The Baltimore Ravens made edge rusher Odafe Oweh one of their two first round picks in the 2021 draft, with the other being wide receiver Rashod Bateman. The organization seemingly fell in love with Oweh’s potential, and will hope to develop him into the next star pass rusher to put on a Baltimore uniform.
It was no secret that the Ravens needed pass rushing help after seeing Matthew Judon, Yannick Ngakoue, and Jihad Ward depart in 2021 free agency leaving a massive void at the edge defender position. While the team did re-sign Tyus Bowser and Pernell McPhee to go along with third year player Jaylon Ferguson, they needed more after losing so much production.
That’s where Oweh comes in. He should likely get a rather hefty amount of snaps out of the gate as the team looks to see what they have in him. However, Oweh wasn’t the only developmental pass rusher that Baltimore had their eye on in the draft. Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reported that the Ravens also liked University of Miami edge defender Gregory Rousseau and had him high on their board, and he was similarly rated to Oweh.
“All indications are that the Ravens prioritized coming out of the first round with a pass rusher and they considered Rousseau and Oweh, who were similarly-graded players on their board, at 27. They ultimately decided on Bateman, believing that he would have been taken before they were on the clock again at 31, and rolling the dice that either Rousseau or Oweh would still be there.”
It seems like Baltimore felt that pass rusher was a critical need for them, so they prioritized drafting one in the first round. They figured that Bateman would get scooped up before they had a chance to pick again at No. 31, so they took the wide receiver while hoping that either Oweh or Rousseau would make it to their second first-round pick.
Luckily for the Ravens, although Rousseau was taken by the Buffalo Bills with the 30th overall pick, Oweh fell into their laps at No. 31. Rousseau accumulated 15.5 sacks in 2019, but is relatively new to the edge position, playing wide receiver and safety before transitioning to the defensive line full time.
Oweh and Rousseau would have both been good options at No. 31, and it seems like Baltimore would have been fine taking either one of them. Oweh was the player that ended up falling, and the Ravens will look to develop him into a star.