The Dallas Cowboys have completely re-tooled their defensive interior over the last year or so. The Micah Parsons trade brought Kenny Clark to The Star, and a blockbuster deal at the trade deadline made Quinnen Williams a Cowboy in a fairly stunning move.
Of course, these two deals left Osa Odighizuwa, a 2021 third-round selection by Jerry Jones and Co., somewhat on the outside looking in. His snap share fell dramatically last season from 2024, and he was shipped off to the San Francisco 49ers for a third-round pick that became Jaishawn Barham.
And Odighizuwa was a good player for the Cowboys. He certainly had his struggles against the run, but he was really good at rushing the passer. Despite that, Odighizuwa is taking a change of scenery to write a check for his new team that this fanbase knows he probably won't cash.
Osa Odighizuwa claims he has more in tank than he showed with Dallas Cowboys
When speaking with NFL.com's Bobby Kownack, Odighizuwa addressed a myriad of topics. He stepped right into the villain role in San Francisco by making it known that he is circling the Cowboys on the calendar. And in a lot of ways, that is natural and fine. But this might be a stretch:
"For the past five years, I haven't scratched the surface of the player that I am," Odighizuwa said. "It hasn't been put on full display, so I just plan on putting that on display."
Now, perhaps Odighizuwa is capable of more. Fans of America's Team certainly thought that he would be when he inked a four-year, $80 million deal that he just frankly never lived up to. But even with the runway that the Cowboys gave him, Odighizuwa never reached elite status or fully earned his keep.
Yes, roughly 3.5 sacks a year is very good from the interior. And he did at least clean up some of his missed tackle issues this past fall, albeit in fewer opportunities with Clark and Williams in town. But Odighizuwa didn't get better when he got a new deal; he plateaued.
If his contract were a bit more team-friendly, that would be fine. Odighizuwa is a pass-rush specialist from the interior and carved out a great role as a third-rounder. He is who he is, and he helped Dallas quite a bit at times. But to assert that he left a lot of meat on the bone feels like a pretty big promise.
The most interesting part about this is that the 49ers don't necessarily need him to be anything more than he is. Of course, they'd welcome it, but they agreed to send a third-rounder and take on his contract because of the player he was in Dallas. He doesn't need to put on a front and act like he's better than what he showed.
What he showed got him paid and eventually helped him land a pretty sweet gig with the 49ers. And if Cowboys fans had to guess, Odighizuwa will probably be above-average to good for San Francisco, but not great. He'll help get after the quarterback, but won't stop the run. Just as he did in Dallas.
And there's nothing wrong with that. But writing a check you probably can't cash is where Odighizuwa may find himself in trouble in another media market that eats high-dollar players alive if they don't exceed expectations. The 49ers already have a handful of big-ticket players who produce. The standard is high. He may have just made it higher for himself.
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