When they used the 45th pick in a draft to select a player sidelined with a serious injury, the Baltimore Ravens knew they’d have to wait for a return on their investment, but their patience with edge-rusher David Ojabo finally appears to be wearing thin.
The player selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft “is running out of time,” according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Zrebiec thinks “Ojabo very easily could be looking for a new team later this summer,” due to a combination of mediocre production and increased competition at the edges of the front seven.
Exiting the Ravens so quickly and having done so little would make Ojabo worthy of draft bust status. Yet, it’s difficult to refute Zrebiec’s argument when there’s more than one young edge defender gaining momentum, while Ojabo has found just getting onto the field a challenge.
Ravens Still Waiting for David Ojabo
The wait for Ojabo to justify his draft status goes on, with the former Michigan stud so far proving anything but a game-wrecker in the pros. As Zrebiec pointed out, the 25-year-old “has four sacks and eight quarterback hits in parts of three seasons.”
Some delay in his development was inevitable after Ojabo tore his Achilles at the Wolverines’ pro day, barely a month before he was drafted. Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta still rolling the dice showed how much he believed in the player’s upside, but Ojabo has disappointed when he’s been healthy.
So much so, the Ravens didn’t even make him active more than once last season. It was a significant blow for a pass-rusher who needed a big campaign to prove he was still on track to be what the Ravens thought he could become.
All of the downtime for Ojabo meant rivals for his reps were able to impress coaches. The most notable was an unlikely centerpiece poised to breakout as a physical mismatch.
There are other candidates capable of making Ojabo the odd man out in the rotation. Particularly a prized member of this year’s draft class.
Ravens Stockpiling Gifted, Young Edge-Rushers
Taking Mike Green in the second round of 2025’s draft should have sent a clear message to Ojabo. Namely, how the Ravens are getting ready to move on with last season’s college football sack leader.
Green’s innate ability to get after quarterbacks has already been endorsed by Ravens pass-rush coach Chuck Smith. The latter told reporters during minicamp how Green “can cross-chop. Mike can spin, Mike can ghost.” Smith also credited Green’s “get-off. Just amazed at, you know he’s in his base two-point stance, he has no false steps.”
That’s high praise, and while Green still has to justify it at training camp, the ex-Marshall star already appears primed for a big role. It’s not the best news for Ojabo, and nor is the Ravens wanting “to see more of 2024 third-round pick Adisa Isaac, whose rookie season was marred by injuries,” per Zrebiec.
Isaac was catching the eye of coaches who had him tabbed for a key role last season. It makes sense for the Ravens to get him onto the field more often this year and see if Isaac and Green can be factors in obvious passing situations.
If they can, it’s tough to see a spot for Ojabo, unless he enjoys an outstanding camp and proves he can finally stay healthy and be productive enough at this level.
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