Eagles' Late Signing Suddenly Flashing On The Outisde Of Defense

PHILADELPHIA – He signed his free-agent contract on the same day his new team, the Eagles, reported to training camp on July 22. It took a little time, but now he’s starting to display the traits that have allowed him to carve out a seven-year NFL career. Those traits are explosion off the snap and quick play recognition.

It might be time to start learning how to pronounce and say his name. It’s Ogbonnia Okoronkwo. Ogbo, for short. No. 50 if you prefer.

“After being released by Cleveland, I just looked around the league, looked at different rosters and just saw a group of young guys who are really talented here,” said Ogbo, explaining his decision to sign with the Eagles. “I felt like a veteran presence would do this room a lot of good.

“Me and my agent we went through rosters. We weren’t really thinking about the money per say. I’ve played for a while, so at this point it’s not really about money, but what makes sense and legacy. I wanted to play for a team that can compete for the whole thing. I haven’t done that in a while, since I left LA and I was really trying to get back to playing winning football. That factored in a lot.”

He could be that guy, that locker room veteran presence, and the only defender who is 30 years old, though there’s still several weeks before any jobs become official. Especially for a defensive end who is relearning how to drop into coverage on occasion which is required in Vic Fangio’s scheme.

“He's fighting through that and learning that stuff,” said Fangio. “Not just from a mental standpoint but the technique part of it. But overall, he's doing good.”

Okoronkwo was an outside linebacker at the University of Oklahoma and then did more of it in his early days in Los Angeles, where he was a fifth-round pick of the Rams in the 2018 draft.

“I dropped quite a bit with Brandon Staley (in LA),” said Okoronkwo. “We ran a 3-4 over there, so I’m not totally new to it. It’s been a while, but I’m not totally new to it. There’s wrinkles in the defense to help with things like (covering receivers, running backs, or tight ends). They definitely put is in positions to win. There’s not a lot of times where I’m in the position where I don’t feel comfortable in my matchup.”

Okoronkwo had 7.5 sacks in two seasons with the Browns, including three last year. He has 17 in 90 career games.

The Eagles didn’t have a player with double-digit sacks last year, but had 13 players with at least a half sack. So, Okoronkwo could fit in Fangio’s approach, where it is better to have several players capable of getting sacks when they are called upon.

“I haven’t really felt any challenges per se,” he said. “Not doing OTAs and learning the playbook on the move, I guess, has been a little challenging, but not really. I’ve been around the league for a while. I’ve played in a lot of defenses, so it’s easy to pick it up.”

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