Julian Okwara’s senior encore drifted apart from the script he envisioned upon announcing his return for the 2019 season.
Instead of building on his Notre Dame-record 21 quarterback hurries he set in 2018 and pushing double-digit sacks, he broke his leg in November, cutting his season short by four games. He missed Notre Dame’s bowl game and nearly all NFL Combine activities. First-round chatter last spring died down.
What resulted, though, was still an ideal outcome. He is teammates with his brother for the first time in his life.
The Detroit Lions selected Okwara — a 6-4, 252-pound edge player — in the third round with the No. 67 overall pick Friday night. He joins his older brother Romeo Okwara, a fellow edge rusher for the Lions whose final season at Notre Dame was 2015, one year before Julian enrolled.
“We had little three-on-threes in our backyard, but never in organized football,” Okwara said at the NFL Combine in February. “When I was coming into middle school, he was going into high school. When I was going into high school, he was going into college.”
Upon hearing his name called, Romeo burst off a chair in the family's living room and swallowed his brother in a hug, euphoria fitting of the NFL's biggest stage. A few minutes later, as both of them dialed in for an interview with the ESPN broadcast, a loud “Let’s goooo” rang out in the background.
“I really couldn't believe it,” Romeo said. “It’s always something we’ve both dreamed about, to play together. We’ve never played with each other at any level.”
Okwara is Notre Dame’s third player drafted this year, following Cole Kmet (No. 43, Chicago Bears) and Chase Claypool (No. 49, Pittsburgh Steelers).
Spotrac’s rookie pay scale says Okwara will sign a four-year deal worth $4.9 million.
Okwara sustained a broken fibula late in the first half of Notre Dame’s win at Duke Nov. 9. In eight-plus games, he had 18 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks. His two years as a starter were spent as a standout pass rusher on a defense that ranked in the top 15 in yards per play and points allowed per game in 2018 and 2019. Notre Dame went 23-3 in that span.
“You can drop him off as a 3-4 outside linebacker or a 4-3 stand-up pass rusher,” ESPN analyst Booger McFarland said on the draft broadcast. “This is a tremendous athlete, long, linear, still has a little room to get stronger.
“Look for him to be an outstanding player, especially if he gets a little stronger and adds five to 10 pounds on the next level.”
Pro Football Focus credited Okwara with a 19.1 percent pressure rate since 2018, which led all Football Bowl Subdivision players by nearly a full percentage point. For comparison, No. 2 overall pick Chase Young’s pressure rate was 17.6 percent in that span.
A native of Nigeria who came to the United States in elementary school, Okwara arrived at Notre Dame as a four-star recruit out of Charlotte, N.C., a slender freshman built like an umbrella and part of a large 2016 class. Included in it were fellow front seven players and future contributors Daelin Hayes, Khalid Kareem, Jamir Jones, Ade Ogundeji and Jonathan Jones. Hayes, as a five-star recruit, was the jewel.
Despite the crowd and presence of veterans Jerry Tillery, Isaac Rochell and Andrew Trumbetti, Okwara slid in as a deep reserve and a special teamer, playing 11 games. His defensive role increased in 2017 as a rotational pass rusher, notching 2.5 sacks. Visions of a standout final two years became clearer and realistic.
The next step was adding to a 230-pound frame, giving him strength to go with the speed and athleticism that were evident from the start. Okwara showed up to fall camp in 2018 at 241 pounds.
What followed was a breakout that saw him become one of Notre Dame’s defensive anchors. He became the Irish’s starter at drop defensive end, snagging the role from the Hayes, and morphed into much more than a speedy rusher. His 12.5 tackles for loss led the team, and his 8.5 sacks were tied for first.
It wasn’t, though, enough for him to leave. He announced his return a week after Notre Dame’s Cotton Bowl loss to Clemson, saying in a statement he “had work left to do.”
That offseason, he appeared in early 2020 mock drafts, on preseason All-America teams and was mentioned in The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman’s annual Freaks List.
PFF still viewed Okwara’s 2019 as a success even with the injury, giving him a 90.1 pass-rush grade that was an increase from his 2018 figure of 86.5. Okwara only bench pressed at the combine, completing 27 reps and 225 pounds. His chance to run the 40-yard dash was wiped out when Notre Dame canceled its April 1 pro day due to COVID-19 concerns. In a personal pro day, he posted a video of him running a hand-timed 4.6 40.
“When I got injured, a lot of stuff started going around about who Julian Okwara was,” Okwara said at the NFL Combine. ”It’s definitely a chip on my shoulder. It feels like a lot of guys forgot about who I was.
“I know what I offer and what I bring to the table. I’m not really worried about it.”
The Lions went 3-13 in 2019. They ranked 11th in the NFL with 43 sacks. Devon Kennard, their co-leader with 7.0 sacks, left as a free agent. They signed outside linebacker Jamie Collins (7.0 sacks) in March.
Romeo Okwara went undrafted out of Notre Dame in 2016 and signed with the Lions in 2018. He made 28 tackles last season, with 1.5 sacks.
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