The Ravens drafted Penn State edge rusher Jayson Oweh with the No. 31 overall pick in the NFL draft Thursday night, addressing their pass-rush hole with one of the draft’s most intriguing players.
Oweh didn’t have a sack last season, his only year as a starter for the Nittany Lions, but he was a strong run defender whose stock soared at his pro day. At 6 feet 5 and 257 pounds, Oweh ran the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds.
“It’s fascinating because Oweh doesn’t have the sacks and Baltimore has always preached production,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said before the draft. “So the fact that he doesn’t have any production I would say, ‘Oh, he’s not going to Baltimore.’ But I think from how hard he plays, I think that kind of matches the DNA a little bit with the Ravens, and I think he did got a little bit of disruption even though he didn’t have the production.”
The former star at New Jersey’s Blair Academy didn’t start playing football until he was a junior in high school — just five years ago. But he is one of the most physically imposing players in the draft, twice ranking in the top 10 on reporter Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks List” because of his athletic testing numbers.
The Ravens earlier took Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman at No. 27 overall.
