Michigan Wolverines EDGE David Ojabo Declares For 2022 NFL Draft

Michigan edge rusher David Ojabo has put his hat in the ring, declaring for the 2022 NFL Draft.

Every year in college football, we get to see some incredible stories and incredible risers for the draft. Some of those risers come out of basically nowhere to have a phenomenal season. That’s something we saw with Michigan’s David Ojabo, who declared for the 2022 NFL Draft today after a fantastic 2021 season with the Wolverines. He made it official on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/DavidOjabo/status/1478403344834211847

Ojabo only started playing football in 2017, and had 23 snaps as a Wolverine in 2020. There was hope he’d make a jump with Kwity Paye gone to the NFL, but not many outside the Michigan program were expecting this type of season. Ojabo had 11 sacks and 12 tackles for loss in 2021, and was instrumental in helping the Wolverines reach their first ever College Football Playoff.

The improvement from Ojabo was so impressive to watch all season long. It’s almost like he looked more polished as a rusher each week. The explosion off the snap is impressive, and he converts said explosion into power so well. Ojabo has other go-to rush moves, from using his athleticism and flexibility to sell outside before quickly working back inside, to a great ghost move, and some good rip/club moves at contact. When Ojabo does get pressure, he does a great job getting his hand on the football, as his five forced fumbles show.

There are obviously still things to work on for Ojabo, especially setting the edge and handling gap responsibilities against the run. But, he’s got the high-level tools to be a top 15 pick, and with the likely unreal testing numbers, teams will be lining up in the 2022 NFL Draft to develop a guy with his upside. It’s going to be fun to see where he ends up, because the ceiling is as high as anyone in the class.