Alex Okafor was a highly-touted, All-American prospect coming out of high school. After playing sparingly his freshman year and starting eight games at defensive tackle his sophomore season; Okafor spent his final-two years in Texas putting up huge numbers. While he’s very lean for your typical pass-rushing defensive line, Okafor is a very talented player and someone to watch out for.
| Ht | Wt | Class | Ranking | Projection |
| 6'4" | 264 | Senior | 37 | Second Round |
Strengths
Length: At 6’4” and with nearly 34” arms, Okafor has the height and length to keep blockers at a distance and seriously disrupt passing lanes for opposing quarterbacks. Okafor also uses his strength and long arms to bull rush linemen and push them into the backfield to break up the pocket and get to the quarterback.
Flexibility: For being such a tall guy, Okafor is very flexible, and does a great job of turning his hips and lowering his shoulder to beat tackles around the outside.
High Motor: Okafor has one of those great “don’t quit” attitudes you look for in a football player at the NFL level. You’ll never see him take a play off and he’s always going full speed through the whistle.
Weaknesses
Lean Frame: At 6’4” and just 264 pounds, Okafor is very lean for his height. He’ll definitely need to beef up to make an impact at the NFL level, and it's all but certain that whatever team drafts him will require Okafor to put on 15-25 pounds of muscle before the season starts.
Coverage Skills: Given his height, length and svelte frame, you would think that Okafor would be more suited to play outside linebacker in the NFL. But he shows absolutely no aptitude for dropping back in coverage, often looking lost. He’s also extremely stiff and upright when running in coverage or open space, which is a big difference from his normal flexibility as a pass-rusher.
Bottom Line
Okafor is an incredibly high-character player that exhibits good leadership qualities; with a motor that just won’t quit. He will definitely need to add a decent amount of bulk to his lanky frame, but there’s really no reason to believe that Okafor won’t make an impact as a 4-3 pass rusher at the next level.