Ade Ogundeji looks to improve his size and pass rushing for his second season with the Falcons. | Dave Adamson/Unsplash
Ade Ogundeji looks to improve his size and pass rushing for his second season with the Falcons. | Dave Adamson/Unsplash
The Atlanta Falcons have a lot to improve on over the past season where the team finished 7-10 and third in the NFC South standings. One area that needs to be enhanced is the pass rush as it was ranked last in the NFL last season, and the Falcons see former fifth-round pick linebacker Ade Ogundeji as their man of the future.
Last season Ogundeji played 16 games and recorded one sack, one fumble recovery and 33 combined tackles with five going for a loss, according to the Atlanta Falcons website. With Dante Fowler, Steven Means and Brandon Copeland hitting the free agent market this year, Ogundeji could be the man for seasons to come, according to outside linebacker coach Ted Monachino.
“At some point, he's going to be a guy who goes in and impacts games for us,” Monachino told NFL.com of the former Notre Dame star. “It may take a little longer because he's a fifth-round pick instead of a first-round pick, but we still have the same expectation.”
Monachino said with players moving in and out of the team the team will be asking him to be “the bell cow” of the linebacker core.
“We’re preparing him for that right now,” Monachino said.
Ogundeji has a gifted physique with long arms that he said he uses to his advantage. In preparation for year number two he wants to take advantage of his size by adding some weight to be able to go up against some of the larger offensive tackles while maintain his ability to explode off the line for a pass rushing attack.
The Falcons website points out that Ogundeji was never a stand up defensive end in college, and while this may not seem like a big change, the change in mechanics can be drastic for a player in his position. He explained that this was the first time he was standing at his position, as his “hand was always in the dirt.” Getting on the field for more reps that most expected allowed him to grow as a player and set himself up for success in the future.
“You'll never know what's going on on the field unless you're actually out there playing," Ogundeji said.
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