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Nigerians In The NFL- 2018 - Sports - Nairaland

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Nigerians In The NFL- 2018 by Thunder360: 8:56pm On Sep 09, 2018
Last NFL season saw the African conversation dominated by New Orleans Saints rookie Alvin Kamara, with a bit of Nelson Agholor of the Eagles thrown in, but what will 2018 hold?

With kickoff right around the corner, on Thursday 6 September, here are the African players to keep tabs on this season.

Don't sleep on these rookies

Duke Ejiofor (Outside linebacker, Houston Texans)

Houstonian Duke Ejiofor finds himself suiting up for his hometown Houston Texans. The Wake Forest University graduate slipped in the 2018 NFL draft due to injury concerns as he recovered from labrum surgery.

Up stepped the Texans to add Ejiofor to an extremely talented group of pass rushers (J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus) and it didn't take long for the rookie to impress during pre-season.

With his smoothness and various pass rush moves, watch for Ejiofor to get after opposing quarterbacks when he does see the field this season.

Chuks Okorafor (Offensive tackle, Pittsburgh Steelers)

Left tackle Chuks Okorafor finds himself further up the depth chart than expected when he was drafted in April. After swing tackle Chris Hubbard departed for Cleveland in the off-season, the plan was for Jerald Hawkins to step into the role, but a quadriceps injury ended Hawkins season before training camp.

Nigeria-born, Botswana-raised Okorafor has impressed distinguished Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak with the ability to play both left and right tackle when need be. The former Western Michigan University player has both a great line coach and veteran offensive line to learn from as he deputizes when called upon this season.

No second fiddles

Chidobe Awuzie (Cornerback, Dallas Cowboys)

High expectations are being placed on the shoulders of Dallas Cowboys cornerback Chidobe Awuzie this season. The 2017 second round pick impressed when healthy last season (a hamstring injury early on led to him playing just 10 games) and has brought his good form into training camp and pre-season.

Playing the left cornerback position for the Cowboys, Awuzie had one of the highlights of pre-season with this interception.

With a number change from 33 to 24, Awuzie will hope to live up to the number, formerly worn in the 80s by Cowboys great and one of two players to ever lead the NFL in interceptions thrice, Everson Walls.

Larry Ogunjobi (Defensive Tackle, Cleveland Browns)

Last season, Ogunjobi had to work his way into the mix at defensive tackle for the Browns but by the end of the season was a favourite of coaches and Pro Football Focus graders. PFF ranked Ogunjobi in the top 20 of run defenders and in the top 30 of interior defensive linemen.

This season, much will be expected of Ogunjobi, and for him to build on his play during the latter part of the 2017 season, especially on pass rushing downs. He will also be expected to play the nose tackle position and the three-technique defensive tackle spot.

Ogunjobi can be absolutely disruptive and the Browns defense should be impressive when he lines up alongside fellow Nigerian-American Emmanuel Ogbah and last year's number one pick Myles Garrett.


Show me the money!

Jay Ajayi (Running back, Philadelphia Eagles) and Tevin Coleman (Running back Atlanta Falcons)

Preparing for their fourth NFL season, Philadelphia Eagles running back Jay Ajayi and Atlanta Falcons running back Tevin Coleman are playing out the final year of their rookie contracts.

Coleman is a bet to get a hefty contract in 2019 as he is coming off his most productive season in terms of carries, and is primed to shine when placed in a backfield that features his ability.

The rest here- http://kwese.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/24573820/africans-nfl-alvin-kamara-dominate-again

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