Jeff Okudah
refer to caption
Okudah with Lions in 2022
No. 1 – Atlanta Falcons
Position:Cornerback
Personal information
Born: (1999-02-02) February 2, 1999 (age 25)
Grand Prairie, Texas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:South Grand Prairie
College:Ohio State (2017–2019)
NFL draft:2020 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Total tackles:168
Forced fumbles:1
Pass deflections:13
Interceptions:2
Defensive touchdowns:1
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Jeffrey Chidera Okudah (born February 2, 1999) is an American football cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, where he was a unanimous All-American in 2019 before being selected by the Detroit Lions third overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Early years

Okudah was born in Grand Prairie, Texas to Nigerian parents.[1] He attended South Grand Prairie High School in Grand Prairie, Texas.[2][3] A five-star recruit, he committed to Ohio State University in January 2017.[4][5]

College career

As a true freshman at Ohio State in 2017, Okudah played in all 14 games and had 17 tackles.[6][7] As a sophomore in 2018, he played in 13 games, recording 32 tackles. As a junior in 2019, he recorded his first career interception against the Miami Redhawks.[8] As a junior in 2019, Okudah had 34 tackles, 9 passes defensed, and 3 interceptions. For his performance that season, he was unanimously named to the 2019 College Football All-America Team and was also named a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.[9] Okudah decided to forgo his senior year by declaring for the 2020 NFL Draft.[10]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 1+1⁄8 in
(1.86 m) 		205 lb
(93 kg) 		32+5⁄8 in
(0.83 m) 		9+1⁄8 in
(0.23 m)		 4.48 s 1.60 s 2.65 s 41.0 in
(1.04 m)		 11 ft 3 in
(3.43 m)		 11 reps
All values from NFL Combine[11][12]
Okudah playing against the Washington Football Team in 2020.

Detroit Lions

Okudah was considered to be the best cornerback prospect in the 2020 NFL Draft,[13][14] where he was selected third overall by the Detroit Lions.[15] He signed his four-year rookie contract with the team on July 13, 2020.[16] The contract was worth a fully guaranteed $33.528 million, including a $21.944 million signing bonus.[17] He suffered a hamstring injury during training camp and missed the opening season game. He returned in Week 2 against the Green Bay Packers, where he allowed three completions for 4 yards.[18] The following week he recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.[19] Okudah was placed on injured reserve after he underwent surgery to resolve a core muscle injury on December 15, 2020.[20][21]

During the Lions' 2021 season opener against the San Francisco 49ers, Okudah ruptured his Achilles tendon and was placed on injured reserve.[22]

Atlanta Falcons

Okudah was traded to the Atlanta Falcons on April 13, 2023, in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.[23]

NFL career statistics

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR Yds TD
2020 DET 9 6 47 41 6 0.0 2 1 36 36.0 36 0 0 0 0 0
2021 DET 1 1 4 3 1 0.0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022 DET 15 15 73 59 14 0.0 7 1 20 20.0 20 1 1 0 0 0
2023 ATL 13 9 44 34 10 0.0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 38 31 168 137 31 0.0 13 2 56 28.0 36 1 0 0 0 0

References

  1. ^ Rogers, Justin. "'It's right there, right at home': Nigerian unrest hits close to home for Lions quartet". The Detroit News.
  2. ^ Davenport, Richard (October 4, 2015). "Texas defensive back impresses off the field, too". Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  3. ^ Zaleon, Avi (February 3, 2016). "Say hello to the new No.1 recruit in DFW: South Grand Prairie's Jeffrey Okudah". Dallas News. Archived from the original on April 21, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  4. ^ Olson, Max (January 7, 2017). "Five-star safety Jeffrey Okudah commits to Ohio State". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  5. ^ "Ohio State lands commitment from five-star athlete Jeffrey Okudah". SI.com. January 7, 2017. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019 – via Scout.com.
  6. ^ Rabinowitz, Bill (April 4, 2018). "Ohio State football | Jeffrey Okudah has persevered through pain". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  7. ^ May, Tim (September 15, 2018). "Ohio State-TCU | Buckeyes' Jeffrey Okudah has history with Horned Frogs QB". Buckeyextra. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  8. ^ Baird, Nathan (September 22, 2019). "Ohio State football's Jeff Okudah relishes first career interception against Miami of Ohio". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  9. ^ Hooley, Bruce (January 9, 2020). "Chase Young, Jeff Okudah Likely to go 2-3 in NFL Draft". SI.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  10. ^ Wells, Adam (January 1, 2020). "Ohio State CB Jeff Okudah Declares for 2020 NFL Draft After Loss to Clemson". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  11. ^ "Jeffrey Okudah Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  12. ^ "2020 Draft Scout Jeffrey Okudah, Ohio State NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Archived from the original on December 18, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  13. ^ Hanson, Kevin (March 15, 2020). "2020 NFL Draft Rankings: Cornerbacks". SI.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  14. ^ Kartje, Ryan (April 7, 2020). "A top pick in NFL draft? Ohio State corner Jeff Okudah has it covered". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  15. ^ Birkett, Dave (April 23, 2020). "It's official! Detroit Lions take Jeff Okudah with No. 3 pick in 2020 NFL draft". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on April 24, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  16. ^ Patra, Kevin. "Lions agree with No. 3 overall pick Jeff Okudah on rookie contract". NFL.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  17. ^ "Jeff Okudah's Contract Details Revealed". SI.com. July 15, 2020. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  18. ^ "Jones' big day helps Packers beat Lions 27-14 in home opener". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 20, 2020. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  19. ^ "Detroit Lions at Arizona Cardinals - September 27th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  20. ^ Alper, Josh (December 15, 2020). "Jeff Okudah says core muscle surgery went well". ProFootballTalk. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  21. ^ Schlitt, Erik (December 16, 2020). "Detroit Lions officially place Jeff Okudah on IR". USAToday.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  22. ^ Woodyard, Eric (September 13, 2021). "Source: Lions' Okudah (Achilles) out for season". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  23. ^ "Lions trade CB Jeff Okudah to Atlanta Falcons". DetroitLions.com. April 13, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jeff Okudah.
Atlanta Falcons roster
2019 College Football All-America Team consensus selections
2020 NFL Draft first-round selections
Detroit Lions first-round draft picks
Detroit Lions 2020 NFL Draft selections
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