Browns Digest

Cleveland Browns NFL Draft Profile: David Ojabo, EDGE Michigan

He'll miss his entire rookie season, but if the Cleveland Browns have the chance to take Michigan's David Ojabo in the 2022 NFL Draft, they should run to the podium.

Sam Penix

There may not end up being a greater value in the 2022 NFL Draft than Michigan pass-rusher David Ojabo, and if the Cleveland Browns are in a position to select him, they should leap at the chance.

A native of Nigeria, Ojabo moved to the United States when he was 17 years old and began to play football. He'll turn 22 in May, so he has very little experience with the sport, and played just 26 snaps in 2020. That lack of experience didn't stop him from dominating in 2021, as he logged 35 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, and 5 forced fumbles. He earned an 87.3 Pro Football Focus pass-rush grade and had a very nice 14.1% pressure rate.

Ojabo is a tremendous athlete. He does need to pack on muscle to his 6-4 250-pound frame, but that should come with time. He is ultra-explosive, fluid, fast, and bendy. He has all the physical traits that you could want in a pass-rusher, and while he is a project player, the potential of what he could become is tantalizing.

David Ojabo Relative Athletic Score
David Ojabo Relative Athletic Score

Players as talented as Ojabo simply don't fall very far in the draft. If the Browns were still picking 13th overall, Ojabo should have been under heavy consideration, even with the torn achilles that he suffered in pre-draft training. That is the biggest concern with him, as while that injury is no longer a death sentence, it is still very serious and can rob players of athletic traits. Cleveland has dealt with three cases of this over the past two seasons, with Grant Delpit and Olivier Vernon going down in 2020, and Takk McKinley suffering the same fate in 2021.

Delpit returned from his injury and came on strong down the stretch, but it did take him some time to adjust to the game. The same will go for Ojabo, who needs plenty of development in addition to his recovery. He was exclusively a stand-up rusher in college, but should be able to transition to a traditional end without too much issue. He'll need to become a more physical run defender though, and while there were flashes of good ability in that area in college, they were far too infrequent.

Ojabo's speed and explosiveness allow him to surprise tackles, either getting into their chest before they are ready or beating them to their spot, leaving them no hope of slowing him down as he runs the arc. Even if they are able to get two hands on his shoulder pads, Ojabo's elite bend makes things very difficult on blockers. He can take tight corners even at full speed and he has great balance through contact as well.

Would it be nice if Cleveland's first pick this year could contribute? Of course. But if that's the sacrifice that needs to be made in order to bring a truly elite football talent into the building, so be it. There are still plenty of quality veteran EDGEs on the free agent market to make the EDGE2 spot decent this year. Ojabo's long-term ceiling opposite Myles Garrett is far too high to pass up if the Browns were somehow in a position to decide.

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Sam Penix
SAM PENIX

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