College coaches weighs in on David Ojabo's selection by Baltimore Ravens, more
Michigan football EDGE/linebacker David Ojabo should have gone much higher than he did in the 2022 NFL Draft. However, an Achilles injury at pro day sent him to the second round. This allowed for a logical match between Ojabo and the Baltimore Ravens, who selected him with the No. 45 overall pick last weekend.
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg spoke with a number of college coaches following the draft for their takeaways. One of the biggest was the selection of Ojabo and what it meant for both sides.
“Coaches praised Baltimore for selecting Michigan defensive end David Ojabo in the second round,” Rittenberg wrote. “Ojabo, who had five forced fumbles and 11 sacks during a breakout 2021 season, was projected in the first round until rupturing his Achilles’ tendon at pro day. He reunites with Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, who held the same role at Michigan last season.”
The match was too good to pass up for both Ojabo and Baltimore being that Macdonald helped groom the young pass rusher. The Ravens made sense given their playoff pedigree and the fact that they can afford to be patient.
“That was justice,” a Power 5 defensive assistant told Rittenberg. “If Mike Macdonald didn’t pick him, I’d look at him like, ‘Come on, man.'”
Coaches weigh in on 2022 NFL Draft takeaways
The 2022 NFL Draft was notable locally given Michigan EDGE Aidan Hutchinson’s selection at No. 2 by the hometown Detroit Lions. Ojabo’s reunion with Macdonald was also a feel-good story. Despite that, this draft did not have the juice – or a big cluster of high-end talent – that other classes do.
TV ratings for the first round of the draft came in at 10.03 million this year, which is down from 12.5 million viewers in 2021. The pandemic draft in 2020 brought in 15.3 million viewers on night one.
“It was a terrible draft,” a Power 5 coach said in the ESPN article. “Is this not the least-hyped draft in the history of the NFL? Not a great year for top-end guys.”
With a deeper draft pool and less high-end talent on the board, another coach praised NFL teams for being patient and trusting their prospect boards.
“I don’t think teams are taking reaches, drafting guys because of positions, as much as letting them go to where they fall,” one coach told Rittenberg. “They’re trying to work through different options of what they’re willing to give to get the right guy, and if there’s not, they’re not going to overselect or overpay.”
How David Ojabo fits with the Baltimore Ravens
Prior to his Achilles injury, some out there believed there was a chance he had a ceiling to be more disruptive than Hutchinson in the NFL. He still could be and has a knack for creating turnovers. This was always going to be a redshirt year for him in the pros with the original plan likely just unleashing him as a pass-rush specialist. Barring a miraculous recovery, that probably does not happen now. His learning will have to come off the field against the backdrop of a rehab process.
Ojabo on talent alone is one of the best EDGE rushers in the class, but his injury has knocked him down boards. He was a fringe-top ten pick prior to his injury. When he gets healthy, he has the floor of a designated pass rusher with a ceiling of a dominant and disruptive Pro Bowl EDGE. The Ravens could potentially see Ojabo has a long-term solution at outside linebacker, but can get by now with Tyus Bowser and Jaylon Ferguson ahead of him on the depth chart.
