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Amobi Okoye
Position: Defensive Tackle
Drafted: Round 1, 10th Overall
Height: 6’2"
Weight: 287
College: Louisville
Birthdate: June 10, 1987
NFL Comparison: Tommie Harris
Strengths: Amobi Okoye has outstanding quickness for an interior defensive lineman and can penetrate to wreak havoc in the backfield. While he’s not a massive block-eater, he can also control the line, fight through double teams, and collapse the pocket. Scouts love how Okoye uses his hands to control blockers and the balance that allows him to stay on his feet in the midst of the line-of-scrimmage scrum.
Okoye is only 19-years old, as he tested into the ninth grade at age 12 when his family came to the United States from Nigeria. Because of his relative youth, he has much greater potential for further physical development than the typical rookie. While he will be one of the youngest men to ever play in the NFL, he was a four-year letterman at Louisville and has always gone up against opponents more mature than he is, so it’s not as if he were a teenager jumping straight from high school to the NFL.
Areas of Concern: Okoye has only had one big year at the college level. As a pass rusher, he gets more pressure than he does sacks and may lack the explosive burst that the greats have to close the deal. Also, like with many defensive linemen, scouts have knocked Okoye for not going hard on every play. Okoye reportedly admitted in a combine interview to having tried marijuana, but he has passed every drug test and is considered a coachable, high-character player.
2007 Expectations: While his best days are likely down the road, Okoye will compete immediately for playing time in the defensive tackle rotation. The revamping of the Texan D-line continues, and this selection ratchets up the pressure on former first-round pick Travis Johnson to produce.
by Warren DeLuca
YEAR G TAK TFL SACK FF FR 2006 13 55 15 8 3 0 2005 11 23 4 .5 0 3 2004 11 26 2 1 0 0 2003 13 17 2 1 0 0 TOTALS 48 121 23 10.5 3 3 
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