OWINGS MILLS — Ravens pass rush coach Chuck Smith says Odafe Oweh’s stats are deceiving,
Last season, Oweh appeared in 13 games after dealing with an ankle injury in Week 2 and finished with 23 tackles, 12 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, and tied a career high with five sacks. Oweh’s critics contend he needs to do a better job getting to the quarterback, but Smith disagrees.
“For everyone here that looked at last year, first things first, Odafe came out smoking,” Smith said. “Odafe ended up having five sacks. He missed – what – four or five games. He missed four and then he went out at [the] half on another; that’s five games. He ends up being on a team that brings in two veterans that get over 250 snaps, easy.”
Even though Oweh didn’t have gaudy stats, he led the team with a pass-rush win rate of 18.2 percent, according to Pro Football Focus.
In addition to being injured, the Ravens also cut into Oweh’s snap counts by playing fellow outside linebackers Kyle Van Noy (486 snaps) and Jadeveon Clowney (654 snaps). Van Noy is still with the team, but Clowney signed with the Carolina Panthers this offseason.
There should be more opportunities for Oweh (437 snaps) to get to the quarterback this season.
“So, from all fairness to Odafe – and I know it’s all about production, and I do understand that – when you look at it from a pass-rush standpoint, the numbers just didn’t equate because the guys absorbed a lot of his reps, too,” Smith said. “And that’s not making an excuse for him, but that’s just being truthful about it from the situation. Now, what he needs to do first and foremost, [is] he just needs to have those reps. He needs to be on the field and continue to get those reps.
“He needs to continue to do as he’s doing now – playing fast, executing his moves and things like that. And if he gets those five games and those other, arguably, 400-500 reps, he’s a double-digit sacker.”
The Ravens have confidence that Oweh can be part of their long-term plan and exercised his fifth-year option this offseason. The option will cost them a reasonable $13.3 million for 2025, according to OvertheCap.com.
So far, it appears to be a wise move because Oweh has been one of the team’s most dominant players throughout training camp.
Smith expects that production to continue into the regular season.
“He’s going to be an A-list rusher, and I’m just excited for him,” Smith said. “He’s buying in as he always has, he’s a good dude, and no one deserves to finally reach that pinnacle [more] than Odafe, and I think he’s going to go 100 percent to reach that goal.”