How does the Eyioma Uwazurike pick grade out for the Broncos?
The Denver Broncos had back-to-back picks in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft and with the second of those, they chose Iowa State defensive tackle Eyioma Uwazurike.
Fresh off selecting Pittsburgh cornerback Damarri Mathis with the pick before, the Broncos went to another area of need by addressing a thin defensive line to take Eyioma Uwazurike.
When taking a look at Uwazurike, the first thing you are going to notice is his immense size. He is tall for a defensive lineman at 6-foot-6 but he also weighs around 320 pounds.
Broncos’ fourth-round pick Eyioma Uwazurike had nine sacks in 2021
His biggest strength might be his lateral movement for a player his size and he is a guy the team should be able to use all over the defensive line.
Uwazurike stayed in school for the extra year of eligibility granted due to COVID-19 so he played in a slew of games for the Cyclones, suiting up 55 times. He was always a force on defense for the team but he really stepped up last season.
The @Broncos got a steal at this point in the draft with Eyioma Uwazurike out of Iowa State. Has a lot of versatility at all interior dline positions. He has legit pass rush value as a dt and to me was one of the best dts in the draft at getting off blocks to make tackles
— Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) April 30, 2022
In 2021, Uwazurike had nine sacks, helping him to be selected to the All-Big 12 First Team.
The Broncos have Dre’Mont Jones and free-agent signing DJ Jones on the defensive line but beyond that, all bets are off. The loss of Shelby Harris in the Russell Wilson trade will be a hole the Broncos must fill and the other defensive linemen on the roster are DeShawn Williams, Mike Purcell, McTelvin Agim, Jonathan Harris, Marquiss Spencer and Jonathan Kongbo.
The Broncos absolutely needed another defensive lineman in this draft and getting one as soon as they could made a lot of sense. The team may see one or two of the names above behind the two Jones’ start to blossom and break out, but the new draftee Uwazurike seems to have the most upside of all of them.
I would expect to see the Broncos use a veteran like Williams or Purcell in the starting role this season but they will sprinkle in the rookie Uwazurike as often as they can and he will likely leapfrog former third-round pick Agim sooner rather than later.
With this pick, the Broncos get a big guy who can move around the defensive line and also provides legitimate pass-rush ability. George Paton could be creating quite the force in the pass-rush department with this defense.
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There isn’t much not to like with this selection.
Grade: A-