The Baltimore Ravens are one of the most intriguing teams in the NFL right now. They barely missed the postseason in 2021, largely because of an injury plague that destroyed their roster. That injury bug should be over now, making the Ravens a legitimate contender in the AFC. A fantastic offseason from general manager Eric DeCosta certainly helped things, but that alone won't be enough. Like every team, the Ravens will need some of their players to surpass expectations if they want to make a deep playoff run. There are plenty of candidates on this deep, well-coached Baltimore roster, but none of them come close to edge rusher Odafe Oweh's potential to be an X-factor in 2022.
Odafe Oweh: Breakout Year pic.twitter.com/aDxnLr6yNq
— The Ravens Realm (@RealmRavens) June 20, 2022
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Ravens X-Factor To Emerge In 2022 NFL Season
Odafe Oweh
In terms of ability, Oweh has more than enough. He was drafted in the first round in 2021, largely thanks to his ridiculous athletic profile. Oweh stands 6'5″, weighs in at 257 pounds, and possesses unnatural speed and quickness for a man of his size. He showed off those traits throughout his rookie season as he chased quarterbacks down outside of the pocket, deflected passes, and overpowered opposing offensive tackles. Oweh put up three sacks, 15 quarterback hits, three forced fumbles, and 56 tackles despite only playing 56 percent of Baltimore's defensive snaps. Now, Oweh will be expected to take on a much bigger role in the Ravens' defense.
Oweh essentially split snaps with linebacker Justin Houston last season. Houston is no longer with the Ravens, clearing the way for Oweh to play a full slate of snaps. The rest of the outside linebacker group is uninspiring. Tyus Bowser is the only other guy at the position who's any good. That means Oweh likely won't be coming off the field situationally. The Penn State product produced while only playing half of the defensive snaps. His stats should see an absolutely massive uptick as he takes on 80-90 percent of the defensive snaps in the coming season.
Odafe Oweh is fixing to go off this year! 🔥🔥🔥👀 https://t.co/pYC5Fv67EC
— Matthew Alvarez (@matthewa_10) June 13, 2022
The Ravens happen to have a schedule that's extremely advantageous for their edge rushers. Baltimore will open the year against the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins in Weeks 1 and 2. Both teams possess suspect offensive lines, particularly at the tackle position. Baltimore will also take on the New York Giants, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Carolina Panthers. All three teams have huge problems at at least one of their offensive tackle positions.
Oweh should terrorize every single one of those teams, as they just don't have the athletes to match up with him. Let's not forget that Baltimore will also face the Pittsburgh Steelers twice in 2022. The Steelers arguably had the worst offensive line in the NFL in 2022, and they did next to nothing to improve that problem. Pittsburgh is set to start Dan Moore Jr. and Chukwuma Okorafor at tackle, a duo that is certainly among the worst in the league. This schedule will allow Oweh to amass sacks, hurries, tackles for loss, and pressures with relative ease. He's more than capable of filling the stat sheet against good competition, so it should be even easier for Oweh to rack up numbers against lower level players.
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