Why Osa Odighizuwa Believes 49ers can Unlock his Full Potential

Osa Odighizuwa landed in the right spot.

Jan 22, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa (97) reacts after a sack during the first quarter of a NFC divisional round game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

One of the best and underrated moves the San Francisco 49ers made this offseason was acquiring defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa from the Dallas Cowboys.

All it took was a third-round pick for the 49ers to bring him in. There wasn't a single player in that round that would've been worth taking instead of trading for Odighizuwa.

It was an excellent move to go after him. Odighizuwa will tremendously boost the 49ers' defensive front. For years, he's been a force for the Cowboys—a truly impactful player.

With the 49ers, he's primed to do more and be better than he ever was. While appearing on The Richard Sherman podcast, Odighizuwa shared why he believes the 49ers can unlock his full potential.

Osa Odighizuwa can be unlocked in San Francisco

🚨 New Interview 🚨

Osa Odighizuwa opens up about being traded from the Dallas Cowboys to the San Francisco 49ers after signing an $80M extension.

He explains why working with Kris Kocurek could lead to the BEST season of his career, his Super Bowl goals, and the Cowboys… pic.twitter.com/I1z6pkenbk

— Richard Sherman Podcast (@RShermanPodcast) May 19, 2026

"I feel like there's a good amount of variability in terms of not having to do the same thing all the time," said Odighizuwa. "When you have to do the same thing all the time, you're predictable, and when you're predictable in football, you're very beatable. You have to be able to keep people honest and be able to do different things and put different things on tape, and being allowed to put those different things on tape, especially for myself, and the way I play is gonna be awesome.

"Even the first day we had D-Line meetings, we talked about some of the techniques I'll be able to use the tools that I've been used to using and being able to use those with the freedom of the scheme... Being able to do different things at different times is only gonna bring the attack to life more because now, I may look like I'm about to attack, but I do something else, and you don't know exactly what's coming. You're gonna slow down just a tick, and that's gonna give me the edge."

It sounds like the Cowboys weren't allowing Odighizuwa this "freedom" that he continues to allude to with the 49ers. That makes sense, as the 49ers teach their defensive linemen to fire off and shoot a gap.

They don't preach gap control or to stack and shed their opponent as other teams would. This style has allowed the 49ers to be one of the better pass-rushing units when they've been healthy.

For a player like Odighizuwa, it's going to unleash him. He's going to have fun playing football like he's never experienced before, and the 49ers will greatly reap the rewards of it.

“I feel like I’m getting some handcuffs taken off of me a little bit."

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