2016 NFL Draft: 5 Risky Picks the 49ers Should Avoid
By Jerod Brown
Emmanuel Ogbah-Defensive End-Oklahoma State University
This piece is not a discussion on terrible players throughout the draft. It is, however, a look at the needs of the 49ers and players that will be available for the team to select and meet those needs.
Emmanuel Ogbah had an impressive career at Oklahoma State and finished with a strong 2015 campaign. As a junior in the Cowboys 4-3 system, Ogbah registered 13 sacks from his defensive end position.
CBS Sports’ Dane Brugler offered his report on Ogbah just last week. Nothing that is particularly damning as a weakness. And yet, the opinions on Ogbah are all over the place.
Bleacher Report’s lead NFL Draft writer Matt Miller has him outside of his top 50.
I can't put Emmanuel Ogbah in my top 50. Someone needs to tell me which games I'm missing on him.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) February 13, 2016
Elsewhere, people are talking about Ogbah being a possibility in the first round.
When opinions are that varied on a prospect, it certainly makes one wonder what might be going on.
As a pass-rusher, Ogbah will find a fit in a 4-3 scheme. Should he be drafted in the top 15 for that reason? Absolutely not. But crazier things have happened. As a 3-4 defensive tackle, disengaging and stuffing interior runs will have to become a strength of Ogbah’s. He certainly isn’t there yet and he may never be.
Emmanuel Ogbah, DE (Oklahoma State). 3&2 you have to be better with you're hands. His play to make. https://t.co/q4X8eWKbaG
— Josh Zimmer (@CoachZim_UJ) January 9, 2016
Ogbah is 6’4” and about 270 pounds. In the 49ers 3-4 defense, there just isn’t a position that suits Ogbah’s strengths. As mentioned before, scheme fit is sometimes the trump card when determining whether to draft a player. In the case of Ogbah, the fact that the 49ers don’t run a defense suited to his abilities is enough for Baalke to pass when the 49ers are on the clock.
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