Green Bay Packers: 3 First Round EDGE Draft Prospects

Green Bay Packers Draft Prospect #3 – David Ojabo

David Ojabo is the big wild card of the group. He was a highly coveted definite first-rounder before an extremely unfortunate Achilles tear at his pro day a couple weeks ago. Now, there’s talk that he could even fall into the second round, but the draft is always so unpredictable that no one really knows–he could be a great value for the Green Bay Packers at either 22 or 28.

The other reason he’s a wild card is that he only really has one season of college football under his belt. However, in that one season he had 11 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, and 5 forced fumbles. He also has some freaky athletic tools with a RAS of 9.19. 

That score could’ve been even higher if it weren’t for the fact that at 6’4″ 250 pounds, he has a leaner build and could be considered undersized for the position. This does show up on film occasionally and makes it difficult for him to hold the edge in the run game without getting pushed out. However, he makes up for some of that by being a very smart player, diagnosing plays well, and very rarely being out of position.

Now, let’s talk about his pass-rushing prowess because it could really be something special. First, he’s not much of a power rusher and really shouldn’t try to be. His bull rush is pretty weak, but once in a while he can convert it into a nice rip move and get around the tackle. This rip move is a great one, especially because he does such a great job setting it up by getting his arms and the tackles extended and then getting underneath with his inside arm. Finally, he has two really impressive tools, his freakish hip flexibility when coming around the corner and his spin move to counter. When he gets to the outside hip of an offensive tackle, they want to guide him deeper behind the pocket, but he has absolutely ridiculous bend that lets him turn the corner and convert a lot more of those rushes into sacks than almost anyone else would. His spin move is wicked and he sets it up so well with outside move that when he hits it he’s in the backfield sacking the quarterback before the lineman even knew what happened.

Ojabo has some reason’s for concern, but he has amazing tools, a great mind for the game, and a pretty impressive technical pass rush game as well. He could be the Packers’ big home run swing in the draft.

So, would you want to see the Green Bay Packers take any of these edge rushers in the upcoming NFL Draft? Let me know in the comments below.