Jeffrey M’ba’s (umh-BAH) NFL journey spans three continents, includes four languages and took 27 years to reach fruition.
The big defensive tackle was born in Librevile, Gabon, on Africa’s west coast but would quickly call a different continent home, as he moved to France at age four. Jeffrey’s cultural immersion continued at age 13, when he relocated to Cameroon, a country he describes as a unique linguistic melting pot due to its colonial history with Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
Through
it all, athletics remained a constant in his life. Soccer was the base sport, but M’ba tried his hand at numerous others including track, biking, judo, and even horse riding. It wasn’t until he was a teenager that he decided to try American football. Shortly after, he made the decision to move to Baltimore to attend powerhouse St. Frances Academy at age 18. The culture shock was tangible and Jeffery discussed it in this interview with Tom Pelissero at the Senior Bowl.
Visa and transcript issues plagued him early in his career and after being rated a four-star coming out of high school and committing to Virginia, he had to de-commit and enroll at Independence Community College instead. Jeffrey would play there from 2020 to 2021 and finish as a top JUCO recruit.
His college journey mirrored his personal one and included multiple stops along the way. In 2022, he transferred to Auburn, where he played in 10 games as a reserve, totaling six tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. He would enter the transfer portal again to play for the Purdue Boilermakers, totaling 16 tackles and a sack in 12 games as a reserve in 2023, before starting 12 games and totaling 30 tackles in 2024. M’ba would once again enter the transfer portal to play his senior season at SMU. There he finally put it all together with the Mustangs with career highs of 42 tackles, 5.0 sacks, and 7.5 TFL in his final college season.
| Tackles | Def Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Solo | Ast | Comb | TFL | Sk | Int | Yds | IntTD | PD | FR | Yds | FRTD | FF | Awards |
| 2022 | Auburn | SEC | SO | DL | 9 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2023 | Purdue | Big Ten | JR | DL | 12 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2024 | Purdue | Big Ten | SR | DL | 12 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2025* | SMU | ACC | SR | DL | 12 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 7.5 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Career | 45 | 42 | 52 | 94 | 11.5 | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| Auburn (1 Yr) | 9 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| Purdue (2 Yrs) | 24 | 23 | 23 | 46 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| SMU (1 Yr) | 12 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 7.5 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
M’ba’s greatest attributes are size and strength paired with ideal height, weight, and length for a 3-4 defensive lineman. At 6-foot-5 and 310-pounds he beats interior linemen with brute force and good explosion. He is able to take on and stack double teams, while still being able to move laterally to tackle ball-carriers. Jeffery’s athleticism isn’t off the charts, but for his size it is more of a plus than a negative.
M’ba also has stiff hips and his get-off is merely adequate, but he plays hard and has a good motor. His lack of consistent coaching shows in his technique. Per his Steelers Depot draft profile, the big defensive tackle also needs time to develop, both in regards to pad level and the use of his hands.
The plus side of his multiple stops during college is that different coordinators earmarked him for different roles, which Jeffrey touched on in an article by NFL draft analyst Ryan Wilson.
“When I was at Auburn [I was] 315 pounds,” M’ba said. “Then I went to Purdue and they wanted me to play 3-tech, so I dropped to 290. Then they wanted me to play inside … I played at 315. Came back [to SMU last] spring, they told me they want me to play 3-tech, so I went back to 305. Then they wanted me to play nose, so during the summer I went back to 330.”
Multiple position changes gave M’ba an understanding of almost every spot along the defensive line and he is a rare Swiss army knife there. It will be interesting to see where new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones and DL coach Eric Henderson envision him lining up. Tim Settle offers similar versatility as a potential starter and plays at a comparable weight, but M’ba could easily bulk up to 320-pounds and provide depth on the interior and in heavy sets.
Normally I would say M’ba’s path to a roster spot would be fairly clear. He opted out of the International Player Pathway program initially, but is still eligible for the practice squad exemption later if he does not make the 53-man roster. The issue is T.J. Maguranyanga currently occupies that spot on the Commanders’ 91-man roster and was recently recognized as a standout player during the minicamp by Dan Quinn. That should be just fine by M’ba as he comes to the Commanders looking to prove he is an asset that belongs on the final roster.
“I feel like a lot of people are still doubting my ability to play,” M’ba explained. “So here is really the perfect place to show that I don’t want — I cannot — be an NFL IPP (International Player Pathway) player. I have to be drafted or signed.”
When the 27-year old arrives in training camp, M’ba will be looking to finish his journey by smashing through the few remaining obstacles between him and his NFL dream.
