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With the 89th pick of the 3rd round, the Indianapolis Colts selected Stanford linebacker Bobby Okereke.
The 6’1”, 239 pound senior linebacker recorded 94 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 5 passes defensed, and 2 forced fumbles in 13 games for the Cardinal defense—where he was a team captain and two-time All-Pac 12 honorable mention.
Okereke posted a 4.58 forty time, a vertical jump of 33.5 inches, and has great length with measured 34 1⁄2 inch arms at the NFL Combine.
He has been highly regarded for his instincts, range, and nose for finding the football with sideline-to-sideline speed.
Okereke is adept in coverage, playing in space, and could initially be a situational nickel package linebacker for defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus’ defense (as well as a core special teams player).
However, he’s at times limited by his lack of size—particularly when shedding blocks, and Okereke could improve his overall tackling.
He’s yet another fast and athletic defensive player that general manager Chris Ballard has added on Day 2 for the Colts.
.@colts take @BobbyOkereke in the 3rd round. Very good pick! I’ve compared him to Darius Leonard for the past six months and now they’re teammates. Both are long and fast. Leonard more instinctive and Okereke more physical.
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) April 27, 2019
Really good senior bowl and really good combine. He fits what NFL wants in a three-down linebacker. Has range to go sidelines and can cover. https://t.co/4znJTtV4ug
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) March 26, 2019
.@StanfordFball LB Bobby Okereke. 34 6/8 arm length and wingspan of someone over 6’10” (82 5/8). And he’s going to run in 4.5’s. This play from #seniorbowl shows why length matters. Best comp to Darius Leonard in this year’s draft. He won’t make it out of Round 3. #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/k09sEvmIC8
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) February 19, 2019
Bobby Okereke has some awesome reps...and then he has some reps like this pic.twitter.com/NLvWHP7FNP
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) December 27, 2018