7 Senior Bowl prospects the Lions should watch on defense

Hamsah Nasirildeen, S – Florida State

I’ll be honest, I had a huge draft crush on Derwin James. The safety position is dear to my heart and whilst he wasn’t a perfect prospect I had every confidence he would translate and had him very high in my personal rankings.

This isn’t a flex – I also really liked Josh Rosen that year – but when I see a prospect with a similar build and athleticism to James it always has me interested. And that’s where safety Hamsah Nasirildeen comes in.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Nasirildeen’s almost a linebacker build in a safety’s body and that could be where his best position is at the next level as the league transitions towards lighter, rangier linebackers in nickel and dime.

Again, Nasirildeen is more a toolsy prospect with impressive fluidity for his big frame. But he doesn’t have the top-end speed and range you’d like to see from a traditional deep free safety which may limit his positional flexibility.

Another area Nasirildeen differs from an elite prospect like Derwin James is his read and react ability. He often doesn’t trust his keys and react to what he’s seeing. This isn’t to say he doesn’t flash his playmaking ability but it is inconsistent.

Against the run is where he excels and that is why I see him more as a safety/linebacker hybrid. He rarely misses tackles and is under control compared to many of the “hair on fire” safeties seen elsewhere in this class.

Hamsah Nasirildeen’s medical checks will be critical as he took over a year to recover from a torn ACL in 2019. But if he shows he is back to full health, he would offer an intriguing chess piece to the Detroit Lions’ defense.