DALLAS — Osa Odighizuwa knew he would play in the NFL.
At 6-foot-2, 294 pounds, Odighizuwa has the ability to shed blockers on the inside and pressure quarterbacks in their face. The third-round pick from UCLA can also stuff the run.
However, Odighizuwa doesn't want to be another big-ugly in the middle of a defense. The 23-year-old wants to blend football intelligence with his athletic ability to have an outstanding career in the NFL.
"Just from experience, I feel like, athletically, I've always had the talent to be an NFL player," said Odighizuwa, who has racked up 2.0 sacks, three tackles for loss, eight quarterback hits, and 13 combined tackles in six games.
"That's something that I knew. But the production that I wasn't getting earlier on, I feel like that kind of helped me from just working on my technique more, and kind of just, like, doing a lot more offseason work as I was developing in college to be able to get to this point."
During the dead period after the draft between mandatory minicamp and training camp in June and early July, Odighizuwa spent time with his brother, Owa Odighizuwa, who played defensive end for the New York Giants from 2015-16. The younger brother worked on technique and watched film of his final year at UCLA to ascertain specifically what he needed to address heading into training camp.
"Just moving forward, so I have a plan of what to drill, like, in the offseason and things like that," Odighizuwa said. "And then just knowing football, so that when I'm watching film, I'm not just watching film, I'm looking for certain things, formations, tendencies and things like that, which I gained from coaches over time, having three D-line coaches in college."
What has truly helped Odighizuwa is playing time. All-Pro right guard Zack Martin can testify to what 468 defensive snaps can do for a young defensive tackle's growth.
"You can tell he’s gotten a ton of game reps," Martin said. "To me, that’s where guys make the biggest jumps. It’s not from OTAs to training camp, it’s from when you actually get in there with the live bullets flying and seeing those things."
What the older brother has imparted upon Odighizuwa through six games in the regular season is to take care of his body and stay healthy.
"He told me I'm doing good," Odighizuwa said. "I send him clips and stuff like that. He comes to the games, just giving me tips still."
The Cowboys get back in action after their bye week with a Sunday night tilt against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Do you foresee the 2021 draft class bolstering the defense even more in the season’s second half? Share your thoughts with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.