Jeffrey Bassa, Oregon: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
Bassa was a four-star athlete and safety recruit from Kearns High School in Kearns, Utah in the class of 2021
Oregon’s Jeffrey Bassa started his career at safety before transitioning to linebacker. He’s one of the lighter linebackers in the draft but possesses the movement skills and range to be an asset in coverage. Bassa projects as a fourth round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft but could sneak into the top 100.
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Jeffrey Bassa, LB Oregon: 2025 NFL Draft Profile
Classification: Senior inside linebacker from Salt Lake City, Utah
Background: Bassa was a four-star athlete and safety recruit from Kearns High School in Kearns, Utah in the class of 2021. He was the No. 334 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 235 for On3.com. Bassa was an unranked four-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 79 grade out of 100. He lettered four times in high school and was a team captain twice. Bassa played both safety and wide receiver. He finished his high school career with 138 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, five sacks, four interceptions, and ten passes defensed and 51 receptions for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns. As a senior, Bassa earned First Team All-Utah honors from MaxPreps and First-Team 6A All-State honors from Deseret News. In a nine-game, COVID-shortened season, Bassa amassed 38 tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack, two passes defensed, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. He also made 17 receptions for 304 yards and three touchdowns and returned two kicks for touchdowns. Bassa was a 6A All-State honorable mention for Deseret News as a junior after totaling 53 tackles, ten tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions (including a pick-six), six passes defensed, and a blocked field goal. He also made 18 receptions for 421 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 102 yards on four carries. Bassa finished his sophomore campaign with 27 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, a pick-six, three passes defensed, and a blocked field goal. He caught 16 passes for 291 yards and four touchdowns on offense. Bassa also lettered in basketball and track and field.
Injuries & Off-Field: Played through an ankle injury suffered when he was rolled-up on against Idaho early in the 2024 season
Awards: 2023 Second Team All-Pac-12, 2023 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Defensive MVP, 2024 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten
Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, rarely penalized, great arm length, loose athlete, closing burst, acceleration, clean and quick lateral mover, speed gives him range in pass and run games, gains good depth in zone coverages, athletic traits to bracket slot options up the seam, drops to play safety in inverted Cover 3, matches tight ends and running backs to the flat, prevents running backs from turning the corner, forces wide runs back inside, active hands help with block deconstruction, lateral agility is difficult for blockers to mirror, uses light feet and quickness to evade blockers in muddy boxes
Cons: Lean frame, still developing recognition and instincts fitting gaps, eagerness to play downhill takes him out of some plays, some steep angles to the ball, runs himself out of run plays, easily displaced in the run game, gets stuck on tight end blocks, engulfed by climbing offensive linemen, struggles to stack and shed blocks, steep angles in coverage lead to him being out-leveraged, dusted by Nicholas Singleton in coverage (2024), lacks power to provide pass rush production, tossed around as a pass rusher
Overview: Bassa enters the NFL Draft with special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units. He transitioned from safety to linebacker early in his college career to cover for injured teammates. He’s a lean, loose athlete with great arm length that occasionally compensates for his lack of weight. Bassa’s movements are clean with no stiffness and allow for quick, fluid changes of direction. His acceleration and closing burst are part of his impressive range that makes sure he’s never far from the football in both the run and pass games. The Utah native outraces running backs to the corner and forces them back inside. He’s best operating on a horizontal plane at the second level because his instincts fitting the run downhill are still developing. Bassa occasionally takes himself out of plays by prematurely stepping downhill or taking steep angles to the ball. He uses his active hands to deconstruct blocks but primarily relies on his lateral agility to evade and duck around larger blockers. Linemen struggle to mirror his movements. Bassa’s agility, light footwork, and quickness help him navigate muddy boxes. Unfortunately, blockers who make solid contact easily displace Bassa. The senior struggles to shed blocking tight ends and completely lacks the power to combat linemen. His stack and shed technique needs work. Bassa gains impressive depth in zone and uses his athletic traits to bracket slot options deep down the seam. Oregon even trusts him to play safety in inverted Cover 3 looks. He takes steep angles in coverage that put him at a leverage disadvantage and open plenty of space for pass catchers.
Overall, Bassa is a unique and impressive athlete with the range and movement skills to provide defenses with an advantage in the passing game. He needs to add more weight and develop his patience and instincts. Bassa is too inconsistent to provide immediate defensive snaps but could start before the end of his rookie contract.
Role & Scheme Fit: Weakside linebacker in an even front scheme
Round Projection: Fourth Round
Size: 6'2", 235 lbs. (Unofficial)
Submitted: 12-17-24
Updated: 01-13-25