Forgive me as I try not to get overly excited, but the Denver Broncos are using one of their 30 pre-draft visits on UCLA defensive lineman Owamagbe Odighizuwa, a player I’ve studied at length and would absolutely love to have as the Broncos’ top pick in this year’s draft.
Three draft prospects visiting the #Broncos today:
— 9NEWS Sports Denver (@9NEWSSports) April 16, 2015
TE Cam Clear (Texas A&M)
OLB Owa Odighizuwa (UCLA)
LB Neiron Ball (Florida)#9News
Odighizuwa is sort of near the bottom of the first round of most mock drafts right now, mainly because of the fact that he’s got some hip injury history that teams are going to want to dig deeper on.
Perhaps that’s precisely what the Broncos are doing.
We’ve studied Odighizuwa at length, and what he could do as a member of the Denver Broncos. I think in terms of having instant impact as well as down the road, he’d be a phenomenal first selection and would certainly fit in with John Elway’s theme since he came to Denver of drafting a defender first every single year.
Here’s my Denver Broncos prospect report on Odighizuwa that I wrote up before, and here’s my full scouting report on him from NFLMocks.com.
In short, I didn’t find much weakness in this guy’s overall game. You could call him a ‘tweener’ or a non-traditional pass rushing defensive end, but his skill set is unique and something the Broncos could seriously benefit from.
I think when you look at the impact Malik Jackson has had as a DT/DE, Odighizuwa can provide that kind of impact as well only he can also line up as an OLB, blitz as an ILB, or play inside in a three-man front. There is so much he can do that it’s no wonder the Broncos are bringing him in for a visit.
The other question scouts may have for Odighizuwa is why he didn’t put up big numbers with such great tools at UCLA. Is this another Robert Ayers situation where he’s just not quite good enough to get to the QB on a consistent basis? I don’t think that’s the case, though initially I did.
I implore you to watch the tape on Odighizuwa, and I challenge you to come away from it unimpressed. At times, he literally moves an offensive lineman to the right and left, almost like a chess piece, before disrupting the passing lane and creating a negative play for the opposing offense.
Those kinds of plays are littered in the tape for this young player. I loved what NFL Draft Scout analyst Dane Brugler of CBS Sports said about Odighizuwa, in that he looks like he was carved out of an NFL starter kit. This is an impressive athlete with measurables, quickness, versatility, and the ability to make an instant impact.