Oklahoma Sooners right guard/center Febechi Nwaiwu is one of my favorite Day 3 prospects who could be a sneaky top 100 selection in the 2026 NFL Draft. Nwaiwu doesn’t have ideal foot quickness or recovery burst but still has a path to becoming an early-career starter.
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Classification: Redshirt senior right guard and center from Coppell, Texas
Background: Nwaiwu was a recruit from Coppell High School in Coppell, Texas in the class of 2021. He did not receive a star rating or grade out of 100 from the major recruiting services and walked-on at North Texas. Nwaiwu transferred from North Texas to Oklahoma for the 2024 season. While in high school, he competed in football, shot put, and discus. He graduated from Oklahoma in May of 2025 with a degree in multidisciplinary studies.
Injuries & Off-Field: Missed 2023 Memphis and UTSA games with an injury
Awards: 2022 Third Team All-CUSA (PFF, Phil Steele), 2022 CUSA All-Freshman Team, 2022 Second Team Freshman All-American (The Athletic), 2025 Second Team All-SEC
Pros: Four-year starter, experience playing right tackle, right guard, center and minor reps at left guard, excellent length, wingspan, and mass for a center, wide and stout anchor to eat bull rushes, doesn’t lose through his frame, re-anchors against power, difficult for defenders to uproot or torque off balance, jump sets and quick punches take air out of pass rush, one-armed stab keeps defenders out of his chest, heavy hands and block framing keep him attached to defenders, hands are difficult to remove, arresting grip strength, nice examples of refitting hands, good stunt recognition at guard, targets the 3-tech’s ribs for pancakes in pass pro, wears down and works linemen out of gaps, generates good movement at LOS on combo and duo blocks, comfortable climbing to pick off linebackers, vision to second level on combo blocks
Cons: Still learning to recognize stunts from center role, awareness at center is WOP, late to ID some blitzing linebackers, inconsistent pad level, some overextending into contact in pass pro, chest drifts over knees, foot quickness challenged by some blitzers, lacks short-area recovery twitch/burst, needs to refit hands earlier in the rep, needs more hand counters for long-arms, loses leverage battle and struggles to uproot NTs, overextended and falls off some run blocks, needs better finishes in run game, limited range, lacks outstanding speed and burst, unreliable reach blocker, inconsistent landing blocks in space
Overview: Nwaiwu was a four-year starter in college who spent the vast majority of his time at right guard. However, he played a handful of games at center to end the 2025 season and continued taking reps in that role during the East-West Shrine Bowl. His 324 lb. frame with 33 3/4-inch arms and an 82 3/4-inch wingspan is excellent for the position. Nwaiwu still needs to learn more about his new role. His awareness and ability to identify stunts and blitzes at center suffer lapses, which makes sense considering how new he is to the position. These concerns didn’t pop up on his guard tape. He deploys a stout base that allows him to stonewall bull rushers. Even when Nwaiwu gives initial ground, he re-anchors to maintain the pocket’s integrity. Defenders fail to win through his frame or generate enough rotational force to club or torque him out of his anchor. He mixes up his pass sets, incorporating some jump sets with early strikes to post quick wins in pass protection. The former North Texas walk-on deploys a one-armed stab to keep his frame clean and maximize his length advantage against interior linemen. His heavy hands and grip strength help him arrest defenders and maintain block framing. There are examples of him refitting his hands in a timely manner, but he still needs to improve in this area. Nwaiwu needs to develop some counters for long-arms and, preferably, a snatch-trap. When not immediately covered up in pass protection, the Texas native pivots and finds work by delivering heavy blows to the exposed flanks of 3-techs. Nwaiwu is an average and somewhat stiff athlete. He plays with an inconsistent pad level that contributes to him getting caught overextended in pass protection. His foot quickness and recovery burst leave something to be desired. Nwaiwu gradually wears down and moves linemen on run plays with his mass. Some of his most disruptive reps are on combo and duo blocks. He displays good vision and takes nice angles when working up to second level linebackers. Unfortunately, the redshirt senior isn’t a mauler and leaves too many blocks unfinished. He gets overextended and falls off some assignments. Despite his pedestrian height, Nwaiwu finds himself out-leveraged by nose tackles and struggles to uproot them at the point of attack. He isn’t a great athlete in space and lacks the speed and change of direction to be a scheme-diverse prospect.
Overall, Nwaiwu put out stellar tape in 2025 and made the sudden transition to center late in the season look relatively easy despite his lack of experience in the new role. With his size and untapped potential at center, he could contend for starting time by the mid-point of his rookie contract. It is important for Nwaiwu’s future team to have a long-term vision for his role.
Role & Scheme Fit: Center or right guard in an inside zone scheme
Round Grade: Fourth Round
Size: 6’3 3/4”, 324 lbs. (Shrine Bowl)
Submitted: 02-07-26