Detroit Lions: Midseason rookie report for 2020 draft class

2020 Statistics: 4 total pressures, 4 quarterback hurries

Edge rusher Julian Okwara‘s rookie season is the beauty of being a Lions’ fan. After years of begging Quinn to go out and find a speed rusher, he eventually does. Only for Matt Patricia not to play him. When Patricia finally decides to give him playing time, he lands on injured reserve.

Frustration aside, there is very little to go off from his play this season. This is what we have so far…

Best trait: Speed

No question that Okwara’s speed is his best trait in his young career. On one of his pressures this season, the Lions ran him on a stunt. Usually on a stunt, it frees up the player crossing over (Okwara in this case). That’s how they’ve utilized him so far in his limited playing time. Freeing him up to cause havoc.

Area of Improvement: Consistency in power rush

While watching Okwara, one issue I’ve seen his is consistency when power rushing or taking a tackle head on. A good block at times stuns him, taking him out of the play entirely.

A trait that he was highly regarded of during the draft process was his ability to transfer power from speed (or vice versa) mid-rush. We’ve seen this a few times so far, but when asked to straight up power rush, it hasn’t helped.

Or after that transfer, he gets consumed by the offensive lineman. Getting in the weight room this off-season should help that.