NFL Mock Draft 2021: Penn State Football’s Jayson Oweh to Titans

Penn State Football edge rusher Jayson Oweh has been screaming up draft boards around the NFL as coaches, scouts, and executives continue to be drawn to his tantalizing athleticism and upside.

Several teams view Oweh as an immediate impact player on defense, capable of being weaponized as a standup situational pass-rusher or as a third-down defensive end in passing down situations, who can generate relentless pressure on the quarterback.

In Pro Football Focus’ latest two-round NFL Mock Draft projection, the Tennessee Titans add Oweh to their front-seven, with the No. 22 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft:

"People of Oweh’s size (6-foot-5, 252 pounds) aren’t supposed to move the way he does. He has reportedly run in the 4.3s and has an incredible get-off. Oweh looked like the elite pass rusher we were expecting this season in Penn State’s first game of the year, racking up 10 pressures. However, he didn’t come close to matching that kind of production the rest of the way.Oweh ended with just 10 total pressures over his final six games after facing Indiana. Still, he improved drastically against the run, bettering his 59.5 run-defense grade in 2019 to 89.8 in 2020. Like PFF lead draft analyst Mike Renner has said on numerous occasions, Oweh is just scratching the surface of what he can become."

For the Tennessee Titans, Oweh would be a tremendous fit, given Jadeveon Clowney’s disappointment last season, and the Titans’ lack of a truly dominant edge defender as Jeffery Simmons and Jack Crawford combined for just five sacks in 2020.

PFF lists Oweh as the No. 2 ranked edge defender in this year’s draft class, which goes to show that much more than college production goes into evaluating the top prospects in the NFL Draft.

Nevertheless, if a team can harness Oweh’s raw athleticism and lofty upside, he has a high ceiling in terms of the caliber of player he has the potential to develop into in the NFL.