His gifts are undeniable, but he has a way to go before the 2021 NFL Draft
As the 2021 NFL Draft still remains far out in the distance, we continue to do our due diligence on the players who are eligible and may find themselves getting their names called at the main event in April. One of the players with perhaps the highest ceiling in the entire class reigns from Penn State University, and his name is not Micah Parsons.
This past April, the Nittany Lions had an edge rusher taken in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft in now Carolina Panthers’ Yetur Gross-Matos. This year they have two more in the duo of Shaka Toney and Jayson Oweh. While Toney has tools and a bit of refined technique, we will cover Oweh here as his ceiling is sky-high in a weak class of pass rushers.
A higher ceiling than Parsons? Potentially. Oweh is known as a freak athlete for a man his size, listed at 6-foot-5 and 257 pounds. He was named to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic’s 2020 Freaks List, where he highlights the most athletic players in the country.
More from With the First Pick
- 2024 NFL Draft: Prospect Viewing Guide for Week 0
- 2024 NFL Draft: All Eyes On NFL Draft Defensive Prospects
- Player Spotlight: USC Safety Calen Bullock
- 2024 Senior Bowl Watchlist Announced
- 2024 NFL Draft: Florida State is Loaded with Prospect in 2023
"“On a team with a lot of Freaks, this is the most explosive one of the bunch. The 6-5, 257-pound edge rusher didn’t get to go through winter workouts, but he’s in the top five based on his previous numbers and the word from inside the Nittany Lions program. Oweh (five sacks in 2019) has run a jaw-dropping 4.33 40, according to Penn State coaches. He also has vertical jumped 36 inches and broad jumped 10-7 to go with a pro agility time of 4.46, a 380-pound bench press and a 365-pound power clean. His body fat is 4.9 percent.”"
The question is, however, does his tape match the wild athletic ability? He only played 38 percent of defensive snaps for the Nittany Lions a year ago, but now will take on a fulltime, starter workload Oweh must take another leap forward after racking up five sacks and five tackles for loss a year ago in University Park.
Here we take a look at Oweh, where he wins, where he shows room for improvement in 2020, and what his 2021 NFL Draft outlook is in a relatively weak EDGE class.