Aug 31, 2019; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive back Jeffrey Okudah (1) during the first half against the Florida Atlantic Owls at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Jeffrey Okudah, Cornerback, Ohio State
It is not likely that a cornerback will be selected with a top-5 pick in any draft unless they are a special talent. For example, in the 2019 draft, the first cornerback selected was Deandre Baker to the New York Giants with the 30th pick. In fact, only three cornerbacks were selected with a top-5 pick in the last 10 NFL drafts. Ironically, the last cornerback selected top-5 was Denzel Ward in 2018, who also came from Ohio State. Jeffrey Okudah is the better player.
What does Jeffrey Okudah do well? He possesses great size and athleticism, which allows him to excel in man coverage. Quick feet, fluid movement skills, and high football intelligence are other traits that make Okudah special.
Coming out of high school, Okudah was a highly decorated 5-star recruit. He burst onto the scene late in the 2018 season and quickly became the best defensive back at Ohio State. Coming into 2019, one area of doubt surrounding Okudah was his ball skills; however, he quickly answered those concerns by intercepting 3 passes in the first 5 games of the season.
Take a peek at the video below, and see Okudah break up a pass to Michigan wide receiver Nico Collins. Okudah perfectly reads the play and breaks up the pass.
Michigan needs to stop throwing his way imo. Lockdown pic.twitter.com/2EGNGFzJ2H
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) November 30, 2019
As I mentioned, Okudah entered the 2019 season facing concerns about his ball skills, but the clip below will show those concerns were premature. In this clip, Okudah locates the ball and defends the pass.
Jeffrey Okudah ball skills. pic.twitter.com/m2NhhMjydK
— Derrik Klassen (@QBKlassClips) November 27, 2019
Jeffrey Okudah is a realistic option for the Washington Redskins with the third pick in the 2020 NFL draft. It’s popular to mock a left tackle such as Andrew Thomas or Tristian Wirfs to the Redskins, but with Josh Norman being a certain cap casualty in the offseason, cornerback becomes more of a need. If he doesn’t go to the Redskins, the Atlanta Falcons are in desperate need of a shutdown cornerback and they currently hold the 5th pick. With Okudah being a more than viable option for two teams with top-5 draft selections, it is almost certain he will hear his name called early in the 2020 draft.
