John Harbaugh expects Odafe Oweh will break out in 2024

Oweh has been dominant in training camp thus far and plans to deliver on his potential.

One of the most consistently dominant players in the early going of Baltimore Ravens training camp has been fourth-year outside linebacker Odafe Oweh.

The former first-rounder was so disruptive that during Tuesday’s practice, head coach John Harbaugh admitted he had to “pull the reigns in on him a little bit.” Oweh was a mainstay in the backfield and they want to avoid any potential unnecessary collisions with quarterbacks.

Even though Oweh is under contract through the 2025 season after having his fifth-year option picked up this offseason, this upcoming season will be pivotal for him nonetheless. His continued emergence could mean big things for himself and the team as a whole. The Ravens are hoping he can carry over this hot start to training camp to the regular season and take his game to the next level with the elite athleticism he possesses.

“Odafe has looked very good, and I’m hoping that he has – I guess you’d call it a breakout year if you want to call it that,” Harbaugh said Monday. “Make those plays on the quarterback. He had a lot of pressures last year. [He] wants to take it to the next level and go ahead and get the quarterback on the ground; I’m sure he wants to do that, and then just continue to be an explosive player. [He’s] got a really unique skillset – I mean he can really move and run around and be disruptive. That’s what I’m hoping for and expecting.”

Oweh is coming off a 2023 season in which he missed a handful of games due to an ankle injury. However, he was highly disruptive when healthy in terms of consistently generating pressure on opposing quarterbacks. In 13 games, he tied his single-season career high in sacks set as a rookie with five to go along with 23 total tackles including four for a loss, 12 quarterback hits and a pair of forced fumbles.

The Ravens led the league in sacks last season. While they’re returning almost all of their interior and edge rushers, one loss they did suffer up front was the departure of 10-year veteran Jadeveon Clowney. After a resurgent season in which he finished second on the team with a career-high 9.5 sacks, the three-time Pro Bowler signed with the Carolina Panthers in free agency.

With Clowney gone and Oweh fully healthy, the Ravens will be leaning on him to step into a more prominent role as their every-down edge defender. Oweh can both set a strong edge against the run and get after the quarterback. His mentality heading into the 2024 season is to continue having faith in himself and, more importantly, a higher power.

“I’m leaning on God,” Oweh said Monday. “I know who I am [and] I know what I can do. A lot of the plays that I know I can make are going to be right there for me and its just for me to go take it so I’m ready.”

Another player Oweh has a lot of confidence will thrive and be successful this year is David Ojabo, who he trained with during the offseason. The 2022 second-rounder has struggled to stay on the field during his first two seasons due to injury but is chomping at the bit to prove himself.

“He’s ready,” Oweh said. “He’s just waiting to show you guys all when it’s sharpened and ready. I have complete faith in him. He’s a guy who just wants everything to be together before he shows you. He’s going to be ready, trust me. He looks good. Real good.”

Like his former high school teammate at Blair Academy in Blairstown, New Jersey, Ojabo has also been highly disruptive when healthy and available. He has a pair of strip sacks and quarterback hits in five career regular season games.

A torn Achilles delayed his rookie debut by 13 games in 2022 and a torn ACL cut his 2023 season short after just three games. Ojabo is back on the field and participating in full-team drills, which Harbaugh predicted he would do this spring. Now, the former University of Michigan product just has to stay on the field so he can showcase the tremendous talent he possesses.