|
DE Emmanuel Ogbah, Oklahoma State -- I fear that as the NFL evolves, defensive ends like Ogbah are going to end up undervalued and extinct. Ogbah comes from an era, not that far behind us, where 4-3 defensive lines liked a left defensive end that was particularly strong against the run. But in today's NFL, teams like to have two dynamic passrushing threats off the edge, with run defense a distant second. That could leave Ogbah, a very large (6'6", 275 lbs), exclusively 4-3 passrusher out in the cold. Ogbah's put up over 20 sacks the past two seasons using a never-fail formula of using a great explosion out of his three-point stance, where he uses his superior strength, stupid-long arms and phenomenal motor to get his stats. Teams don't run at him often, and rarely succeed when they do. Many tackles, however, frequently struggle to anchor against his bullrush. The problem with Ogbah is that he is not dynamic, like at all, around the edge, and his lack of real passrushing skill. Tackles in the NFL aren't going to get bullied by Ogbah (much like the NFL-caliber tackles at OU weren't), and unless the QB runs right at him, he's not going to be able to disengage for anything other than coverage sacks. I'd be intrigued at beefing him up even more and playing a 3-4 DE, but his frame is pretty much maxed out. But while his usage in today's NFL may be limited, you can't put a pricetag on his incredible motor. Nonetheless, he's probably due for a tumble in the draft.
|