The Baltimore Ravens selected edge rusher Odafe Oweh with the 31st overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. Baltimore reportedly had similar grades on both Oweh and fellow edge defender Gregory Rousseau, but ended up with the former Penn State Nittany Lion, who arguably fits the Ravens’ defensive scheme a bit more than Rousseau would have.
When breaking down film on Baltimore’s 2021 draft class, Ravens’ Director of Player Personnel Joe Hortiz went into detail about what he liked about Oweh’s game, including the fact that he has skills and moves that are transferable to the NFL level.
Hortiz on Odafe Oweh: Believes his "power-bend-hands" pass rush moves will translate to the NFL. Loves his pursuit and closing speed.
On no sacks last year, Hortiz said: "If he was literally not even a fraction of a second sooner, it's a sack/forced fumble."
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) May 24, 2021
Hortiz went into detail about the “raw” aspects of Oweh’s game and how the team will try to help him grow and develop.
“I would say, the rawness comes from … And I don’t know if I’d call him raw, overall, because he does use his hands. The rawness is like the raw potential – just when this guy learns a secondary move off his speed rush. [He uses] a lot of double swipes, punch, rip. When he learns the counters off of that … He’s raw from a reading blockers’ hands [standpoint] – the small aspects of the game.”
Oweh hasn’t been playing football for a very long time, so he has quite a bit of room to get better. However, he already has some traits that will help him be productive as he learns the rest of the NFL game, and it seems like the entire organization is enamored with what Oweh could become under the tutelage of their coaching staff.