Detroit Lions Draft Profiles: Owamagbe Odighizuwa, DE, UCLA

With the Detroit Lions defensive line taking some huge hits on the interior, much of the focus this draft season has been which defensive tackles the Lions should target and when.  Lost in that with presupposed depth is the defensive end position, which needs help as much as the interior does.  A defensive end like Owamagbe Odighizuwa (Oh-Wah-Muh-Bay Oh-Diggy-Zoo-Wah) may not be the first choice by many draftniks and definitely not one by box score scouts, but he’s a player that should be firmly on the team’s radar.

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As a numbers guy, it may surprise some of you that I’d consider Owamagbe Odighizuwa, often referred to as simply “Diggy”, for the Detroit Lions.  After all, he had only 6.0 sacks in 2014 and missing all of 2013 with injury.  This is one of those situations where you have to look beyond the raw statistics, however.  Like Ziggy Ansah, who had only 4.5 career sacks at BYU, there’s more to Diggy’s play than just what shows up in the box scores.

An elite athlete, Owamagbe Odighizuwa lit up the 2015 NFL Combine, posting above average numbers in almost every metric (Only 3 Cone was below average, and even then only just).  While he doesn’t fit the prototypical “Mayhew Mold” for defensive ends, as he measures in at under 6’4″, he checks all of the other boxes.  In fact, in terms of raw athleticism, Diggy rated better than both Larry Webster and Ziggy Ansah.  Normally I would post a player’s measurements at the top of the page and only hit upon them briefly, but I felt this warranted a side by side comparison showing his measurements and RAS.

Comparisons like this are why you give a player like Owamagbe Odighizuwa a look if you’re the Detroit Lions.  Athletes of this caliber don’t come along very often, and if you have a dedicated coaching staff that is known for coaching their defensive line talent you have to consider it.  Diggy is unlikely to fall out of the first round, but it’s possible he slides all the way to the middle of the 2nd due to his injury history (He lost 2013 to a hip injury) and his lack of pass rushing polish.  There’s also the possibility that the Detroit Lions look to make another future pick with their higher draft selections.

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