2022 NFL Draft profile: Michigan EDGE defender David Ojabo
Michigan football had a historically-great pass rush to thank for much of its success during the 2021 season. Aidan Hutchinson’s work there has him in consideration to go No. 1 overall. David Ojabo was as good a sidekick in the country last season.
While Hutchinson set a program record with 14 sacks on the year, Ojabo was right behind him at 11. Ojabo was a second-team All-American and set a single-season record for forced fumbles with five. His potential had been percolating behind the scenes for awhile, but his explosive junior season helped him declare early and have a shot to be drafted early. Ojabo appeared in 20 games at Michigan with eight starts this past season.
Unfortunately, a torn Achilles suffered at Michigan’s pro day has cut into his draft stock. Here, we take a look at how that might affect him and what he brings to the NFL.
David Ojabo’s info
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 250 pounds
School: Michigan
Position: EDGE defender
Projected: 1st-2nd round
NFL Combine results: 4.55 40-yard dash | 35-inch vertical jump | 122-inch broad jump | 4.45 20-yard shuttle
Strengths
Ojabo has always been an upside player, but accelerated his development in a big way during his junior season. He was a model teammate in Ann Arbor, cutting his teeth on Michigan’s scout team and being a leader in the locker room. Ojabo’s closing speed might be his best attribute in addition to his ability to force turnovers. He is so naturally talented and athletic that it helps him to throw offensive tackles off balance. Ojabo got better at taking on blocks as the season went on and had a nice array of pass rush moves by season’s end. All of that is working in his favor, but what might be his best asset is that he has so much room to grow.
Weaknesses
Ojabo only played 620 snaps during his college career, so inexperience will be a concern to NFL scouts. Michigan subbed him off the field on running downs in favor of Jaylen Harrell (who could be someone we profile this time next year). He is a bit of a liability as a run defender right now and is not an every-down player. It could come in time, but is not there yet. Sometimes he can be slow to diagnose and react to what he sees on the field. That is something else that can only improve with more football.
The elephant in the room is the Achilles tear. There will be concerns about how he comes back from that on top of what teams think they can mold him into.
David Ojabo overview
Prior to his Achilles injury, some out there believe 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. But not off completely. He was a fringe-top ten pick prior to his injury and now projects to fall somewhere into the second round. There is a chance someone at the back-half of the first grabs him in order to a secure a fifth-year option and more time for him to develop with his new franchise. When he gets healthy, he has the floor of a designated pass rusher with a ceiling of a dominant and disruptive Pro Bowl EDGE.
