The Baltimore Ravens had a rather eventful 2022 draft, selecting talented prospects, trading away proven players and more. The end result of the weekend was an 11-player draft class that has the potential to be one of the better rookie groups in franchise history if all goes well.
One of the players that Baltimore selected was outside linebacker David Ojabo out of the University of Michigan. The team was able to pick him in the second round at No. 45 overall, something that likely wouldn’t have been possible had the rookie not suffered a torn achilles during his Pro Day in March. His defensive coordinator at Michigan for the 2021 season was now-Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, and when Macdonald was asked about his thought process of Ojabo landing in Baltimore, the defensive coordinator shared his excitement of what happened.
“It’s a great question. I try not to put too much stock or try to [make] too much of a prediction, because it’s up to [executive vice president & general manager] Eric [DeCosta], and you trust the process of how they handle it, and they do such a great job with it. But as it came closer to there [being] a possibility of him coming here, obviously, you can’t help but get excited about it. So, when it all went down and we were able to select him, I was obviously pretty jacked. It was pretty emotional – being able to give him a call; that was cool.”
Ojabo’s unfortunate injury had him slide down draft boards, but it feels like he ended up in a good situation. He reunites with Macdonald as well as former high school teammate Odafe Oweh, and can rehab his injury until it’s full healed and he feels ready to go at full speed. Fellow Baltimore outside lienbacker Tyus Bowser is also recovering from a torn achilles, so the two could provide a huge boost to the Ravens’ defense if they’re able to return during the 2022 season.