NFL Mock Draft 2021: Penn State Football’s Jayson Oweh a top-15 pick?

Latest NFL Mock Draft 2021 projection has Penn State Football’s Jayson Oweh as a top-15 pick

Few prospects have seen their stock rise as exponentially during this pre-NFL Draft season than Penn State Football defensive end Jayson Oweh.

It seems NFL teams are comfortable overlooking a lack of production for an abundance of athleticism — which might be the right philosophy, especially during a pandemic-impacted season — and Oweh certainly has plenty of athleticism.

This week, at 256 pounds, Oweh ran the 40-yard dash in a laser-timed 4.38 seconds. There are wide receivers that won’t touch the 4.3s during their pro day showcases this month ahead of the NFL Draft.

In Pro Football Focus’ latest NFL Mock Draft 2021 projection, Oweh goes off the board to the Minnesota Vikings … With the No. 14 overall selection:

"The Yannick Ngakoue signing didn’t work out, and now it looks as though Danielle Hunter wants out of Minnesota, so taking an edge could end up being a top priority for the Vikings. Mike Zimmer is going to love Oweh because his play against the run is just as good as his play when rushing the passer.Key Change: Vikings edge players tallied 12 tackles for loss or no gain across 454 snaps against the run last season. Oweh recorded eight across 288 snaps over the last two seasons."

As a sophomore in 2020, Oweh produced just 38 total tackles and broke up one pass, but did not record a sack for the Nittany Lions, despite having plenty of speed and explosiveness off the line of scrimmage.

Minnesota needs to beef up its front-seven and add team-speed on a defense that features plenty of physicality, and Oweh might be a means to that end.