Is Joseph Ossai a Viable Option for the Eagles?

PHILADELPHIA - The NFL Network's lead draft analyst, Daniel Jeremiah, is an ex-Eagles scout and the former collegiate quarterback from Northeastern Louisiana and Appalachian State who knows a thing or two about the way Philadelphia likes to do business.

During a virtual conference call earlier this week, Jeremiah dropped a little hint for all the mock drafters out there.

"I can't see [the Eagles] leaving the first two rounds without a big," said Jeremiah, defaulting to Philadelphia's foundational DNA of building up front on both sides of the football.

When discussing defense Jeremiah focused on edge rusher, on the surface one of the few strengths on a transitioning 4-11-1 roster but one also dealing with some age (Brandon Graham), uncertainty (Derek Barnett's contract), and some of both (Vinny Curry's birth certificate and status as a pending unrestricted free agency).

There isn't an edge rusher worthy of the sixth overall pick but there are plenty that might be in the mix on Day 2 at No. 37 overall and Jeremiah focused on three players - Washington's Joe Tryon, Houston's Payton Turner, and Oklahoma's Ronnie Perkins.

University of Texas edge Joseph Ossai wasn't mentioned and perhaps for good reason.

On Thursday at his Pro Day, Ossai, who is 6-3, 256 pounds, showed off his freakish athleticism with an NBA-like vertical leap of 41.5 inches and a broad jump over 11 feet.

"I wasn’t too surprised but I did go in thinking of surprising myself in everything I did and going above and beyond," said Ossai. "But I didn’t put too much on the measurables. I still had to come out here and show that I wanted to compete, I wanted to finish all of the drills and I wanted to work hard. That’s what I've always been about.

"As far as how they might improve my draft status, I don’t know. I’m not in those meeting rooms. I'm going to just keep doing what I can in the Zoom meetings to impress the coaches with the way my football IQ is, with the way I can think and play football, and I hope my film can do the rest."

In 29 career games over three years with the Longhorns, Ossai collected 165 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 10.5 of which came in the previous two seasons, with 30 tackles for loss, and two interceptions.

Right now, Ossai's physical traits have him trending toward being a first-round pick in the bottom half but there are questions that could cause a little bit of a drop - thoughts he may be a bit of a tweener between 4-3 defensive end and 3-4 outside linebacker and the realization that he's got a late start when it comes to even knowing what football was after growing up in Nigeria.

Ossai moved to the Houston area when he was 10 and quickly turned into a four-star recruit that was chased by powerhouses like Oregon and Notre Dame before deciding to stay home at UT.

What's striking about Ossai is his football IQ and desire to learn the game. He's intent on not just relying on his athleticism.

Understanding his future might be as a LB he's very engrossed in understanding route concepts in case he's asked to drop-off into coverage at the next level.

"A lot of it is understanding concepts," Ossai noted. "You have to understand what the offense wants to do and what you have to do and then you find the easy medium to bring those two together. Understanding concepts, you can’t just go out there and spot drop and be in no-man’s land.

"You have to understand that if the two receiver is going in you have to expect the number 3 coming out from the other side. Or if he is running a shallow route you can’t bite on that because chances are there is something behind you.

"Just understanding concepts and learning how to play in space, learning how to have perfect eyes watching the quarterback. If he is looking left you’re melting left. If he is looking right you are melting right. If he is looking right at you, you sit because there is probably something behind you or something coming at you. A lot of things go into that."

It's hard to imagine any NFL team not wanting to take advantage of Ossai's pass-rushing skills, however. For Ossai, he's already developed a go-to move.

"Definitely a stab-club-rip for sure," he said. "That’s worked a bunch for me in my game and I’ve found it’s very effective because there are a lot of things you can work off of it. You can work a lift, lifting that outside arm of the tackle. You can do a bunch of things with it. Stab-club rip or stab-club-over, reach."

Helping Ossai perfect that over the years has been Texas OT Samuel Cosmi, another potential first-round pick in the 2021 draft class.

"He is awesome," Ossai said of Cosmi. "Great footwork. He’s actually working out right now and guys are getting to see how phenomenal he is. I am sad the Combine wasn’t a thing this year because people would have seen how freakish and explosive he is. It is what it is, but he’s a great guy. It was great going against him every day. It was truly iron sharpens iron. We preached that a lot.

"For me and him and the other guys, it’s truly that, always constantly going against each other and pushing each other to be better every day. He definitely helped me a lot to become the player I am today."

And what kind of player would the Eagles or any other team be getting with Ossai?

"I don’t think I’m selling anything except me and my passion for the game," he said. "If they draft me they’ll see that. I think you can tell from my film how I’ve grown, especially from the beginning, but I’m not pushing it or trying to use it as an advantage.

"I’m just being myself and going into these interviews and hoping to wow the coaches with everything I do and wherever their questions fall. Making sure I understand the concepts and doing what I can."

--John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Monday and Thursday on The Middle with Eytan Shander, Harry Mayes, former Eagles OT Barrett Brooks streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and SportsMap Radio. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s EagleMaven. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.

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