Larry Ogunjobi has run the AFC North gauntlet during his career. After being drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2017 and spending four years there, he headed to Cincinnati to play for the Bengals in 2021. He signed with the Steelers last offseason on a one-year deal, before signing an additional three-year deal this offseason.
Ogunjobi had a bit of a down year when looking at raw numbers, but they don’t tell the whole story of his impact. After seven sacks in 2021 with the Bengals, he had just one and a half last year.
While his pass rush wasn’t quite at the level it had been in the past, he was as strong as ever in the run game. He had seven tackles for a loss, as well as 48 total tackles. He also only missed two tackles, giving him the lowest missed tackle rate of his career at just four percent. While he may not have looked fully like the player he’s been in years past, he was also dealing with injuries, rarely a full participant in practice and missing one game. Now that he’s healthy, he’s excited to work with Cameron Heyward to get back to the player he can be.
“One, being healthy. You know, just being able to come back, having a really good offseason, being able to train the way I want to,” Ogunjobi said. “The camaraderie and just growing with the guys. As you get more comfortable in the system, you find out the things you can do, what you can’t do, how people play, and you just build that chemistry. I feel like once you’re able to play off each other, you start to see things that you don’t really have to talk about. If Cam [Heyward is] moving inside, I know I gotta cover him and vice versa, and that just takes time. I think there is a learning curve and growth to a certain aspect, but when you start to play and establish yourself and just have fun doing it,” he said on the DVE Morning Show yesterday.
The Steelers have a lot of faith in Ogunjobi, as evidenced by the considerable amount of money they gave him in his three-year extension. Going into his second season with the team, the growing pains excuse can’t really be used anymore, and Ogunjobi will look to prove he is worth the money.
One big plus for Ogunjobi is his chemistry with Heyward. The two seemed to have formed a great connection over the last year and change both on and off the field. He’s also more comfortable in the system as he noted, which will go a long way toward improving his production in 2023. If Ogunjobi can provide the Steelers with a legit pass-rush threat up the middle to compliment Heyward and fellow pass-rush threat T.J. Watt on the outside, the Steelers could easily find themselves back near the top of the league in sacks.
