The college football season has officially come to a close, and many stars from the 2019 season will be moving on to the next phase of their careers in the 2020 NFL Draft.
One of those is Notre Dame defensive end Julian Okwara, who USA TODAY’s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz projects the Tennessee Titans will select at No. 29 overall.
The mock has the Titans picking behind the Ravens and just ahead of the Green Bay Packers.
“Mike Vrabel has thrown an assortment of players into the pass-rushing mix, yet none have proven consistent threats,” Middlehurst-Schwartz wrote. “Tennessee can ramp up its efforts on this front by grabbing Okwara, who’s still learning the finer points of his position but has a tantalizing athletic profile.”
Okwara’s season ended early due to a fibula injury, and he’s also struggled with consistency issues in the past.
His overall athletic ability is highly impressive though, and he racked up 13.5 sacks and 19 tackles for loss in 22 games over the past two seasons.
With some fine-tuning, Okwara could quickly become a difference-maker in an NFL defense.
Regardless of where he ends up, there’s no doubting that Okwara is a big get for any team looking to strengthen its pass rush, and it will be interesting to see where he ultimately ends up in April.
