Ex-Texas standout Muhammad looks to Packers Golden for advice

By GERY WOELFEL
INDIANAPOLIS — Malik Muhammad clearly knows what he has to do at this week’s NFL Scouting Combine.
Run fast.
Really fast.
Or, at least, faster than some NFL personnel people believe he’s capable of doing.
Muhammad, the former University of Texas standout defensive back, seemingly has all the tools to be an elite player at the NFL level.
He is a consistently good cover man, is aggressive, a reliable tackler and versatile, capable of playing the corner, nickel and safety spots.
Those kind of players are pretty rare.
But despite his myriad talents, Muhammad gets marked down on talent scouts’ evaluations for his perceived lack of speed.
The 6-foot Muhammad has reportedly been timed around 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash. That’s not bad, but it’s not ideal, especially when each and every week during the NFL season defensive backs are required to stick with blazing receivers.
While the NFL talent evaluators might have concerns about Muhammad’s speed, he doesn’t.
“I never really had to run fast, like super fast,” Muhammad said. “If you had to run super fast, that means me, as a defensive back, is getting beat. So I’ve never had to run super fast.”
Whatever speed Muhammad played at Texas was obviously good enough. He picked off two passes last season and finished his Longhorns career with three in 41 games, 29 as a starter.
His fine play figures to make him a high selection in the NFL draft, which will be held April 23-25 in Pittsburgh.
Heading into the Combine, Muhammad is being projected as a mid-second to mid-third round selection.
The P:ackers have second and third-round picks and have done their due diligence on Muhammad. In fact, they had a lengthy interview with him last month at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. “I had a good interview with them,” Muhammad said of the Packers. “I got to show them my football knowledge.”
Muhammad said he’s pretty familiar with the Packers’ current roster and is a good friend of Matthew Golden, the former Texas star receiver whom the Packers drafted in the first round of the 2025 draft.
Muhammad said he and Golden has some classic matchups in practices at Texas.
“They were good,” Muhammad said. “We battled it out. We had some good, one-on-ones together, good team reps.”
Muhammad said he recently reached out to Golden, picking his brains on how to get ready for the draft.
“I actually hit him up a couple weeks ago,” Muhammad said. “I just asked him abut the draft process, what it was like training-wise and just getting his input and feedback.”
And, yes, the ex-Longhorns spoke about speed.
“I asked him about splits and times, just to see where I was at,” Muhammad said. “I feel me and him have the same type of speed.”
If that is indeed the case, Muhammad should do just fine when he’s clocked in the 40 later this week. Golden ran a blistering 4.29 at last year’s Combine.