EDGE, Texas
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 245 lbs
Class: Junior
What this edge class lacks in top-end talent, it makes up for in its depth. I have eight in the top 50 of my Big Board and Ossai is one of the names that will be in contention for a first round pick in April. The Longhorn lineman has declared for the 2021 Draft and he is an interesting player to evaluate.
You can read more of my 2021 NFL Draft content here.
Strengths
Edge rushers in the modern NFL need to be athletic and Ossai ticks that box. He’s got the ideal mix of size, length, and quickness to cause a tonne of problems for opposing linemen. Ossai showcased this athletic potential in his sophomore season, where he played a hybrid role for the Longhorns. He aligned principally as a linebacker, also playing slot corner and as an edge rusher on around 25 per cent of his snaps. Texas used him as a pass rusher and a blitzer to great effect and he ranked seventh in the Big 12 in pressures.
Ossai transitioned to a full time edge role this season to great success. He has been very productive, registering 33 total pressures and seven sacks on 312 pass-rushing snaps. Ossai is explosive off the line, with great bend and fluidity to his game. He plays the game with a really high motor and his second effort on pass-rushes is particularly impressive.
Ossai’s tackling and run defense have also improved substantially since his move to the edge. He’s had just seven missed tackles on 56 attempts this season and he leads all Power Five defensive linemen in defensive stops with 36. The encouraging thing is that with just one year of experience as a designated edge rusher, Ossai still has plenty of room to develop. This year has been impressive but you get the sense that the best is still to come.
Weaknesses
It is easy to see that Ossai is still pretty raw as an edge rusher. That isn’t surprising given his previous hybrid role and he is still in the process of learning the nuances that it takes to play the position to a high level. He also could do with improving his play strength. He’s not undersized, but he can be moved too easily and doesn’t have the best anchor. This will be even more important in the NFL.
Ossai can also get a little carried away and becomes too eager to make the big play. He will at times shoot gaps in his effort to get at the quarterback and leave a wide open running lane. This has been less of an issue this season, but it remains a concern.
The other notable area is in coverage. Ossai played a tonne of coverage snaps in 2019 and despite his size and athletic profile, he was surprisingly poor. He struggled to fulfil his responsibilities in zone covearge, looking lost on occasion. This will be less of an issues if teams want to employ him as a more conventional defensive lineman going forward though.
Bottom Line
A player like Ossai is all about the upside. Whilst he has been a strong and effective player at the college level, teams will be buying into his traits and the progression he has shown over the last year or so. He is not the finished article, but projects as a high-ceiling edge prospect. I think that he’ll find himself on the fringes of first round conversation when the draft rolls around.
Big Board Rank: #38
Positional Rank: #6
