Joseph Ossai projects to be a versatile 3-4 outside linebacker in the NFL. He transitioned over from inside linebacker so he’s still a bit raw rushing the passer but he has great traits that should translate well, and his experience playing inside linebacker should help a lot when asked to drop into coverage. 

Strengths: 

  • Great Length Used Well

Joseph Ossai has great long arms which he uses well to land the first punch. He has a decent long arm which his length allows him to pull of as well.

  • Great Motor

The best part of Ossai’s game by far is just how much effort that Ossai puts into every play that he’s on the field. He’s non stop moving from the start of the snap to the finish, which makes him very good in pursuit, and opens the door for plays that wouldn’t have been possible if not for his relentless motor.

  • Has A Couple of Great Moves

Joseph Ossai doesn’t necessarily have a go to move nor does he have a variety of passing rushing moves but he has a swim move and inside move that are both very good an effective.

  • Can Win Quickly Against the Run

Ossai’s amazing effort means he’s going 100% right off the snap and when he recognizes run blocking techniques sometimes we will see some great counters that allow him to win quickly.

Weaknesses: 

  • Incredibly Slow Snap Reaction Time

Joseph Ossai frequently has a slow get off right after the ball is snapped. He doesn’t time the snap particularly well and doesn’t this can be an issue when trying to beat edge rushers around the edge.

  • Can’t Win Around a Tackle

Joseph Ossai just simply won’t be able to consistently win off the outside in the NFL. He doesn’t have the hip dip or ankle flexibility to turn with great bend around the edge, and he doesn’t have the snap timing or foot quickness to beat them to their spots which makes for a bad combination. 

  • Hand Usage Isn’t Great

Joseph Ossai can certainly stand to improve not only his hand placement but also the timing of his punches and not being fooled by ghost moves from offensive linemen.

  • Struggles to Disengage

Despite his good functional strength Joseph Ossai struggles to disengage when blockers get a hold of him, which makes him useless at the end of some pass sets and makes it tough to rely on him to set the edge.

  • Too Out of Control Very Often

Joseph Ossai is often very out of control which is why sometimes he can get extremely off balance causing him to lose leverage battles and he ends up losing reps this way. He often does not have a pass rush plan when rushing the passer either and too often will misdiagnose plays because he’s so out of control.

Player Comp: For Joseph Ossai I think that if he kind of pans out but doesn’t completely hit his ceiling I think he can be very similar to a player on the Chargers today, and that’s Uchenna Nwosu. Both guys were a bit smaller and converting from inside linebacker down to outside linebacker. Their traits in the fact that they’re undersized pass rushers who didn’t have a variety moves but rather a couple good moves is similar, as well as the fact that both guys have relentless motors. It’s not a perfect comp because Nwosu is a bit more under control with aggression and he has shorter arms than Ossai, but the similarities are still there. 

Final Thoughts: Many people think that Joseph Ossai is a guy who should be drafted in the later part of round one or early day two and I just don’t see the hype whatsoever. This is a guy who is very raw and is missing a lot of things a pass rusher needs such as good hand usage and having a pass rush plan. His motor is amazing and it appears that he will be a try hard on and off the field, but his play style is so out of control and I think that may be very hard to coach out of a player. In addition he doesn’t have the insane athletic upside that would make a team want to draft an unrefined player like Ossai, so it really makes no sense to me that he’s getting Round 1 consideration. Personally I wouldn’t take him before Round 4. 3-4 OLB is his best position so I think that the Ravens could be a great fit because edge is somewhat of a need and they have a great coaching staff that could train his aggression and motor and harness it to make Ossai a controlled player who picks his spots when to attack.