5 Cowboys players who are peaking at just the right time
By Reid Hanson
2. Osa Odighizuwa, DT
Osa Odighizuwa has had a meteoric rise in the NFL. Since getting drafted in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft, Odighizuwa has quietly, yet convincingly, become a key member of the Cowboys defensive line.
The Cowboys have struggled to build their defensive interior over the past few seasons. Finding players who are both stout enough to play the run and explosive enough to penetrate and pursue ball carriers has been a challenge.
Fellow tackles Neville Gallimore and Quinton Bohanna haven't exactly panned out and rookies Mazi Smith and Viliami Fehoko appear to be more potential than game ready. Luckily for them, Odighizuwa has been both a key playmaker and a steady force in the lineup.
Odighizuwa is currently graded as the fifth best DT in the NFL this season. At age 25, he’s the second youngest player graded in the NFL’s top-15. He’s a rising star in the league and playing some of the best ball of his career right now.
Looking forward, Odighizuwa will be tested. Johnathan Hankins is out of the lineup for an undetermined amount of time and the Cowboys will be busy rotating in replacement players in his absence. Odighizuwa will likely need to do some extra heavy lifting during this stretch, which means more attention to the less glamourous running game portion of his job.