2024 Defense Stats
TCKL
9
SACKS
0.0
INT
0
FF
0
TD
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
Next man up after Gardeck injury
Okwara is set to start alongside linebackers Kyzir White and Mack Wilson after Dennis Gardeck suffered a season-ending ACL injury during Monday's win over the Chargers, Kevin Zimmerman of Arizona Sports reports.
ANALYSIS
Gardeck, who leads the Cardinals with three sacks this season, tore his ACL in the second half of Monday's game, and he will be out for the rest of the year. Okwara stepped in with the first-team defense following Gardeck's injury, and the former finished the game with one solo tackle across 35 snaps, including a season-high 29 snaps on defense. Okwara is the top candidate to start at linebacker alongside White and Wilson, though Krys Barnes and Jesse Luketa should also see their snaps on defense increase. Okwara's most productive season came in 2021 as a member of the Lions, during which he registered 27 tackles (18 solo), including 5.0 sacks, two pass breakups, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery across 13 regular-season games.
Gardeck, who leads the Cardinals with three sacks this season, tore his ACL in the second half of Monday's game, and he will be out for the rest of the year. Okwara stepped in with the first-team defense following Gardeck's injury, and the former finished the game with one solo tackle across 35 snaps, including a season-high 29 snaps on defense. Okwara is the top candidate to start at linebacker alongside White and Wilson, though Krys Barnes and Jesse Luketa should also see their snaps on defense increase. Okwara's most productive season came in 2021 as a member of the Lions, during which he registered 27 tackles (18 solo), including 5.0 sacks, two pass breakups, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery across 13 regular-season games.
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2024 NFL Game Log
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Snap Distribution / Depth Chart
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2024 Julian Okwara Split Stats
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Measurables Review
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How do Julian Okwara's measurables compare to other linebackers?
This section compares his draft workout metrics with players at the same position. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that metric and it would be considered average.
Height
6' 4"Weight
239 lbsBench Press
27 repsHand Length
10.25 inArm Length
34.38 in
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Devin Lloyd finished Week 15 as the Jaguars' top linebacker with a 91 percent snap share compared to Chad Muma's 15 percent.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2020
With Detroit moving back to a 4-3 defensive scheme, Okwara is stuck as a "tweener" who doesn't fit cleanly at defensive end or outside linebacker. However, the Lions have been preparing him to play both during the offseason training program. It remains to be seen how large of a role Okwara will ultimately have in 2022, but he could regularly see a handful of pass-rush opportunities per game while his brother, Romeo, works his way back from a torn Achilles.
More Fantasy News
Signs with Eagles
The Eagles signed Okwara to a reserve/future contract Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
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Let go by Detroit
Okwara was waived by the Lions on Thursday.
ANALYSIS
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Ready for season debut
Okwara (knee) is active Sunday against the Panthers.
ANALYSIS
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Activated Saturday
Okwara (knee) was activated from injured reserve Saturday.
ANALYSIS
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Designated to return from IR
Okwara (knee) was designated to return from injured reserve by the Lions on Monday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Potential first-round pick?
Okwara could be a surprise selection during the first round of Thursday's draft, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
ANALYSIS
The edge rusher from Notre Dame hasn't been regularly mocked as a first-round pick, but he could still sneak his way into the first round. Okwara totaled 13 sacks, 19.5 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles in 22 games over the last two seasons with the Fighting Irish.
The edge rusher from Notre Dame hasn't been regularly mocked as a first-round pick, but he could still sneak his way into the first round. Okwara totaled 13 sacks, 19.5 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles in 22 games over the last two seasons with the Fighting Irish.