Jeffrey
Bassa.
Jeffrey
Bassa.
Oregon· 6'1"· 232 lb· 4.63s 40
"Bassa is an athletic, instinctual weakside linebacker who consistently flashes sideline-to-sideline pursuit, but his slightly undersized frame and occasional over-aggression can leave him vulnerable to blockers in the run game."Pre-draft read
Bassa arrived at Oregon as a safety and still moves like one. He diagnoses quickly, runs the alley cleanly and covers ground laterally at a rate most off-ball linebackers cannot match. In space against tight ends and backs he carries routes with real fluidity, and he is comfortable turning and running rather than passing off and hoping.
Between the tackles is the compromise. At 232 pounds he takes on guards and centers instead of shedding them, and when he over-commits to a first read the cutback lane opens behind him. He is at his best flowing free behind a defensive line that keeps blockers off him — a run-and-chase linebacker, not a downhill thumper who stacks and sheds.
Spags' amoeba front, where second-level defenders must be versatile and handle various run fits, blitzes, and coverage assignments in a complex scheme.
Initially a core special teamer who can develop into a rotational cover and blitzing linebacker, with the potential to grow into a starting weak-side LB.
A traditional 3-4 two-gap system that emphasizes size and raw power over sideline-to-sideline range and coverage ability.
Bassa's quickness and coverage instincts make him a natural fit for a modern defense that values versatility and athleticism in its linebackers.
Jeffrey Bassa | Linebacker | Full 2024 Oregon Highlights | 2025 NFL Draft
NFL DRAFT HIGHLIGHTS: LB Jeffrey Bassa | Oregon Football
Jeffrey Bassa Oregon Highlights
Bassa converted from safety to linebacker at Oregon and started for four seasons, finishing with 218 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and three interceptions across 55 games. He was the defensive signal-caller on a playoff-caliber Big Ten defense, and the leadership grade is as high as the athletic one.
The testing matched the projection: a 4.63 forty, a 38.5-inch vertical and 21 bench reps at 6-1, 232 pounds. That is a modern nickel-package linebacker profile — enough juice to run with backs, enough pop to be a core special teamer, not enough mass to two-gap a guard.
Kansas City took him in the fifth round to feed a defense built on versatility and disguise. The defensive scheme asks second-level defenders to blitz, drop and fit runs from multiple alignments, which suits a converted safety with four years of green-dot experience. The floor is a special teams ace and third-down cover linebacker; the ceiling is a starting weak-side linebacker in subpackage-heavy defense.
- 01
Coverage range
Converted safety shows legitimate coverage range against backs and tight ends.
- 02
Elite pursuit speed
Bassa ran a 4.63 forty and recorded a 38.5-inch vertical at 232 pounds.
- 03
Defensive communicator
He spent four years as Oregon's defensive communicator and signal-caller.
- 04
Run diagnosis
Bassa displays quick run diagnosis and triggers downhill without a false step.
- 05
Special teams value
He established core special teams value across four seasons.
- 01
Absorbed by blockers
He gets absorbed by guards and centers when blockers reach the second level.
- 02
Over-pursuit
Bassa over-pursues at times and gives up cutback lanes.
- 03
Maxed out frame
His frame is maxed out at 232 pounds, limiting base-down value.
- 04
Limited sacks
He has only 4.5 career sacks despite regular blitz usage.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.63sp50
- Vertical
- 38.5inp50
- Broad jump
- 118inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.34sp50
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- 21repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Oregon | 14 | 39 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | Oregon | 13 | 57 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Oregon | 14 | 71 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 | Oregon | 14 | 51 | 1.5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Career | — | 55 | 218 | 4.5 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Bassa mirrors Bolton's instinctual play and impressive sideline-to-sideline range, excelling in pursuit and delivering solid hits, despite not being a pure power player.
Cashman's versatility as a strong run defender and reliable pass-coverage linebacker makes him an ideal high-end comparison for Bassa's skill set.
Bassa's coverage ability and quickness in space draw parallels to Brooks, though Bassa may project with slightly less impact as a run stopper at the next level.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Kansas City has made a habit of finding cheap, versatile second-level defenders and coaching them into rotational roles, and Bassa arrived built for that pipeline.
The rookie year unfolded on special teams and in subpackage defense, the standard path for a fifth-round linebacker joining a veteran unit.
The evaluation is intact. The coverage range and the football intelligence were the reasons to draft him and they show up immediately; the block-shedding limitation was the reason he lasted until 156 and it has not gone away. He is a nickel-and-dime linebacker who plays every special teams snap, and that is a fine outcome for the price.