PHILADELPHIA — Moro Ojomo caught the nation’s attention with four words.
Ojomo, the Philadelphia Eagles’ budding star at defensive tackle, was lining up for a crucial fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers. That’s when Ojomo could be heard clearly on ESPN’s broadcast shouting to his teammates.
“Inside zone this way!” Ojomo yelled before repeating himself. “Inside zone this way!”
Ojomo called the Packers’ play before it happened — and he was right. Ojomo knifed between Green Bay’s center and guard, forcing Josh Jacobs to redirect his run. Edge rusher Jaelan Phillips set the edge and got the stop, propelling the Eagles to a significant road win.
Some viewers might not have known who Ojomo was before that play. After it, Eagles fans and the football community at large gained a greater appreciation for the former seventh-round pick.
But that appreciation — and the belief that one day Ojomo would command attention from all corners of the league — has never lacked at the NovaCare Complex. The Eagles knew what they had in Ojomo: a player capable of being a breakout star in the NFL.
“We all saw it coming,” Eagles center Brett Toth told PennLive.
“I saw this coming three years ago, to be honest,” defensive tackle Jordan Davis said. “Everything that y’all are seeing, we’ve been seeing for the past couple of years.”
Anyone other than die-hard Birds fans could be forgiven if Monday was their introduction to Ojomo.
All-Pro defensive tackle Jalen Carter lines up next to him. All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun cleans things up behind him. Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean are two of the best young cornerbacks in the league. There are only so many flowers to go around. That’s the reality of playing on the defending Super Bowl champion’s star-studded defense.
But in his first year as a full-time contributor, Ojomo has established himself as one of the best young defensive linemen in the league. Ojomo has four sacks and 20 tackles in nine games this season. But the advanced stats paint a fuller picture of the impact Ojomo has had.
Ojomo’s overall Pro Football Focus grade ranks eighth out of 124 defensive tackles with at least 125 snaps this season. His 15.4% pass-rush win rate (the % of times he’s beating his blockers) ranks sixth out of 103 defensive tackles with at least 100 pass-rush snaps. And his 34 QB pressures — sacks, hits and hurries combined — ranks fourth among DTs.
The only d-tackles with more QB pressures than Ojomo? Denver’s Zach Allen, Seattle’s Leonard Williams and New England’s Milton Williams. An All-Pro, a two-time Pro Bowler and one of the offseason’s most expensive free agents. Pretty good company for the 24-year-old to keep.
It’s fitting, too, that Ojomo is in the same conversation as Milton Williams. Because that’s who Ojomo was tasked with replacing.
Williams, an explosive defensive tackle who was integral to last year’s Super Bowl run, left the Eagles in March and signed a four-year, $104 million contract with New England. Howie Roseman had to allocate that money elsewhere on the roster. But not paying Williams was also a sign of faith by the Eagles.
They believed in Ojomo taking the next step. They believed the No. 249 pick in the 2023 NFL draft would take over Williams’ role and not miss a beat.
There were signs that he was ready. Ojomo logged 575 snaps between the regular season and playoffs last year. He had a key sack in the NFC Divisional Round win over the Rams. And behind the scenes, he was impressing teammates.
“When Mo first came in, he was kind of overlooked because he was a seventh-round pick,” Davis said. “But he’s done nothing but grind since he’s been here. And finally, that work is coming to light.”
“Mo’s a good player for us,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “You need to stop being surprised by that.”
Toth certainly hasn’t been surprised by Ojomo’s rise. Toth, the Eagles’ backup center and guard, spent all summer going against Ojomo. That proved to be difficult when the Eagles were going good-on-good, and the offense was ironing out the details of Kevin Patullo’s playbook.
“If you give a guy who has a get-off like that your cadence, you’re really f*****,” Toth said. “In the preseason, every three plays he was f****** things up. … If he’s making the play, if he’s freeing things up for the linebacker behind him, if he’s running a game with the other tackle or the end, he’s freeing up someone. He’s so disruptive.”
Teams across the league are finding that out the hard way this season.
Ojomo had five hurries and a sack against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. He had five hurries and a sack on Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers. He had a sack in each of the Eagles’ wins over the Vikings and Giants. And he tallied six pressures against Green Bay.
The stats prove how good Ojomo has been. But to understand how valuable the former Texas standout has been, you have to watch the Eagles’ defensive line go to work. Toth called Ojomo a “selfless” player running Fangio’s front to perfection, playing off Carter and others.
And to understand how selfless Ojomo is, here’s this: when PennLive asked Ojomo about his stellar start to the season, he basically turned down an opportunity to talk about himself.
“The success of the plays I’ve had, I always say, are directly correlated to the people who have invested in me and the people around me,” Ojomo said.
That doesn’t mean Ojomo isn’t proud of the production he’s had. He celebrates sacks just like any other defensive lineman. But the mild-mannered Ojomo is perfectly fine not being the center of attention — even as he starts to make a name for himself across the league.
Asked if he’s surprised by his success so far, Ojomo cracked a smile.
“No, because I know the work I put in, and I know my mentality and the way I go about this game,” Ojomo said. “I’m happy. I’m hungry. And I’ll always be hungry.”
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