2022 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: DL Otito Ogbonnia, UCLA

Otito Ogbonnia might currently project as a developmental prospet, but he has a lot of traits in his game to like.

Otito Ogbonnia, DL

Height: 6’4
Weight: 324 lbs.
Class: Senior
School: UCLA
Arm length: 34 ⅜”
Hands: 10”

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A former three-star recruit out of Katy, Texas, where he attended Taylor High School, Ogbonnia was the 49th ranked defensive tackle, and the 89th ranked recruit from Texas during the 2018 cycle.

Notables

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Ogbonnia was primarily a nose tackle and 2-technique for the UCLA Bruins defense. He played 526 snaps with 14 pressures, two sacks, 19 tackles, and 17 STOPs in 2021. 

The defense slanted him quite a bit, and stunted him, switching gap responsibility and relying on his ability to engage, move, and shed to create disruption. He typically did a solid job eating double teams, albeit was caught off-guard when the second OL was late to the point of attack (Washington: Q1, 8:12).

He finished his career at UCLA with 35 pressures, three sacks, 48 tackles, and 38 STOPs in 1,348 snaps (648 in run defense; 686 as a pass rusher). Ogbonnia had a solid week in Mobile at the Reese’s Senior Bowl. 

He was winning one-on-ones with strength and showed a little bit more juice than his film provided. He attended the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine and had the most reps of any DT (only three defensive tackles benched).

• Bench press: 29 reps

 

Strengths

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

• Excellent length and height for the position
• Solid overall explosiveness at the snap (would be maximized if he kept his pad level down)
• Big hands that are heavy
• Solid pop in his hands at the point of attack
• Wins off the snap with quick, powerful, hands that stun
• Uses a combination of moves at the snap swiftly to gain an advantage
• Colorado: Q2, 11:52, 3rd & 7
• USC: Q2, 11:56, 3rd & 6 (club/rip)
• Solid power in one on one situations when pushing the outside shoulder of OL
• When technique is good, he employs very good play strength as a run defender
• Showed good ability to stack & shed base blocks with excellent extension
• USC: Q3, 7:40, 1st & 10
• ASU: Q3, 14:19, 1st & 10
• Washington: Q3, 8:29, 1st & GOAL
• Gets skinny when penetrating to split double team blocks
• Colorado: Q2, 2:42, 2nd & 13
• Used good diagnosing ability to position himself well when flowing laterally (athletic limitations didn’t allow him to consistently win in the area)
• A hard worker, reportedly
• A situational back end defensive lineman who can play some snaps as a run defender or a pass rusher

Weaknesses/Can Improve

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

• Below average athletic ability for a defensive tackle
• Lateral agility, COD, and bend are all modest
• Found himself on the ground too much, some balance concerns
• Will try, but pursuit from the backside isn’t very effective
• Seemed slight legged for a 324-pound player
• Pops out of his stance high, relied on quick hands to win initially
• If he doesn’t win with initial hand combinations, it takes awhile for him to get through the half-man
• Gets stuck to blocks too often
• Not a ton of power for his size as a pass rusher, adequate play strength going forward
• Handled double teams solidly, but would get uprooted when he didn’t anticipate a second blocker - or if that blocker was late to engage
• Struggled against Utah’s outside zone - over pursued and/or not enough quickness to evade play side blocks
• Only one season as a full-time starter; wasn’t overly productive

Summary

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Overall, Ogbonnia is a quick and heavy-handed player who initially wins at the point of attack with adept usage of hands to penetrate and win at the point of attack. His overall strength is solid, but not as threatening as most 324-pound players. I appreciate the ability to string moves together to shed.

He’s a solid overall run defender but could improve if he fixed his pad level/balance issues. When he leverages his quick hands to jump and beat OL to the contact point, he engages good power and quick hands to disrupt. 

Ogbonnia is a developmental defensive tackle who can make the backend of a roster, but not one who should start early in his career.

GRADE: 5.83

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