Let’s get into a time machine and go back to February 2019. This was when many college players were deciding whether or not to go back to school or declare for the NFL Draft. There was a lot of hype around the tight end class during this time, most notably the Big Three: junior Noah Fant and sophomores T.J. Hockenson and Albert Okwuegbunam. The first two declared. Albert O decided to go back to Missouri for his junior season.
It was a bad decision in retrospect, but at the time it seemed to make sense. As good as Okwuegbunam was, he only played 18 total games in his first two seasons of college football. Missouri lost star quarterback Drew Lock to the NFL Draft but got ex-Clemson Tiger Kelly Bryant, who seemed to be the ideal replacement. Albert O was probably thinking that he would rock out his junior season with Bryant and solidify himself as the consensus top tight end in a weak 2020 class, which would all but guarantee him as a first round pick. Unfortunately, this plan did not work out so well.
Albert Okwuegbunam Advanced Stats & Metrics Profile w/ College Stats
In Okwuegbunam’s final season, he did not achieve the same chemistry he established with Lock in the previous two. In the 18 games playing with Lock, Albert O had 72 receptions. He thrived as a freshman breakout, scoring 11 touchdowns on only 29 receptions for a stellar 415 yards in nine games. He wasn’t as efficient as a sophomore, but he upped his tally to 43 receptions in those nine games. Injuries held him back from a monster season that year. In his final season with Bryant, he played only nine games again. He managed 26 receptions for just over 300 yards, again missing time due to injury. Due to a decline in production and another injury-plagued season, his stock has plummeted. Instead of being the clear cut number one tight end in this 2020 class, he is barely cracking the Top 6.
Despite his rapid fall from grace, PlayerProfiler is much higher on Okwuegbunam than most. He’s currently the TE2 in our Rookie Rankings. His disappointing final college season is not enough of a deterrent to shy away from his athleticism and talent. Albert O can be viewed similarly to Jalen Reagor. Both had a production dip from their sophomore to junior seasons. However, in both cases, it wasn’t the player’s talent waning. It was more about overall team play and the talent throwing them the ball. In Okwuegbunam’s case specifically, Missouri finished with a 6-6 record and Bryant did not perform to the same level as Lock.
Check out Albert Okwuegbunam on PlayerProfiler’s Updated Rookie Rankings:
Despite Okwuegbunam not knocking it out of the park in 2019, his profile is fantastic. He has an ideal 6-6, 258-pound frame that translates to an ideal 29.8 Body Mass Index. He only ran the 40-Yard Dash at the Combine, but there he made a statement to all of those who fell off the bandwagon. He’s the fourth-fastest tight end in the entire PlayerProfiler database, only slower than Vernon Davis, Evan Engram and Darren Waller. Albert O slots in somewhere between Waller and Jimmy Graham in both size and speed. He’s slightly heavier than Waller and lighter than Graham, with all three measuring at the same height. Waller’s 131.6 Speed Score is the best of the group, with Okwuegbunam right behind him at 129.6. Graham has had a Hall of Fame career and Waller was a Top 5 tight end this past year. These are comps to get excited about.
Okwuegbunam was also productive in college with an early 19.4 (91st-percentile) Breakout Age. This the exact same Breakout Age as Eric Ebron, who ended up being drafted in the first round in 2014. His 31.2-percent (90th-percentile) College Dominator Rating is among the best in the database, nestling him between Philadelphia Eagles tight ends Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. These are more comps to get excited about.
Although Okwuegbunam has an incomplete athletic profile, everything on it indicates that this size-speed specimen deserves more recognition. Many have pegged him as a Day 2 pick at best, although his measurables and production indicate otherwise. Many will throw out the “injury concerns” narrative, but there’s no denying that he is a first-round talent. Therefore, Albert O will slip in many rookie dynasty drafts, and there isn’t a better feeling than getting a supreme talent at a discount.
