Penn State's Jayson Oweh goes to the Ravens in the 1st round
The Baltimore Ravens chose potential and athleticism over production when they selected Penn State defensive end Jayson Oweh in the first round (31st overall) of the NFL Draft on Thursday night.
Oweh (6-4 7/8, 257 pounds) has run a 4.37-second 40 and has the potential to transition to outside linebacker with the Ravens.
Love this!!!! #WeAre ?⚪️? pic.twitter.com/swAKP5iGEk
— Kenny Sanders (@knnysndrs) April 30, 2021
He did not record a sack in seven games during Penn State’s covid-shortened season last year, but he totaled five, including two strip sacks, in 2019. He also recorded two sacks in 2018 when he was a redshirt freshman.
He was ranked by ESPN.com as the fifth defensive end available in the draft (38th overall).
The @Ravens got an absolute stud in Jayson Oweh. Don’t be fooled by the no sacks story line. He is just an awesome disruptive football player. One of my favorite defensive guys in the draft. Ravens continue to purge the biggest baddest dudes on the planet.
— Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) April 30, 2021
“Jayson’s going to be an interesting one,” Penn State coach James Franklin told SI.com before the draft. “There’s going to be a lot of discussions about Jayson. The exciting thing about Jayson is football is still very new to him. (He) really was a high school basketball player who kind of blew up his senior year in the recruiting process (at Blair Academy in New Jersey). He came here and just dramatically kept getting better. Really invested in the weight room.
“Everybody is going to talk about his ability to rush the passer, and this season maybe not having as much production there. But one of the things I talked to Jayson about is people that really know football and really study football, you watch how he played every play this year against the run, he’s a very, very complete football player with a huge upside.”
Oweh is Penn State’s highest drafted defensive end since Aaron Maybin was picked 11th overall by the Buffalo Bills in 2009.
Another milestone: When Oweh and linebacker Micah Parsons (No. 12 overall to the Dallas Cowboys) were drafted Friday, it marked the first time since 2003 that two Penn State defensive players were chosen in the first round.
Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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