Hook'em Headlines
Fansided

Texas Football: 10 Longhorns that could go in the 2019 NFL Draft

By Andrew Miller

WACO, TX - OCTOBER 28: Breckyn Hager #44 of the Texas Longhorns tackles JaMycal Hasty #33 of the Baylor Bears in the first half at McLane Stadium on October 28, 2017 in Waco, Texas. Texas won 38-7. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
WACO, TX - OCTOBER 28: Breckyn Hager #44 of the Texas Longhorns tackles JaMycal Hasty #33 of the Baylor Bears in the first half at McLane Stadium on October 28, 2017 in Waco, Texas. Texas won 38-7. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 11
Next
DALLAS, TX – OCTOBER 10: Charles Omenihu #90 of the Texas Longhorns celebrates with the Golden Hat trophy after a 24-17 win against the Oklahoma Sooners during the 2015 AT&T Red River Showdown at Cotton Bowl on October 10, 2015 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – OCTOBER 10: Charles Omenihu #90 of the Texas Longhorns celebrates with the Golden Hat trophy after a 24-17 win against the Oklahoma Sooners during the 2015 AT&T Red River Showdown at Cotton Bowl on October 10, 2015 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

Unlike Burt, this rising redshirt senior defensive end in Charles Omenihu is likely to be selected at least in the later rounds with a decent outing this fall. Omenihu is part of a Texas defensive line that could be the best in the Big 12 in 2018. Since the Big 12 isn’t much known for defense, let alone along the front seven, the Horns will get a leg up in the spotlight there.

Last season, Omenihu rounded things out tied with Malik Jefferson and fellow rising senior defensive end Breckyn Hager for the team lead in sacks with four going each way. If Omenihu and Hager can both have career years coming off the edge, Texas will have a top pass rush in the Big 12 too.

The part of Omenihu’s stock that starts to get more volatile is if his sack numbers fluctuate this year. So much of the evaluation for defensive ends and edge rushers is contingent upon the sack numbers posted in the final season in college that Omenihu needs to rack up at least five or six this season.

One good example of what can happen when a Big 12 defensive lineman doesn’t match up to expectations for the final year in school comes with the former Kansas Jayhawks defensive end Dorance Armstrong. He went from a huge season in 2016, with 10.0 sacks, to less than three last year. A once projected first round pick for the 2018 NFL Draft fell to the Dallas Cowboys in the middle of the fourth round. Increased production from Omenihu keeps him away from becoming a similar story to Armstrong.

Home/Longhorns in the NFL