Dairyland Express
Fansided

Green Bay Packers: 3 Potential D-Line Targets in 2021 NFL Draft

By Isaac Greig

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 19: Levi Onwuzurike #95 of the Washington Huskies gets off the ball during the game against the Oregon Ducks at Husky Stadium on October 19, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 19: Levi Onwuzurike #95 of the Washington Huskies gets off the ball during the game against the Oregon Ducks at Husky Stadium on October 19, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
Green Bay Packers
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – OCTOBER 19: Levi Onwuzurike #95 of the Washington Huskies gets off the ball during the game against the Oregon Ducks at Husky Stadium on October 19, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /

Levi Onwuzurike- Washington, Senior

With just seven sacks and sixteen tackles for loss in his three years at Washington, Levi Onwuzurike’s superficial statistics don’t turn many heads. Still, he was awarded first-team all PAC 12 honors in 2019, and when analyzing his film, its easy to see why.

He shows quick burst off the snap and consistently fires his hands into the pads across from him. Onwuzurike does a nice job of standing up his blocker with strength and leverage, reading the backfield, disengaging, and finishing the play. One of the best tacklers of any position over the past three years, Pro Football Focus recorded just 4 missed tackles of his 95 opportunities.

Onwuzurike shows nimble feet, great flexibility, and an elite ability to play in space as a defensive lineman. His athleticism is obvious when asked to stunt and perform on the edge. Onwuzurike has a great bull-rush and can finesse his way through and around blockers.

However, Onwuzurike rarely has a pass-rush plan and has to finesse far too often. He has a weak bag of tricks and doesn’t get to the quarterback often enough. Against the run, Onwuzurike doesn’t have a great anchor and can be washed away by strength and double-teams. Given those traits and his penetrating style, he doesn’t do a great job of holding his run fit.

All that aside, Onwuzurike lives in the opponent’s backfield. He’s a disruptive force who needs to be schemed around at the college level. For the Huskies, he lines up anywhere from the 0-tech, to the wide-nine. However, at 6’ 3” 290 pounds, you won’t see him over the center in the NFL. When asked to one-gap, Onwuzurike really shines.

He would be a welcomed addition to the Green Bay Packers front. Onwuzurike would step in and immediately earn a starting role at either defensive end spot. His presence would take the pressure off Clark on third downs and allow Clark to maintain his nose role. Onwuzurike is exactly the type of player the Green Bay Packers need on their defensive line.

Home/Green Bay Packers