The Baltimore Ravens have been one of the best teams in the NFL at drafting and developing players, hitting on several draft picks over the past several years. However, one of their former second-round picks has not had the same success as the rest.
Linebacker David Ojabo, the No. 45 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, has struggled to stay on the field. And when he has played, he has not had the production the Ravens likely imagined when they drafted him with just 16 tackles, four sacks and two forced fumbles through his first three NFL seasons.
Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic believes that could make Ojabo expendable in the coming months.
“Ojabo very easily could be looking for a new team later this summer,” Zrebiec writes.
Ojabo is entering the final year of his rookie deal, and Baltimore's edge rusher group got even deeper this offseason with the second-round selection of Mike Green in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Green led all FBS players with 17 sacks last season at Marshall and now joins veterans Kyle Van Noy, Odafe Oweh, Tavius Robinson and Adisa Isaac in the room. Some believe the Ravens could still add to the unit as well.
Ojabo could still turn things around, though. Sometimes edge rushers take a little bit longer to develop compared to other positions. Baltimore has had several edge rushers who showed flashes of potential during their first few years in the league and then finally put it all together in the last year of their rookie deals.
Only time will tell if that will be the case for Ojabo, but he has all the tools to be successful at the next level as a once projected top 15 pick.
Ojabo suffered an Achilles injury in 2022 that caused him to fall in the draft and miss most of his rookie season. Then his 2023 campaign was cut short due to a partially torn ACL.
If Ojabo can finally stay healthy in 2025, it may just be enough to turn his NFL career around. The question is: will it be with the Ravens?
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