Texas Football: Top 5 Longhorns 2021 NFL Draft prospects at halfway mark
2) Texas football 2021 NFL Draft prospects at halfway mark
Junior. Joseph Ossai. 851. Pick Analysis. Linebacker. 2. player. Scouting Report
One of the real breakthroughs for the Longhorns front seven in the last two seasons was the emergence of stud junior linebacker and former highly touted four-star recruit Joseph Ossai. The 6-foot-4 and 255 pound versatile playmaker and leader for this Texas defense would be really impactful if he returned to the Forty Acres for the 2021 season.
But the chances that Ossai returns for the Longhorns next year if his 2021 NFL Draft stock continues to rise as it has in the last couple of months look increasingly slim. So far this season, Ossai leads the team in overall defensive grade (among players that were on the field for more than 200 snaps). And he’s in the top five on the team both in run defense and pass rush grades.
The areas where Ossai needs to improve the most includes his consistency in pass coverage and eliminating occasional spurts of poor tackling. In the first nine quarters of the season alone, Ossai missed four tackles. He also had similar streaks last season (where he had 23 missed tackles).
So far this season, Ossai played in five games for the Longhorns (but missed a few snaps here and there due to spotty injuries). He’s registered 34 total tackles, six tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two pass deflections, and two forced fumbles. Ossai has also missed five tackles, posted more than 15 quarterback pressure and six QB hits, 17 third down stops, and has one penalty called against him.
As a whole, Ossai has his NFL Draft stock trending far up. If he continues to play the way he has in the last dozen games or so for the rest of the 2020 season, then he could work his way up to a late first round pick.