Moro Ojomo NFL Draft Overview
Position: Defensive Tackle
Height: 6′-3″
Weight: 292 pounds
School: Texas
2023 NFL Draft: Moro Ojomo Scouting Report
After spending the past five seasons with the Texas Longhorns, Moro Ojomo has decided to declare for the 2023 NFL Draft. The defensive tackle hits the professional level at the correct time, as the 2022 season was easily his best at the college football level. Appearing in 12 games, the defensive linemen finished the season with 32 tackles, 5.5 tackles-for-loss, and three sacks.
Moro Ojomo originally began his college football journey with Houston back in 2018. However, he only appeared in one game as a true freshman and took a redshirt season. In 2019, the defensive tackle appeared in eight games while recording 13 tackles and 2.5 tackles-for-loss. One year later, Ojomo recorded 21 tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss, and the first two sacks of his career. In 2021, he removed 29 tackles, three tackles-for-loss, and no sacks.
Strengths
- Strong, powerful interior lineman with the strength to push back guards and centers;
- Uses his lack of height to his advantage, staying low to the ground and creating good leverage;
- Motivated player that won’t stop until the whistle is blown;
- Long arms with sound hand technique – won’t let blockers engage him;
- Sturdy tackler – strong enough to take running backs down with arm tackles;
- Remarkably consistent – you know what you’re going to get with him on the field.
Weaknesses
- Straight-line type of player – not good going east-west;
- One-dimensional player that is considerably better against the run than the pass;
- Stiff movements as a pass rusher – NFL-caliber blockers will be able to easily match his speed moves;
- Pedestrian athleticism puts a cap on his ceiling;
- A little too small to line up as an interior lineman on every snap – better in the B gap than A.
NFL Comparison: Christian Covington
Teams With Need at Position: Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks
Projection: Round 4
Bottom Line on Moro Ojomo
If Moro Ojomo declared for the NFL Draft in 1996, he’d probably be a second- or third-round pick. The Texas product excels against the run, and he brings a combination of reliability and stability that’s hard to find on early downs. Despite his smaller build, Ojomo possesses a lot of strength and can hold his ground against run blocks. He does this by staying low, gaining leverage on his opponents, and shoving them backwards to completely close running lanes. He also possesses above-average fundamentals, which will help his game translate to the NFL level.
Unfortunately, being a good run defender doesn’t mean all that much in today’s NFL. Opposing offenses are throwing the ball more than ever, so there really isn’t such a thing as a “running down” anymore. If you want to see the field, you need to be able to disrupt the pass, and Moro Ojomo just isn’t very good at that. He doesn’t move well laterally, which means he can’t speed past interior linemen, and while he is strong enough to close running lanes, he rarely collapses a pocket and actively disturbs the quarterback. It’s hard to imagine him getting notably better at any of this as, from a physical standpoint, he isn’t anything too impressive, so he doesn’t have much room to grow.
Based solely on talent, Moro Ojomo is probably one of the best 100 players in the NFL Draft. However, when you factor in positional importance, it’s easy to see a world where the defensive tackle falls into the fourth round.
