Who is Cleveland Browns new linebacker Malik Jefferson?

So who is Malik Jefferson, the newest member of the Cleveland Browns linebacking Corps? Is he really better than Ray-Ray Armstrong and Willie Harvey?

So who is Malik Jefferson, the newest member of the Browns’ linebacking corps? He was claimed off waivers from the Cincinnati Bengals who cut him to get down to their 53 player roster.   Is he really better than incumbents Ray-Ray Armstrong and Willie Harvey?

Jefferson is a linebacker out of Poteet High School in Mesquite, Texas, where he won the Butkus Award as the nation’s most promising high school linebacker in 2014. He was a Texas Longhorn in college and was named a Freshman All-American by both The Sporting News and USA Today in 2015. In his junior year, he was named Big 12 Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Big 12 by the Associated Press.

He entered the NFL draft in 2018 and was a combine superstar. He ran a 4.52 in the 40-yard dash, which is blazing fast for a linebacker. His vertical leap at 36.0 inches was also very good, and he had 27 bench press reps, which is also outstanding for a linebacker. Thus he was selected in the third round by the Cincinnati Bengals.

However, his contributions were limited mainly to special teams, even with several starters out last year. He had only 11 reps last year, a truly bust-worthy performance under head coach Marvin Lewis. He was cut as the Bengals decided to carry only five linebackers at this point in the season, apparently believing that Jefferson could not be redeemed under new head coach Zac Taylor.

For that reason, this is a weird move by the Browns. Can a Bengals reject really be better than two players who seem to have been well regarded? The Browns cut Ray-Ray Armstrong a veteran situational linebacker who is very good on special teams.

They also cut undrafted Willie Harvey, who played to rave reviews in the preseason, and also played well on special teams. They were able to sign him back on the practice squad, but they are lucky not to have lost him on waivers. In this case, the Browns have to base their decision on the assumption that the Bengals did not know how to utilize Jefferson at all.

Admittedly that might be true, but it is hard to see how a guy who could not get on the field for a bad Bengals team is going to contribute to a deep Browns team especially at the linebacker position where they are thought to be very deep.

Still, Browns general manager John Dorsey has made questionable moves like this before, and they have usually turned out well, and it would not be the first time that the Bengals were outsmarted.  In Dorsey we trust.

Moreover, they still have the option to bring in Harvey as long as some other team does not sign him off their practice squad. At some point that will probably happen, but perhaps the Browns will have enough time to kick the tires on Jefferson before making a decision on Harvey.

Likewise, Armstrong is currently unsigned, and he may be available for some period of time. It may be as short as a few hours, or he might remain unsigned for a few weeks, and if so the Browns may want to bring him back.