary or drop down into the box. Nasirildeen was largely deployed as a single-high safety in 2019, before FSU played more quarters coverage last year and lined him up over the slot.

In man-coverage on inside receivers, Nasirildeen has the explosiveness to squeeze underneath them on in-breaking routes and make plays on the ball. Having a 34 ½" arms (83" wingspan) – which is just stupid for a safety – allows him to get his fingertips on the ball or knock the ball out of the receiver’s mitts.

What excites me most, where that length is a major plus, is playing press-coverage, where he can dictate route-stems, against tight-ends especially. Last season, he allowed 15 of 24 targets his way to be completed, with one touchdown and pick each, for a passer rating slightly below 70.

While the Seminole coaches put him closer to the line of scrimmage last season and that’s where I envision him to make more of an impact at the next level, putting a safety of Hamsah’s dimensions in the deep middle is due to the incredible range he presents, to go with nice fluidity and ball-skills, to get involved at the catch point. And his pure speed allows him to beat blockers to the spot, when the sees a delayed screen throw underneath.

Nasirildeen shows a lot of urgency to get to the guy with the ball and takes him down effectively. He usually stays under great control and keeps his shoulders parallel to the line of scrimmage, when he comes downhill, especially effective out of those split-safety looks.

His speed to close the distance to the ball-carrier from deep alignments is crazy and he brings some thump, when he can square those guys up- Just watch the first two series from FSU’s 2019 season-opener against Boise State, when he ends the first one by putting his helmet right on the ball to force a fumble and then literally blows through his cleats when he made another tackle on the latter one.

Nasirildeen, at times, makes contact with running backs as he tries to get through the playside B-gap, coming all the way from the opposite hash. At the same time I love how patient he is with breaking down and wrestling down ball-carrier as an open field tackler, plus he uses very consistent angles, which manifests itself in only 22 missed tackles on 233 attempts in his career.

However, he cannot be mistaken for some kind of drag-tackler – he can lower the boom and get a clean shot on players over the middle. First defensive play of the Duke game last season, the Seminoles have the running back stood up and the play is basically over, but you just see the force of Hamsah has, when he arrives there late and basically bowls the whole pile over. His length also is an asset in clean his frame clean against blockers. And I love what I saw, when the Seminoles sent him on blitzes from depth and the way he charges down like a rocket.

On the flip side, Nasirildeen is too conservative in deep coverage and doesn’t really trust his eyes yet. When he plays quarters or buzzes down, he plays a little flat-footed at times, which limits how quickly he can get from zero to 100. When he can put hands on people at the line and control their routes from the start, Hamsah can be very effective in man-coverage, but when he has to play off, there is some stiffness and uncomfort that you can identify.

His size will always give him some issues in that regard. That was seen against some of the dynamic receivers during Senior Bowl week. There is a lack of ball-production, with only 13 combined passes defensed in his career and his one interception last season came off a deflection, right into his hands. And of course, we have seen a bunch of these sort of body types, who are described as hybrids, have a tough time sticking at one spot at the next level. Mostly, they need a coaching staff that has a clear vision for him, rather than letting his play dictate it.

The best thing Nasirildeen did down in Mobile was playing press-man against tight-ends. You saw a glimpse into what could be his specialty in the league. To me he projects best as a versatile piece, who can be deployed in multiple ways depending on down and distance, but you have to find a defined role on base downs for him.

Whether it’s as a box safety or maybe even SAM backer/big nickel, depending on his future team’s scheme. Hamsah has also has logged over 500 snaps on special teams, which is big for a guy whose coaches might want to limit his responsibilities early on, and with a guy, who has been called “war daddy” and very coachable by his college coaches, you know you have something to work with.