Overview
Position: Defensive End
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 275 pounds
School: Oklahoma State Cowboys
Combine Performance Data
40-yard dash: 4.63 seconds
Bench press (225 pounds): 20 reps
Vertical jump: 35.5 inches
Broad jump: 10 feet, 1 inches
Three cone drill: 7.26 inches
20-yard shuttle: 4.50 seconds
Emmanuel Ogbah 2016 NFL Draft Profile
There aren’t very many NFL prospects with an American success story as compelling as Ogbah’s. His family moved to the US from Nigeria when he was nine years old and settled in the Houston area. He began playing football in the seventh grade and immediately emerged as a standout talent on the defensive side of the football. By his senior year at Bush High School in Richmond, TX he was receiving offers from a variety of FBS programs.
Ogbah eventually chose Oklahoma State. By doing so, he followed in the footsteps of current Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman Russell Okung. Not only is Okung also Nigerian but he went to the same high school and also played collegiately for the Cowboys. The three-star defensive end wasn’t too highly touted nationally out of high school, but it didn’t take long for him to make his mark in college.
As a redshirt freshman, he would see action in every single game and end up tied for the team lead with four sacks. Over the next two seasons, he would collect a boatload of accolades for his play. That included being named Big 12 defensive player of the year and all-conference first team both years as well as team MVP on defense as a sophomore. A year, he finished tied for second in the nation with 13 sacks while also adding 17.5 tackles for loss.
Strengths
- about as good of a pure pass rusher as there is in the draft.
- Pro Football Focus gave him the highest pass-rushing grade for 4-3 defensive ends.
- exceptional quickness around the edge in a five technique.
- comfortable playing as both a strongside and weakside edge rusher.
- doesn’t necessarily have to elude a blocker to get to the quarterback.
- displays great change of pace off initial jump, confusing blockers.
- able to overwhelm tight ends or running backs forced into blocking situations.
Weaknesses
- hand positioning tends to be too low, resulting in poor leverage against opposing blockers.
- might need more upper body strength.
- runs a bit too upright in unblocked situations.
- has to work on instincts, particularly when closing down scrambling quarterbacks.
- can lose balance when having to move laterally in run coverage.
- tends to let running backs who run through the B gap blow by him.
- forward lean off snap needs improvement; often gets jammed on initial move.
NFL Comparison: Michael Bennett, Seattle
Teams with Need at Position: Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Bucs, Buffalo Bills
Projection: Early to middle first round
Bottom Line
Ogbah is likely about as good as it’s going to get if you’re looking for a rookie edge rusher in the draft. He’s gone from a relative unknown in NFL circles to a highly coveted prospect all in the span of roughly two years. Having seen the success Denver’s defensive front had on the perimeter en route to their Super Bowl title, teams will likely be trying to emulate that formula as a recipe for contention. Ogbah fits the mold as a potential elite level defensive end at the next level. As such, expect him to be off the board at some point during day one of the draft.
