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90 In 30: Steelers 2022 Training Camp Preview Series: Larry Ogunjobi, Chukwuma Okorafor, Chris Oladokun

By Dave Bryan

Posted on June 29, 2022 at 7:30 am

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2022 offseason practices concluded last week, and next up for the team is their annual training camp, which should get underway in the latter part of July at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. Ahead of Steelers’ training camp getting underway, we will preview the team’s offseason roster three players at a time for you as part of a 30-post series. This Steelers’ roster preview, which includes outlooks for each player, will be done alphabetically by last name to make it easy to follow along with.

The next three players we will preview ahead of Steelers training camp are Larry Ogunjobi, Chukwuma Okorafor, and Chris Oladokun.

DT Larry Ogunjobi: The Steelers just recently signed Ogunjobi to a one-year, $8 million contract. In 2021 with the Cincinnati Bengals, Ogunjobi played in 16 regular season games on his way to registering 49 total tackles, of which 12 resulted in lost yardage. He was credited with seven sacks last season and 16 total quarterback hits in 724 defensive snaps played. In the Bengals playoff win against the Las Vegas Raiders, Ogunjobi suffered a foot injury that landed him on the team’s Reserve/Injured list. That injury required surgery. This past March, Ogunjobi agreed to a three-year $40.5 million contract with the Chicago Bears, with $26.35 million reportedly guaranteed. That agreement was voided, however, as Ogunjobi reportedly failed his physical.

Outlook: The fact that the Steelers signed Ogunjobi to a one-year, $8 million contract speaks volumes. The hope is that he can rebound from his foot injury in 2022 and pick up where he left off at last season as a member of the Bengals. Ogunjobi can play up and down the defensive line. While not an elite run stopper, that portion of his game has improved quite a bit since entering the NFL. The biggest knock on him is missed tackles against the run. Pass rushing from anywhere on the line is Ogunjobi’s main asset and he has 21.5 career sacks entering 2022, his sixth season in the NFL. If he stays healthy and rebounds from his 2021 injury, we could see Ogunjobi log anywhere between 600 to 750 defensive snaps in 2022 as part of both the base and sub package defenses and from several different positions on the line to boot.

T Chukwuma Okorafor: The Steelers re-signed Okorafor, a former third round selection in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Western Michigan, to a three-year, $29.25 million contract back in March. Last season, Okorafor started 16 regular season games at right tackle for the Steelers in addition to the team’s lone playoff game. The one game that he missed in 2021 was due to a concussion. In total, Okorafor logged 1,079 regular season offensive snaps in 2021 and only two other Steelers players on that side of the football had more. Including the playoff game, Okorafor allowed two sacks, seven quarterback hits and 14 hurries last season. His worst game as a pass protector in 2021 was in that playoff loss.

Outlook: Okorafor is obviously poised to be the Steelers starting right tackle again in 2022. He will have a new right guard next to him 2022 in the form of veteran James Daniels and their side of the line needs to gel quickly. The Steelers will look to run the football quite a bit in 2022 and that means Okorafor needs to make a big jump as a ground game blocker in his fifth NFL season. The Steelers have a new offensive line coach in Pat Meyer and it will be up to him to help Okorafor become a top 15 right tackle in the NFL. While Okorafor did sign a three-year deal with the Steelers this offseason, a poor season from him in 2022 could result in him looking for a new home next March. He needs to have his best season to date in 2022.

QB Chris Oladokun: The Steelers surprised quite a few people when they selected two quarterbacks in the 2022 NFL Draft. The second of the two was Oladokun, who was selected in the seventh round. Oladokun started his collegiate career at South Florida before moving on to Samford in 2019. He played last season at South Dakota State. In those 15 games last season he completed 238 of his 382 total pass attempts for 3,164 yards with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also rushed 73 times for 166 yards and two touchdowns in addition to catching two passes for 32 yards and two more touchdowns. After not being invited to the annual NFL scouting combine, Oladokun reportedly measured in at 6012, 207-pounds with 8 7/8-inch hands at his pro day and the Steelers had two scouts on hand to watch him go through the paces.

Outlook: The Steelers currently have four quarterbacks under contract and only three will make the 53-man roster. That means Oladokun will need something to happen to make the final cut. That something would more than likely need to be the Steelers trading away quarterback Mason Rudolph, which is plausible. During the preseason, Oladokun is likely to get playing time in the fourth quarters of those three contests. That will likely be the only playing time he gets all season. Should Oladokun not make the 53-man roster, perhaps he will circle back to the Steelers practice squad. It will certainly be interesting to watch him in action during the preseason to see if he could potentially be on the roster as a backup for the next several years.

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