Broncos Draft DL Eyioma Uwazurike with No. 116 Overall Pick
On Friday night, Broncos general manager George Paton described the waiting process as “boring,” regarding Denver having to execute patience in the first round of the NFL Draft. But on the final day of the draft, Paton didn’t keep Broncos Country waiting as he utilized back-to-back choices midway through the fourth round.
After selecting Pittsburgh CB Damarri Mathis at pick No. 115, the Broncos selected their second pass-rusher of the 2022 class in Iowa State’s Eyioma Uwazurike, with the No. 116 pick.
At 6-foot-6, 316 pounds, Uwazurike is a versatile defensive lineman who’s played virtually every spot on the defensive line of scrimmage in a multitude of schemes. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he was a three-star recruit in high school with offers from Michigan State, UCF, and Temple. Uwazurike redshirted his freshman season at Iowa State before playing in 13 games during the 2017 season.
In his half a decade at Iowa State, Uwazurike played in 55 career games for the Cyclones and leaves campus having logged 146 tackles (70 solo), 34.5 tackles for a loss, 15 sacks, three passes defensed, two fumble recoveries, and one touchdown. Last season, he earned first-team All-Big 12 honors in addition to second-team Academic All-Big 12 honors.
Uwazurike comes to Denver with an exceptional package of size, versatility, and potential. He’s as blue-collar as college prospects come and will play any position that defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero assigns him. The redshirt senior has extremely active hands when attacking offensive linemen in the pass rush and utilizes his raw strength and understanding of leverage.
Prior to the draft, Paton said that the team can never have enough pass rushers, and the second-year GM has doubled down by drafting two of them in two days.
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