The New York Giants only had six picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. With the 6th pick, GM Joe Schoen took a shot on Linebacker Darius Muasau from UCLA. He was a red shirt senior.
Hawaii to California:
Muasau is a passionate football player that does go all out on every play. He started his career at Hawaii and racked up back to back years of 100+ tackles. At UCLA he played an additional 26 games. It took Muasau some time to get acclimated to the increased competitive atmosphere and the step up in speed.
He is an undersized linebacker (6’1″ 230) but has a great motor and is projected to play special teams. He does fly around the field and is not afraid to crash the line to blow up a play. Muasau finished with 75 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss & 4.0 sacks. His ability to diagnose plays and react accordingly was improved in 2024. He is a similar player to Carter Coughlin and the two could be a force on special teams.
Improvements:
Muasau does struggle with wrapping up when tackling, which we can only hope the Giants push for improvement. His quickness can be under estimated and he has shown spurts of being a good situational pass rusher. He lacks the traits to be reliable in man coverage, and it should be avoided.