The New Orleans Saints will be without David Onyemata for the first week of the 2019 season, but they know he’ll make a difference when he returns. Based off of grades from Pro Football Focus, Onyemata has been steadily rising throughout his three-year NFL career, and his peaks last season can be put up against elite players from around the league.
That’s not too bad for a former mid-round draft pick from a small football school up in Canada. PFF has seen Onyemata’s overall grade rise from a so-so rookie year in 2016 (57.2) to progress into noteworthy marks in 2017 (71.6) and 2018 (81.2). Should he hit the ground running this year as well as he left off (posting an 89.1 grade from Week 5 to the playoffs), opposing teams will have a problem on their hands.
A few teams found that out the hard way last season. In Week 7 against the Baltimore Ravens, Onyemata snuffed out several rushing attempts to force Baltimore into a pass-first strategy, relying on Joe Flacco to keep them competitive (he was later benched for rookie Lamar Jackson after failing to do that). Later in the season, Onyemata was a bright spot in losses to the Dallas Cowboys (in Week 13) and Carolina Panthers (in Week 17), racking up four sacks and a handful of other quarterback pressures. Los Angeles Rams superstar Aaron Donald was the only defensive tackle graded higher than Onyemata in a few of those weeks.
Of course, now he has to put it all together and come out roaring in 2019. The Week 1 suspension will put a dampener on things, but Onyemata should excel right away given matchups against units that he’s bullied in the past — the Cowboys will visit New Orleans in prime time for Week 4. In a contract year with Sheldon Rankins sidelined by injury, the sky is the limit for Onyemata’s ambitions.
