Ravens are high on Odafe Oweh heading into pivotal 2024 season

General Manager Eric DeCosta believes he will be one of their “primary edge rush guys.”

Much has been made about how the Baltimore Ravens’ pass rush will look on the edge if they aren’t able to retain any of their unrestricted free agent outside linebackers. Both three-time Pro Bowler Jadeveon Clowney and two-time Super Bowl champion Kyle Van Noy had career years in 2023 by recording 9+ sacks playing on one-year deals.

However, they were not the only disruptive edge defenders on the team last year. The distinction of the most potent pass rusher at that spot this past season belongs to 2021 first-rounder Odafe Oweh.

General Manager Eric DeCosta believes Oweh a strong third season and is poised to take another step in his development in 2024.

“We were really happy with his game this year,” DeCosta said Tuesday at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. “Sometimes I think people get really caught on the number of sacks that people get. We prefer to look at pressures and disruptions and their ability to effect the game.”

Oweh got off to a hot start in the 2023 season. He recorded seven pressures and four quarterback hits in the season opener against the Texans, going up against four-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil primarily. An ankle injury suffered in Week 2 would knock him out of commission for the next four games but upon his return, he recorded four sacks over the next five games. That included three straight sacks from Weeks 9-11.

Even though his sack production dwindled down the stretch, his impact and disruptive presence off the edge did not. Oweh still wound up leading the Ravens with a pass rush win rate of 18.2 percent according to Pro Football Focus, which was also the 10th-best mark in the entire league. In 13 games, he made five starts and recorded 23 total tackles including four for a loss, 12 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, and tied his career-high in sacks from his rookie year with five.

DeCosta praised Oweh for being “one of the hardest workers” in the entire defense, citing the high motor he uses to relentlessly pursue quarterbacks and ball carriers alike. DeCosta loves the passion that he plays with as well.

“He is an exciting young prospect, he has battled back from some injuries, and we think that this is going to be a great season for him,” DeCosta said. “We’re very, very excited about what he brings to the table this year as one of our primary edge rush guys.”

Going from having a pass rush win percentage of 12.1 during his sophomore slump in 2022 to improving by 6.1 percent is a substantial leap. While sack totals are a good sign that a pass rusher knows how to finish a play, they rarely tell the entire story of how disruptive they’re capable of being.

Whether the Ravens bring back Clowney or Van Noy or neither of them, the cupboard on the edge is not bear. The team believes that it is in good hands with Oweh leading the charge. Depending on whether the team decides to exercise the $14.5 million fifth-year option on his contract by the May 2 deadline, this fall could potentially be his last in Baltimore.

If he continues to realize his full potential, Oweh could be primed to break out in similar fashion to how 2020 first-round inside linebacker Patrick Queen did this past season. Queen became a Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro. The Ravens will have a chance to address the position in free agency and the draft before the deadline, so they will reassess their options moving forward by that date.

The other edge defenders slated to return alongside Oweh include 2022 second-rounder David Ojabo, 2023 fourth-rounder Tavius Robinson, and 2023 undrafted free agent Malik Hamm. Ojabo has struggled with injuries in his first two seasons and is coming off ACL surgery. Robinson showed some promising flashes as a rookie but was mostly used as an early down run defender, and Hamm made the initial 53-man roster but spent the entire year on injured reserve.