Sturm 60 Rewind: '21 - DT Osa Odighizuwa

Looking back at the UCLA 3-tech before he was the Cowboys big free agent decision.

(This is entirely taken from our annual Sturm 60 Draft Project and was his profile as it was written on May 20, 2021 in the Athletic.)

Osa Odighizuwa was selected by the Cowboys in the 3rd round and pick No. 75 in 2021 and was the Cowboys third player taken overall behind Micah Parsons (No. 12 overall) and Kelvin Joseph (No. 44). Interestingly enough, he was also taken two picks after Philadelphia selected fellow DT and free agent-to-be, Milton Williams from Louisiana Tech.

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Osa Odighizuwa – UCLA – RS Senior – DT – Age 22

Let’s start with his Mockdraftable page that shows that he is pretty small for an A/B gap player inside in both height and weight. That doesn’t mean he can’t pack on more muscle in an NFL weight room, but at nearly 23 years old, there is a general belief that those players are pretty close to their practical size ceiling.

What we quickly notice in green, though, are the traits that are well above average, and that includes very long arms and wingspan, huge hands and a broad jump that suggests great explosion. Heck, even a vertical leap for a man that size that scores well. He can do plenty as a man who is also a three-time state wrestling champion in Oregon. He was 91-0 as a high school 6A heavyweight as an upperclassman. Wow.

He was a three-year starter for UCLA, and the Bruins put him on the nose a lot at that size, which is not easy. He was facing constant double-teams and also showed he could move up and down the line.

He was productive for his position and his job at UCLA over those last three years, and that includes the general workload that he was able to weather. He is durable, productive and plays very hard.