ESPN’s Mel Kiper not sure Penn State Football’s Jayson Oweh should have entered NFL Draft

Two of Penn State Football’s top pass-rushers will join Micah Parsons in the 2021 NFL Draft, but ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. isn’t sure Jayson Oweh made the right call.

Shaka Toney and Oweh previously declared for the NFL Draft earlier this offseason, and there have even been some mock draft projections that have Oweh going off the board as high as the first 25 picks.

However, Kiper Jr. believes Oweh should have returned to Happy Valley for one more season.

"“I understand it’s not all about sacks,” Kiper said in a recent episode of ESPN’s First Draft podcast. “It’s about pressures, hurries, and all that. But, Shaka Toney had five sacks on the other side and Oweh didn’t have a sack.“[Oweh] had some tackles for loss and all that. But look at last year, with five sacks in 13.5 games. This year, 6.5 tackles for loss, fourth on the team in tackles, 10 tackles against Maryland, nine against Nebraska. He was active and making plays. But, when you come out with no sacks an dno forced fumbles, and you’re an edge guy, only a third-year sophomore and you haven’t really put it together yet with that impressive sack production.”"

Penn State Football expected Oweh to take a dramatic step forward in 2020, but instead, his production dipped. He only produced 38 total tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss in nine games this season.

It will be telling whether teams agree with Kiper’s assertion that limited production should damper his draft stock, or if there will be a team that sees his high-end athleticism and pass-rush repertoire and believes they can develop him into a top rusher worthy of a first-round pick.