Athleticism: 7.47

Q.A.B. / C.O.D.: 7.80

Great athleticism for an interior LB. Has long, vine-like arms, great speed and lateral agility, and wiry strength to initiate contact on OL blocks. Hip fluidity is impressive and when in combination with his build he is the perfect defender to match up with TEs down the seams or on intermediate routes.

Flexibility: 7.40

Can get skinny through the hole at the LOS and penetrate for TFL. As good as he is penetrating, he shows a real prowess for stacking blocks to allow his teammates to flow to the ball. Can fit and form in coverage to RBs bleeding out of the backfield and does not give up much separation due to his fluidity, speed, and short area quickness.

Explosiveness: 7.50

Can close in an instant. Is a blur in pursuit when he recognizes the play. Will lay some explosive hits on ball carrier and will snap hips on contact when he squares them up.

Playing Speed: 7.60

Great long speed for an ILB, and it shows when he is tasked with carrying bigger TE assignments downfield. Has the speed and lateral agility to make plays sideline to sideline.

Coordination: 7.40

Plays with great energy but at the same time balanced and in control. Hands and feet move in unison and doesn't take many false steps.

Position Versatility: 7.10

Played both positions on the interior of a 3-4 defense as well as some plays from all three positions in a 4-3 alignment in certain packages.

Pass Rush Ability: 5.45

Initial Quickness: 6.10

Does not have elite first step quickness as a pass rusher, rather he is good at timing up his blitzes and using his short area quickness and closing speed to finish plays off.

Rush with Leverage: 6.00

Uses his size to his advantage and will utilize his natural leverage to be able to get under the blocker's pads, but lacks the power and strength to consistently shed and make a play on the QB.

Pass Rush Moves: 4.70

Does not possess a wide variety of pass rush moves, only seeing a good rip move when he went up against Quenton Nelson.

Pressure Consistency: 5.00

Not a consistent pass rushing force, rather he is at his best as an off the ball pursuit LB where he can flow to action and click and close on the ball carrier.

Coverage: 7.48

Pass Drops: 7.60

Gets great depth in his zone drops, keeps his eyes on the QB and the action flowing into his assigned zone. Has the speed and agility to match up with athletic TEs and quicker RBs.

Coverage Awareness: 7.50

Keenly aware of who is going in and out of his assigned space. Can shuffle off assignments without getting hung up on a single player but rather will stay discipline to his area.

M/M Coverage: 7.20

Sticky man cover LB who has the length, speed, and agility to stay step for step with very talented pass catchers in the intermediate part of the field.

Zone Coverage: 7.60

Great awareness and instincts allow him to flow seamlessly to where the ball goes in zone coverage. Gets good depth in his initial drops, then keeps his eyes on where the QB is looking then closes in an instant to make a play.

Against The Run: 7.00

Play with Leverage: 6.70

Shows a good prowess for taking on blocks. Will initiate contact, keep good pad level, and use his length to hold his ground.

Stack and Shed: 6.10

While he excels at stacking OL at the POA, he simply does not have the lower body strength and bulk to shed a ton of blocks, rather he holds the POA and allows his teammates to make a play in pursuit.

Run at Him: 7.10

Willing to grind through the LOS and make a play on the ball carrier, and if he gets blocked he will maintain contact with OL to allow the pursuit to fill in behind him. Has the speed and instincts to fly into the backfield and get TFL if OL are not ready for his penetration.

Runs Away: 7.80

One of the best off the ball LB in this class. Shows great ferocity and range to make plays on ball carriers trying to bounce runs outside. Has great speed and lateral agility to go along with smooth hip swivel that does not impede him from flipping and closing on the ball carrier.

Tackling/Hitting: 7.30

A very good tackler who uses good tackling mechanics most of the time by keeping his head up and snapping his hips on contact, no only that he looks to strip the ball anytime he can. He at times gets downhill so fast that he over pursues a proper angle and then will simply dive at the ball carriers feet which led to some broken tackles which keeps him from being a great tacklers initially.

Competitiveness: 7.20

Toughness: 7.50

Tough minded and gritty LB who shows a willingness to do the dirty work in the trenches to allow his teammates to make plays behind him. Will play through the bumps and bruises and will not take a play off. He played almost every snap I watched on tape.

Production: 6.80

Put up 2 years of very good production in 2017 and 2018 when he was a full-time starter. He not only was a tackling machine he also had solid TFL, Sack, PD, and FF numbers to go with it.

Consistency/Motor: 7.30

High revving motor that never cools. He does not come of the field for the entirety of the game whether in run defense of pass coverage downs. Was a 44 game veteran at Stanford.

Intelligence: 7.50

Instincts: 7.70

Great instincts that are enhanced with his knowledge of how the offense is trying to attack their defense. Seemed to be in position at times before the ball or ball carrier was even there. With his closing quickness though he overpurused sound tackling angles from time to time, but always was in the vicinity of the play.

Learn/Retain: 7.30

Was the play caller of the defense and helped his teammates get aligned. Was able to ingest the duties of multiple positions that the defensive coordinator aligned him at with ease.

Concentration: 7.50

Laser like focus, and was a consistent force for the Stanford defense the past two season. He also was a standout presence off the field and was named to the Lott Impact watchlist last season.

STRENGTHS:

Okereke is a fluid moving run and hit LB that has the speed and lateral agility to make plays sideline to sideline. He has terrific range in run pursuit and is a consistent tackler that doesn't let a lot ball carriers break his grasp. As a coverage player his fluidity and length teamed with his athleticism make him a rare chess piece to utilize on those skill position players that are hard to match up with. His instincts are enhanced by his processing skills and closing quickness that make it seem that he is running faster than the rest of the players on the field in pursuit. Not only a tough minded and solid player on the field he is a great presence in the community and in off field endeavors.

WEAKNESSES:

He does not possess the lower body strength or bulk to shed OL who get their hands on him. He can hold his ground due to leverage and length but cannot get off blocks consistently. Would be best served to be utilized in a defense with some big-bodied IDL that can take on double teams that way he can utilize his closing quickness to aggressively fill rushing lanes. He also needs to tighten up his pursuit angles because he has such great closing quickness, he will scream pass the ball carrier without a chance to make a play. Needs to stick to his heads-up style tackling that he generally relies on than the ankle biting dive tackles he will try to utilize.

BIG PICTURE:

Bobby Okereke has the chance to be this year's Darius Leonard, with whom he shares a lot of similarities. He is a long and fluid off the ball LB that has terrific closing quickness and instincts to make a play on the ball or the ball carrier. I see him coming off the board in the second round and being a standout performer in his first season if given the opportunity. As I stated before my comp for him is Darius Leonard, but Leonard is a better pass rusher.

Projected Round: 2-3

Team Fits: Steelers, Eagles, Raiders, Patriots, Buccaneers, 49ers, Bengals

NFL Comp: Darius Leonard

Bobby Okereke

Position: Linebacker

College: Stanford

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 230 lbs

SCOUTING GRADE

6.97

Injury History: No Major Injury History

Games Evaluated: 2018: Oregon, Utah, 2017: Washington, Notre Dame

Scout: Roy Countryman

Scouting Report