Ravens Rookie Odafe Oweh Named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

First-round pick has flashed over first two games.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens rookie linebacker Odafe Oweh was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Oweh forced a fumble against running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and then recovered the ball with 1:26 left to play that helped seal the 36-35 victory. 

In addition to the forced fumble, Oweh finished with three tackles and a quarterback hit on Patrick Mahomes that led to a key interception by cornerback Tavon Young.

“[He’s made] a huge impact," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "We don’t win the game without the way he played. Obviously, the last play on defense, but the rest of the game, too. He played 38 snaps out of less than 50 snaps, and he was all over the field. He was involved in coverage. 

"He was involved in second-level rushes, first-level rushes [and] run defense. Then to come up with that play, it was just a phenomenal football play. So, he’s well on his way.”

The Ravens selected Oweh with the 31st overall pick in this year's draft.

Oweh, 6-foot-5, 251 pounds, is an impressive athlete who ran a 4.37 in the 40-yard dash and had a 39.5 vertical leap and a 134-inch broad jump during his Pro Day.

He's wasted no time making an impact for the Ravens.

Last week against the Raiders, Oweh had a sack and a tackle for loss.

He becomes the fourth Baltimore rookie to win Defensive Player of the Week, joining linebacker Patrick Queen (Week 5, 2020), safety Chad Williams (Week 13, 2002), and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis (Week 1, 1996).

Oweh is the sixth former Penn State linebacker to win Defensive Player of the Week and joins Sean Lee (Week 13, 2010) as the only rookies to do so.

“I give all glory to God. I just try to work hard every day in practice, try to work on what I’m going to see in the game and then just try to ball out and put it all in God’s hands in the game," Oweh said. "So, obviously, I want to impact the game, every game I play, but I’m just out there ‘hooping,’ just trying to play.”