Makell Esteen
Makell Esteen
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Makell Esteen has been at Washington through two head coaches in four seasons. One game to point at: 8 tackles against Michigan — Week 8, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
Career Arc
Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Kalen DeBoer → Jedd Fisch. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Splits & context
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jedd Fisch
Awards
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 2 · StarterR05 · Part-time starter
Part-time starter. Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Washington | 51 | 35 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 2 | -- |
| 2024 | Washington | 43 | 25 | 1.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Washington | 19 | 10 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | -- |
| 2022 | Washington | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 | -- |
| Career | 120 | 75 | 4.0 | 0.5 | 5 | 5 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 9 · 2025
W 42–25
vs Illinois
6 TOT · 3 SOLO
How he plays
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Washington
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Safety · Washington
Returning around him
- 7 Washington players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -9 net (14 in / 23 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Washington · Last season: 9-4 (AP #24) · Talent rank #37 · 2026 recruiting class #13
DNA match
Player DNA
Hybrid Nickel
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Muhammed Jammeh’s 2025 season.
Matches Muhammed on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Mitch Leigber's senior season at Stanford (2024).
Matches Mitch on