With the Tennessee Titans in the market for a pass-rusher this offseason, Pro Football Focus believes Notre Dame EDGE Julian Okwara is a good fit with Tennessee.
In a list of “prospect fits” for all 32 NFL teams, PFF’s Ben Linsey pegs Okwara as someone who makes sense for the Titans.
“Like Weaver, Okwara is an edge rusher who PFF is higher on than most. And, again, it comes back to production. Okwara was highly productive across his last two seasons with the Fighting Irish, putting up pass-rushing grades of 86.5 in 2018 and 90.4 last season. He recorded pass-rush win rates of at least 23% both seasons as well. That level of production combined with his athleticism and length makes him intriguing as a pass-rushing specialist at the NFL level and eventual all-around edge defender. He may be undersized, but Okwara is still able to bring power with the bull-rush, one of his go-to moves.”
Linsey also notes that, at worst, Okwara could make an impact as a solid rotational pass-rusher in his rookie season.
Okwara totaled 13 sacks over his last two seasons (22 games) with The Fighting Irish. His 2019 season ended early thanks to a broken fibula suffered in November, or else his stock might be higher.
It’s also important to point out that Okwara played all over the defensive line for Notre Dame, so he does have some versatility.
If the Titans are looking for EDGE help in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Okwara is likely to be available with the No. 29 overall selection, but could be gone by the time the Titans pick in the second round.
While Tennessee’s pass-rush did see an overall improvement last season, it wasn’t by much. After a 2018 season in which the Titans totaled 39 sacks as a team, they posted just four more in 2019.
It was abundantly clear that the Titans needed more pass-rush help after the AFC Championship loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in which Patrick Mahomes carved up Tennessee’s defense with little resistance.
If the Titans are going to take that next step and be a Super Bowl team in 2020, they’ve got to do a better job of creating pressure and making opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable.
The draft will be one way the Titans try to fix that issue, but general manager Jon Robinson must first consider making a big splash in free agency or in the trade market to ensure he adequately fills the need this offseason.