NFL Draft: Putting Jayson Oweh’s eye-popping pro day into perspective

Penn State Football edge rusher Jayson Oweh significantly helped his rising NFL Draft stock by turning in the kind of pro day performance that reinforced what teams across the league believe about his athleticism.

To recap, Oweh produced a 39.5-inch vertical leap, a 134-inch broad jump, and ran the 40-yard dash in an eye-popping 4.36 seconds, at 6-foot-5 and 257 pounds.

While some teams and evaluators will be scared off Oweh by the fact that he didn’t produce a sack in 2020, his pro day performance was one of the most dominant in recent memory.

"“Oweh’s pro day performance was truly an all-timer,” Pro Football Focus’ Mike Renner recently wrote. “He had the single-best 40-yard dash time (4.39, officially), as well as broad jump of any defensive player ever in our database.“He’s not simply explosive in a straight line; his 6.84-second three-cone is an elite number, as well. He’s raw, but he has everything you could want to work with.”"

Oweh was listed as PFF’s biggest winner of pro day season ahead of the NFL Draft later this month.

Following Oweh’s standout testing performance in front of an audience that included representatives from 31 NFL teams, including NY Giants head coach Joe Judge and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin, there’s a chance that he’ll be pushed further up boards.

“I’ve already pounded the table for Jayson,” an NFL scout told Victory Bell Ringsshortly after Penn State Football’s pro day concluded. “I submitted a first-round grade on Jayson last year. And others in our building didn’t believe it. There’s so much potential there was a player and you just want to mold him.”

The scout might have been ahead of the curve when it comes to evaluating Oweh, but the competition to actually draft him might heat up as teams got a look of what he’s capable of doing, outside of the constraints of Penn State Football’s scheme.

Following his pro day, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Oweh chosen as high as the top-15 picks, according to league conversations.

“You have to remember this is a guy who only started playing the game five years ago,” the scout said. “After a pro day like this, that 40-time really helps him out. You start looking at people in your building and ask yourselves; ‘this guy is 6-foot-5 and 257 pounds and he just ran that time. When are the chances that happens again?’”