Tag: Osa Odighizuwa

2025 Free Agency: Cowboys defender projected as $100 million signing for 1st-year AFC coach

The Cowboys Osa Odighizuwa is seen as a great fit for an AFC East team that is starting anew, again.

The Dallas Cowboys have a lengthy list of free-agent players who could be just as attractive to other organizations as they are to Dallas. The biggest name on the list might just be defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa. The 2021 third-round pick doesn’t have a huge number of career sacks, but he’s been a effective disruptor and teams always thirsty for a player with his skillset.

Odighizuwa set his career high in sacks in 2024 with 4.5. His strength has always been in disruption, consistently ranking among the best defensive tackles in advanced analytics. And that will likely make him a top target for at least a handful of teams. Pro Football Focus thinks one of those should be the New England Patriots under new head coach Mike Vrabel.

Mike Vrabel inherits a roster that needs a boost at nearly every position group, and New England holds the cap space to do so this offseason. New England’s interior was especially ineffective in 2024, totaling the lowest pressure rate from defensive tackles (7.6%) in 2024. Odighizuwa would be an instant upgrade, having recorded two consecutive seasons with a 78.0-plus PFF pass-rush grade and a 14%-plus win rate.

After a year away from the game, Vrabel landed back in New England where he spent much of his playing career. The former Tennessee Titan head coach took over after Bob Kraft dismissed Jerod Mayo after just one season.

Earlier in this offseason, Odighizuwa ranked No. 30 on Pro Football Focus’ list of top pending free agents. As part of their exercise, PFF finds a previous free agent to compare to. Odighizuwa’s comp is Nnamdi Madubuike, who signed with Baltimore last offseason on a four year, $98 million contract.

Per PFF, Madubuike signed for 9.6% of the 2024 cap. With NFL teams preparing for a 2025 salary cap between $265 million and $275 million, that percentage would put a four-year deal for Odighizuwa’s north of $100 million.

It would also put Dallas in line for a third-round compensatory pick in 2026 if they came out on the plus side of the ledger in free agents lost vs signed.

Matt Eberflus’ defensive philosophy demands Cowboys re-sign this player

For the sake of Eberflus’ defense the Cowboys must keep Osa Odighizuwa

Free agency is time of comings and goings for NFL teams. Underperformers and poor fits typically leave, ideally replaced by higher performers and those who appear to be better fits. Coaching changes, like the kind the Dallas Cowboys are currently undergoing, can spark extra churn on the free agency front.

Different coaches run different schemes, and since not all players fit all schemes, changes have to be made in personnel. The Kris Richard days are a perfect example. Richard, hailing from the Seattle defensive coaching tree, was a heavy Cover 1 and Cover 3 coach. Since his scheme demanded the most from his boundary cornerbacks, the Cowboys made an aggressive effort to replace their standard sized CBs with long and lean alternatives who were better equipped to handle the demands of Richard’s scheme.

In 2025 the Cowboys have brought in Matt Eberflus to lead the defense. Like Richard, Eberflus has a particular brand of football he prefers and populates his roster accordingly. His brand happens to be on par with the direction most of the NFL has been trending in recent seasons: bend but don’t break.

The pendulum has swung from the single-high looks and landed all the way on the other side of the schoolyard at the Vic Fangio 2-high. Eberflus’ defense, much like Rod Marinelli’s many years ago, plays with the middle of the field open. It lives in nickel personnel and disguises very little. It relies on a handful of key positions to make it all work and one of key positions is up for review this March in free agency.

Aside from needing a dominant edge rusher, the Eberflus defense relies heavily on the 3-tech defensive tackle to provide most of the pressure. Micah Parsons, presumably in Dallas forever, has the edge position locked down. He’s one of the best edge players in the NFL and gives Eberflus everything he needs from either side of the defensive line. The 3-tech DT, aka under tackle, is considerably more unsettled.

Osa Odighizuwa is about to enter free agency. With four years of service under his belt, he’s unrestricted in his availability and free to go to the highest bidder. It’s difficult to estimate for sure what the market will be for the UCLA product but as one of the most accomplished interior pressure players in the NFL, he’s likely to approach top 10 money at DT.

With just 13.5 career sacks, it’s easy to take Odighizuwa for granted. Sacks are king in most minds and not everyone cares that Odighizuwa ranked fifth in pressures last season (tracked by Pro Football Focus). But care they should, because pressures are a far more stable statistic year to year than sacks and pressures are what Eberflus needs to make his defense work.

Prior to 2024 there was concern Odighizuwa didn’t have the conditioning to make it through and entire 17 game NFL season. In previous years he faded down the stretch and wasn’t the same difference maker when games seemingly mattered the most. In 2024 that changed with him actually performing better down the stretch, thriving most in the back half of the year.

Replacing Odighizuwa in a single season will be next to impossible if the Cowboys choose to go that route. Unless Dallas trades up for Michigan DT Mason Graham, they probably won’t find a plug-and-play rookie 3-tech like Odighizuwa would otherwise offer them.

The new coaching staff needs certain competencies in place to make their systems work and one of those competencies for Eberflus’ defense is to have an explosive pressure player at 3-tech.

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Report links Cowboys DT to Commanders as potential free agent target

Could Dan Quinn reunite with another of his former players?

One of Dan Quinn’s former defensive tackles for the Cowboys is already being linked to the Washington Commanders.

Osa Odighizuwa was drafted in the third round (75 overall) in the 2021 NFL draft, Dan Quinn’s first year in Dallas as the Cowboys defensive coordinator. Thus, Quinn spent three seasons with Odighizuwa, his first three playing in the NFL.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN mentions Odighizuwa as someone who might want to reconnect with Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. Fowler believes the Commanders could be the team to watch here because Quinn liked Odighizuwa in their three seasons together in Dallas.

Fowler’s latest: Teams we’ve talked to think Odighizuwa is the top defensive tackle because of his versatility, durability and pass-rush traits. Washington is a team to potentially watch — coach Dan Quinn has been big fan of Odighizuwa from their Dallas days together.

Now, of course, the Cowboys are in the driver’s seat for now, having the opportunity to sign their own free agents before the new NFL calendar year begins in March.

Yet, Dan Quinn will undoubtedly be looking to improve the team’s defense, which was weak at times last season and certainly weaker than the offense.

The Commanders currently have big money invested in Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen. Other defensive tackles who saw plenty of action this season were Johnny Newton, Sheldon Day, and Jalyn Holmes. Carl Davis and Phidarian Mathis also saw time inside, but the Commanders released Mathis in December, and he was subsequently picked up by the Jets.

Odighizuwa (6-2, 280) played his college ball at UCLA, started 12 games his rookie Cowboys season, and then all 17 games the following three seasons in Dallas.

Remember, however, one of the concerns for the Cowboys was that their interior defense was too light and that good running teams were pushing them around. On the other hand, Odighizuwa is quick enough, and he gets good pressure inside often.

Former Cowboys 3rd-round pick would be big help in fixing 49ers DL

The 49ers should have a close eye on Osa Odighizuwa in free agency.

Revamping the defensive line should be one of the San Francisco 49ers’ highest offseason priorities.

Given that they need to upgrade starters and depth pieces at multiple positions, they’ll have to address the defensive front through both free agency and the draft.

Pro Football Focus offered an intriguing option for the 49ers in the free agent market. The football analytics site named San Francisco as the best offseason landing spot for former Dallas Cowboys third-round pick Osa Odighizuwa.

Odighizuwa, a 26-year-old defensive tackle, would offer a quick replacement for DT Javon Hargrave who restructured his contract to become an unrestricted free agent when the new league year opens March 14.

Via PFF:

Over the past two seasons, Osa Odighizuwa has established himself as a reliable interior pass-rusher, earning a 78.0 pass-rush grade in both campaigns. He’s totaled over 100 pressures and 10 sacks during that span, showcasing his consistent ability to disrupt opposing quarterbacks.

One knock on Odighizuwa is that he’s not a great run stopper. And while finding better run stoppers up front is something that also has to be on the 49ers’ to-do list this offseason, fixing their pass rush is a greater priority. There aren’t many defensive tackles who were better at generating pressure than Odighizuwa last season.

His 15.1 percent pass rush win rate was tied for the 22nd-best mark in the NFL and would have easily ranked second on the 49ers behind defensive end Nick Bosa. The second-best pass rush win rate on San Francisco’s D-line last season belonged to DT Maliek Collins at 12.0 percent (66th-best in the NFL).

San Francisco has a ways to go to revamp a defensive line that struggled last season. Finding a player like Odighizuwa on something less than a top-of-market deal would be a really nice start.

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2025 Free Agency: Former 3rd-round pick will be Cowboys toughest decision of all

The Cowboys’ Osa Odighizuwa could be in line for a big payday, but there are concerns of the level of his impact on the defensive interior. | From @cdpiglet

On most teams, Osa Odighizuwa would’ve already been extended. For the Dallas Cowboys, cap space is king, and their former third-round pick might be too costly for them to bring back. Last offseason, Nnamdi Madubuike received a contract worth nearly $25 million a season. Odighizuwa is the top defensive tackle scheduled to hit the market, and it’s expected he will receive a contract along those same lines.

Dallas already has the claim to paying both the highest QB salary, as well as , with Micah Parsons likely to be the highest-paid non-QB when he signs his deal. The Cowboys must be sure they are getting what they pay for when they sign any other player to a top-end contract.

The team needs to compare what Odighizuwa has done to other players paid in that range. Derrick Brown and Alim McNeil were injured this season, and Quinnen Williams lost his coach early on. Still, Dexter Lawrence, Jeffery Simmons, DeForest Buckner, and Madubuike all make between 21 and 25 million on average per season, so how does Odighizuwa match up?

In the analytics department, Odighizuwa is as good as any defensive tackle in football. Over the last two seasons, he averaged 11.5 QB hits, 35 hurries, and 51.5 pressures. Buckner, Madubuike, Simmons, and Lawrence averaged 6.5 QB hits, 29 hurries, and 43 pressures in the previous four seasons.

Odighizuwa doesn’t have the production metrics of those four, though, trailing them significantly in sacks, tackles for loss and stops, despite them averaging 60 fewer snaps per season than he does.

If that were the most significant difference between Odighizuwa and other top defensive tackles, the decision to pay him would be no problem, but other things separate him as well.

Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades Odighizuwa lower overall. Their overall grades were mostly over 80, and he was 68.1. His pass rush grade was slightly higher, 78.5 to 77.5, but he fell off entirely in run defense. They combined for a 73.4 grade; Odighizuwa’s was only 50.8. Odighizuwa has an average missed tackle rate of 15% over the previous two years, including 17.4% in 2024, while they have a 6.1% rate.

In addition to considering fit with whomever ends up in charge of their defense, Dallas must weigh Odighizuwa’s ability to win at the line of scrimmage and impact the opposing quarterback better than most interior pass rusher in the NFL. Will that lead to more production as he hits his prime, or will the production as a pass rusher never come to fruition, combined with a lack of run defense?

You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or Bluesky @mike-crum-cdpiglet.bsky.social

2025 Free Agency: ESPN predicts Cardinals to pursue Cowboys $105 million DT solution

The Cowboys will likely face competition if they want to retain the services of Osa Odighizuwa.

The Dallas Cowboys got a late start to an important offseason task. Sound familiar? This time, Dallas waited a week to admit to themselves there was no future with Mike McCarthy as head coach, letting their leader of the last five seasons go on Monday. McCarthy’s contract expired last week, but instead of moving on, Dallas blocked him from interviewing with the Chicago Bears for their opening, and didn’t pursue any of the coordinators from the No. 1 seeds when they had a window.

Waiting too long to get moving is a symptom for this club, often waiting weeks to get into free agency while the rest of the league reshuffles their rosters. That could very well be the case again in 2025, and if so, Dallas could lose out on not just external free agents, but in-house ones as well.

The Cowboys have a lengthy list of players who are out of contract, like McCarthy, who could be pursued by other organizations. Chief amongst those will be defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa. The 2021 third-round pick doesn’t have a high number of career sacks, but he’s been a career disruptor and teams will more than likely be in pursuit of someone with his skillset.

Odighizuwa set his career high in sacks, with 4.5, in 2024. His strength has always been in disruption, consistently ranking among the best defensive tackles in advanced analytics. And that will likely make him a top target for at least a handful of teams. ESPN thinks one of those will be the Arizona Cardinals, as they predicted Odighizuwa as a major free agent addition in the desert.

Big prediction for the offseason: In the third year of the Jonathan Gannon-Monti Ossenfort era, a playoff berth is desperately needed, so the Cardinals will start getting aggressive with their cap space. They will add both Josh Sweat, an old friend of Gannon’s from his Eagles days, and Osa Odighizuwa to a defensive line sorely in need of immediate contributors. — Solak

Odighizuwa ranked No. 30 on Pro Football Focus’ list of top pending free agents. As part of their exercise, PFF finds a previous free agent to compare to. Odighizuwa’s comp is Nnamdi Madubuike, who signed with Baltimore last offseason on a four year, $98 million contract.

Per PFF, Madubuike signed for 9.6% of the 2024 cap. With NFL teams preparing for a 2025 salary cap between $265 million and $275 million, that percentage would put Odighizuwa’s APY at $26.4 million.

A four-year deal would total $105.6 million on the open market. Losing Odighizuwa to a contract of this size would put Dallas in line for a third-round compensatory pick in 2026 if they came out on the plus side of the ledger in free agents lost vs signed.

Turning doubt into dominance, Osa Odighizuwa continued to evolve in 2024

Changes to the Cowboys coaching staff led some to call Odighizuwa’s future into question. He answered those so well, they may not be able to afford him. | From @BtchesLuvSports

Not every football season can be a masterpiece, but even in the chaos, there are moments worth celebrating. The Dallas Cowboys’ 2024 campaign might not have delivered the results fans hoped for, but it sure delivered some unforgettable stories.

One such story was, in a contract year, defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa proving pundits don’t know nearly as much as they think they do; especially when it comes what he’s capable of.

Two headlines serve as trailer for the story of Odighizuwa’s growth and development. On March 1, the prevailing sentiment was the 2021 third-round pick was one of 3 defenders on thin ice with Mike Zimmer’s new personnel plans. Nine months later, on December 16, he was defined as an underrated star who priced himself out of Dallas with his latest dominant game.

When the Cowboys announced Zimmer as their new defensive coordinator following Dan Quinn’s departure, rumors swirled regarding potential changes to the defense. 

Zimmer’s preferences were put under the microscope and analysts quickly concluded Odighizuwa might not be his type. Critics claimed he lacked size for a Zimmer DT and didn’t log enough sacks to be a true force on the line.  Would he get the axe or could he take a step forward under Zimmer’s direction?

Chopping block conversations were quickly nixed, and anyone who thought a simple step forward would be enough for Odighizuwa was sorely mistaken. 

He cranked up his total pressures by nearly 40%, going from 43 in 2023 to 60 in 2024; a number bested only by the Broncos’ Zach Allen and the Chiefs’ Chris Jones.

Oh, and about those critics who said he couldn’t get home? Odighizuwa reached the quarterback far more than in the past. He directly helped take the QB to the ground seven times. His 4.5 sacks on the season were a career high, and stemmed from two solo takedowns and being a part of five group sacks.

Add in the fact that he ranked Top-Five for both quarterback hits and hurries, and it’s no wonder he’s been referred to by experts as one of the most dominant interior defenders in the NFL and one of the best pass rushers in the league. 

At this point, there’s no questioning Odighizuwa’s impact on the line, but before opponents have to deal with him next season, the Cowboys face a different battle: his contract. With total cash projections north of $100 million, the big questionis no longer whether the former UCLA Bruin is a force—it’s whether Dallas can afford to keep him.

Decisions on these in-house contributors will be most significant part of Cowboys offseason

The most significant in-house free agents Dallas has to decide what to do with this offseason. | From @cdpiglet

The Dallas Cowboys were unhappy with how the 2023 season ended but did little to help change things in 2024. To fix it in 2025, They will need to hit on their draft picks and bring in outside contributors in free agency, but it all begins with how they handle their own players on expiring contracts.

Dallas has 20 unrestricted free agents, and they won’t be able to fill all those losses with undrafted free agents and the 2025 draft class. Who returns and who they move on from will depend on a multitude of factors. A trio of free agents played significant snaps and had productive seasons.

Defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa has been an excellent player for the price of a third-round pick, but in a weak defensive tackle market, his price could skyrocket. Odighizuwa is slightly less productive than Nnamdi Madubuike of the Baltimore Ravens, but his projected market is in that same range. At $20 to $25 million, Odighizuwa won’t be worth the cost for Dallas, and the team will need to use an early draft selection for his replacement.

Cornerback Jourdan Lewis might have priced himself out of Dallas with his play in 2024, but the injury to Treven Diggs might be enough to force the Cowboys’ hand. A multiyear contract will be necessary, and a cap hit of under three million isn’t enough this time. Lewis has shown an ability to perform in multiple defensive schemes, and Jerry Jones will find a way to keep him on the roster, if necessary, as Diggs insurance.

Rico Dowdle was given the role of top running back in Week 12 against the Washington Commanders. In the next six contests, he accumulated 605 yards on 120 attempts, an average of over five yards per carry. Being a 1,000-yard rusher without a ton of tread on his tires could give Dowdle a market, but he isn’t an explosive runner, and he has a lengthy injury history, so his market is unlikely to explode.

Dallas will probably bring him back on a deal similar to what Zack Moss signed last offseason for the Cincinnati Bengals, four to five million a season.

Chauncey Golston has had a breakout season, and while he doesn’t have the gaudy statistics, his play was invaluable for the injury-riddled Cowboys. His ability to stop the run as an edge defender helped the team improve defensively as the season progressed.

Golston is in the top 12 among defensive ends in run defense snaps, solo tackles, assisted tackles, and batted passes. He is in the top 20 in total snaps and run stops. His lack of pass rush will keep him from a huge payday, so if the defensive end market is down some, then it is possible the Cowboys can get him to return. A trade-off of losing Odighizuwa but keeping Lewis and Golston could be the plan for this front office.

You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or Bluesky @mike-crum-cdpiglet.bsky.social

Cowboys former 3rd-round pick predicted to make $105 million in free agency due to position

Could Osa Odighizuwa break the $100 million threshold in free agency this offseason?

The Dallas Cowboys have just two games remaining before their 2024 season mercifully comes to an end. With seven wins on the season, the Cowboys have a shocking chance to finish above .500, in an attempt to salvage a season that’s been lost since October.

Regardless one what their final win total is, they will not be making he 2024 playoffs and thus have offseason topics on the brain. That is, if the front office is wise. With 20 unrestricted free agents and seven more with partial rights, Dallas has plenty of decisions they’ll need to make between the final whistle next Sunday and the beginning of the 2025 league year.

Chief amongst those will be whether or not they attempt and are successful at re-signing defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa. The 2021 third-round pick doesn’t have a high number of career sacks, but he’s been a career disruptor and teams will more than likely be in pursuit of someone with his skillset.

Odighizuwa has already matched his career high in sacks, with four, with two games to go. His strength has always been in disruption, consistently ranking among the best defensive tackles in advanced analytics.

And as such, Odighizuwa ranks No. 30 on Pro Football Focus’ list of top pending free agents.

Odighizuwa is another interior pass-rusher with very strong underlying metrics that haven’t quite translated to major sack production through nearly four seasons. While the Dallas Cowboys’ season has fallen off the rails as injuries have piled up, Odighizuwa has stayed the course and played some of the best ball of his career over the second half of the campaign. The 2021 third-round pick is quietly one of the more underrated defenders across the entire NFL.

As part of their exercise, PFF finds a previous free agent to compare to. Odighizuwa’s comp is Nnamdi Madubuike, who signed with Baltimore last offseason on a four year, $98 million contract.

Madubuike is a stronger run defender, but Odighizuwa has better pass rush metrics, which is normally an impetus for a bigger piece of the pie.

Per PFF, Madubuike signed for 9.6% of the 2024 cap. With NFL teams preparing for a 2025 salary cap between $265 million and $275 million, that percentage would put Odighizuwa’s APY at $26.4 million.

A four-year deal would total $105.6 million on the open market.

Trade deadline passed, fixing this position is Cowboys biggest priority

Will 2025 finally be the offseason the Cowboys address the DT in free agency? | From @ReidDHanson

Almost weekly one of my kids will approach me with unapologetic sadness on their face because their tablet has inexplicably died. Forced to now interact with society like a boomer, they express shock over how such a sad, regular-occurring event could have happened to them. Again.

In the calmest, most matter-of-fact manor I can muster, I explain to them this is all because they didn’t take the necessary steps to prevent it the night before. If they addressed this extremely predictable issue earlier, it wouldn’t be a problem right now.

In many ways, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys represent my children in this illustration. Only instead of Jones forgetting to plug in his tablet night after night, Jones is neglecting to fix the same important position offseason after offseason.

Over the past two offseasons it’s been glaringly apparent the Cowboys have had an issue on their interior defensive line. Defensive tackle has headlined nearly every free agent wish list of theirs, yet the Cowboys have repeatedly turned up their nose like DT is somehow the mini tootsie roll of NFL positions.

Halfway through the 2025 campaign and it’s clear, DT is still a major issue in Dallas, and much like my kids and their battery-depleted tablets, the Cowboys have no one to blame but themselves.

It would take nearly an act of God to salvage the Cowboys DT this season. Mazi Smith has done nothing to alter his disappointing career trajectory, Osa Odighizuwa is approaching free agency and the numerous other band-aids and Bondo Dallas has plugged into the middle are extreme longshots to become long-term solutions at any point in their careers.

The same position that headlined the Cowboys wish list the last two offseasons, is the same position that’s likely to headline it again in 2025: DT

A good DT can be an anchor in the middle for other positions to play off of. Assessing the play of linebackers, safeties and edge players in 2024, has become almost an impossible task given the struggles at DT. The trickle-down effects of the poor DT play cannot be overstated.

Luckily for the Cowboys, DT is one of the easiest positions to fill in the offseason. Majority of the top-rated DTs in the league today have either hit free agency or switched teams through free agency at some point in their careers. While it’s a costly position to fill, it’s a position that’s readily available to DT-needy teams willing to spend and desperate for instant solutions.

DT is an unpredictable position to draft and often takes time to develop. Players rarely hit the ground running so if any position is worth paying for in free agency, it’s the one. But we’ve been down this road before. Recommendations, cause and effect explanations, and not-so-polite “I told you sos.”

At the end of the day, Jerry Jones just needs to charge his tablet.

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