Eagles' DC Impressed With Young Contributor

Defensive tackle Moro Ojomo has made a significant jump in his second NFL season.

Eagles second-year defensive tackle Moro Ojomo takes the practice field for the Eagles / By Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA - Perceived to be the strength of Vic Fangio's unit, the Eagles' defensive front has been underwhelming when compared to expectations.

That's not been a universal truth on the micro level, however.

Second-year defensive tackle Moro Ojomo is a rotational player who has caught the eye of Fangio, especially after spending some time in Cleveland's backfield during a 20-16 Philadelphia win this past Sunday.

In 21 defensive snaps, Ojomo was credited with two hurries and nearly sacked Deshaun Watson before Cooper DeJean and Bryce Huff were credited for cleaning up Ojomo's pass-rushing work.

"He's a guy that's made a good improvement from the start," Fangio said. "Works extremely hard on the practice field and in the meetings, and it's been paying off. He's got some good athletic ability."

Ojomo isn't the biggest defensive tackle at 6-foot-3 and 292 pounds which explains his seventh-round draft status in 2023 despite being a two-time All-Big 12 honoree at Texas.

"He's on the small side as D-Linemen go, but he does come with the quickness and speed that you would hope a smaller guy would have," Fangio said. "And he plays really hard, and he's done a nice job, and he's earned his playing time."

Fangio was asked about the youth he's been playing with as a whole this season.

"The makeup of your squad always affects how you call it," the veteran defensive coordinator admitted. "[The secondary] is not the only place where we have young players, either. Our two inside linebackers are young. [LB Zack] Baun is a veteran, but he never played inside linebacker until he got here. [LB] Nakobe [Dean] is a third-year player, but this is the first year he's playing. Nolan Smith,
we've talked about, really the first year he's playing, et cetera, et cetera."

"So yeah, the makeup of your team, you can't ignore it. You've got to try and find the right fit
that fits everybody. "

Ojomo has been the right fit for his role.

As a rookie, Ojomo got just a taste of playing time with 68 defensive reps. In his second season, Ojomo has been a meaningful part of the interior rotation since Week 1 with his rep totals being: 14, 17, 16, a career-high 37 at Tampa Bay, and the 21 vs. the Browns. Through Week 5, Ojomo's 105 defensive snaps have already significantly outpaced his work as a rookie.

More important than the number of reps is the work Ojomo is doing with them, being graded out as the No. 39 of the 121 interior linemen ranked by Pro Football Focus this season. He's been credited with eight pressures so far this season.

"There's no magic formula. It's all individuals. Fangio said of his young players. "Analytics can't help you with that one. These are all human beings that learn at different paces and experience things at different paces."

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