Draft Profile: Jayson Oweh Considered a Perfect Fit for Colts
When you look at successful defenses around the NFL, a common theme is that they get after the passer.
For the Indianapolis Colts, they have a top-10 defense and Super Bowl aspirations, but they need a better pass rush to help get them to the next level.
Recently, Pro Football Focus identified a player in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft who could inject some juice into that Colts front seven in Penn State defensive end Jayson Oweh.
Look no further than Jayson Oweh, a man with absurd explosiveness.
The former Penn State Nittany Lion reportedly ran a 40-yard team in the low 4.3s. Now, we all know to take that with a grain of salt, but watching the tape, it wouldn’t be surprising if the 6-foot-5, 252-pound edge defender pulled it off. Oweh’s get-off is truly remarkable.
The physical tools are clearly there with Oweh, but the pass-rush toolbox and production to back it up are not. He did look like a completely different player against the run this past year, raising his grade in that facet from 59.5 in 2019 to 89.7 in 2020, but he was inconsistent as a pass rusher.
Oweh carved up Indiana’s tackles in his season-opener for 10 pressures. He then proceeded to record just 10 pressures over the next six games combined, and those same Indiana tackles would go on to produce some of the worst pass-blocking grades in the FBS.
That said, Oweh's tools are too good for Indianapolis to pass up. With the right coaching, he can be a monster in the NFL. He’s worth the risk.
As a former high school basketball player who didn't start playing football until his junior year, there is still a lot of development ahead for the redshirt sophomore.
In 24 games with the Nittany Lions, Oweh produced 63 tackles (13.5 for loss), 7.0 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 pass breakups. His tackles for loss increased each year, as did his sacks between 2018 and 2019 before falling flat in that category in 2020.
Despite failing to register a sack in his final season, he still earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches.
Like many highly-rated edge defenders each year in the draft, you're looking at Oweh for his potential rather than what he's already accomplished.
At 6'5", 256 pounds, he's got a nearly perfect build, as he can still add some bulk for teams that want him to play on the strong side. He's got a long, evenly-distributed frame with the arm length you're looking for in an edge defender, although official measurements have yet to roll in before Penn State's pro day on March 25.
One big reason Oweh is so appealing is his speed and explosiveness, as he reportedly ran a 4.38 laser time in the 40-yard dash during pre-draft workouts.
While Oweh is rightfully considered a raw pass rusher, he does have some moves in his belt, such as a two-handed swipe and a block-shedding swim move that also helps when defending the run. He also gets some push against the blocker on his bull rush.
Oweh improved as a run defender in 2020, raising his Pro Football Focus run defense grade to 89.7 from an average of 60.8 between 2018-19.
He especially improved against the run between the tackles, as he understands to stack-and-shed his blocker and then collapse down on the runner.
Although he's gotten better, Oweh still has room to improve in order to become a three-down player in the NFL.
He needs to take better angles to the ball while it's still within the first two levels of the defense. As a result, he's almost never a factor in outside runs to his opposite side even though he's got prime athleticism.
Oweh also needs to get better at attacking in the run game, as he is often too patient and lets the ball come to him rather than the other way around. His patience is often a good thing when defending RPOs, but not so much on clearly-designed runs.
Against both the run and pass, he has the strength to not get pushed back or bullied, and he doesn’t disappear when he angles inside. He also has quite a bit of energy and plays to the whistle.
Oweh knows to do some of the little things, like to jump and get his hands into passing lanes when he knows he’s not going to get to the quarterback. He may have only had two official pass breakups, but he affected many more.
He is a really fluid, agile athlete with good physical reaction time when he diagnoses something, and his hips flip quickly to change direction. Oweh has the flexibility to bend the edge and does a good job of getting low and playing below the tackle’s belly.
Oweh shows off quality contact balance and isn’t on the ground unless he was part of making the stop. He also understands there are different ways to go to where he wants to go and can use his momentum to change his path to the backfield.
Despite his explosiveness, Oweh could get a better jump off the snap on a more consistent basis. That first step can be deadly for edge defenders, and he's capable of having a devastating one.
Overall, the lack of sack production is arguably Oweh's biggest red flag, because it shines a light on what he's yet to develop as a pass rusher in terms of putting more pass rush tools in his belt.
Oweh's Penn State head coach James Franklin spoke about the pass rusher's NFL prospects and addressed the perception about his lack of sack production.
“Yeah, Jayson's going to be an interesting one,” Franklin said. “There's going to be a lot of interesting discussions for Jayson. I think the exciting thing about Jayson is football is still very new to him. Really, was a high school basketball player who kind of blew up his senior year in the recruiting process. Came here and just dramatically getting better. Really invested in the weight room.
"It's interesting," Franklin continued. "Everybody's going to talk about his ability to rush the passer and this season maybe not having as much production there. But one of the things I talked to Jayson about is the people that really know football and really study football, (if) you watched how he played every play this year — against the run, a very, very complete football player with a huge upside.”
FIT WITH THE COLTS
Watching his film, Oweh really stood out to me as the type of edge defender that the Colts have drafted recently.
Since 2018, general manager Chris Ballard has drafted or signed as an undrafted free agent four edge defenders (Kemoko Turay, Ben Banogu, Gerri Green, and Jegs Jegede), who averaged 6'5", 257 pounds with 33-inch arms, a 6'8" wingspan, and 9-3/4" hands.
Athletically, those players averaged a 4.68-second 40, (1.63-second 10-yard split), 4.44 short shuttle, 37-inch vertical, 123-inch broad, 7.41 three-cone, and 21 bench press reps.
At 6'5", 256 with a reported 4.38-second 40, Oweh meets the criteria. And while we don't have the other numbers on him yet, he'd be expected to check each of the remaining boxes.
The edge defenders the Colts grab from the draft are almost always raw — just like Oweh — which seems to be something they like as they can mold them into the type of player they want.
Oweh particularly reminds me of Turay. Their pre-draft measurements are nearly identical, and both were considered raw pass-rushers whose sack numbers weren't good enough, and needed improvement as run defenders.
The Colts need more from the defensive end position and guys like Oweh for multiple reasons.
First and foremost, players responsible for 18 of their 40 sacks in 2020 are set to become free agents, including their three defensive ends who played the most snaps in Justin Houston, Denico Autry, and Al-Quadin Muhammad.
Although the Colts' 40 sacks aren't a bad number, they had seven games with either one or zero sacks, so the consistency needs a big improvement.
They enter 2021 with only Turay and Banogu under contract, who have both yet to prove anything as consistent, reliable players, as well as Tyquan Lewis who they'd prefer to use inside at three-technique.
It's not a guess whether or not the Colts are going to make moves for defensive ends this offseason.
Oweh played on the end in a three-point stance as part of a four-man front just like the Colts operate. However, it appears he was told to do a lot of waiting and reading against the run.
If he played in an attacking, four-man front like the Colts, it may be a better fit to unlock his physical tools. That way he can be told to just charge forward and wreak havoc.
It may not be right away, but some team with a quality defensive line coach could mold Oweh into a consistently disruptive force off the edge.
Why not the Colts?
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