Getty Julian Okwara tries to make a play on Jalen Hurts in 2021.
The Detroit Lions defense has been passive in the past, not getting after the quarterback enough or making their presence felt. That’s going to change in a big way this season.
To a man, Lions players and coaches have talked about the need to be more aggressive on the field. Perhaps nobody has been more up front about that than Julian Okwara, and during training camp, that’s continued.
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Speaking to the media after practice on Saturday, July 30, Okwara discussed some of the progress the Lions have made thus far. As he said, the team is excited about where things are currently trending on defense.
“We’re excited about it, I mean, from the back of the front end, front seven, defensive backs, we can all tell everybody’s comfortable (with) what they’re doing. Communications are loud and consistent, we know what we’re doing like setting the front. Everything is just on. I think we’re on the same page. We got our goals and we know we what we need to do out of this defense.”
As Okwara continued, the mindset and mentality filters down from the coordinator to the players. It involves locking in deeply.
“Aaron Glenn talks about it every time, just like what we need to do with the defense and our our identity. Just coming out here with the right mindset, everybody coming fired up and knowing it’s work time,” he said. “It’s game time, no outside noise. We gotta lock in (to) what we’re doing. Everybody in the building, all that matters is us.”
So far, it sounds as if the Lions have done just that. It’s something that could leave the opposition in a desperate state as the season gets going.
Okwara Reveals Expectation for Lions Defense
In terms of what he wants to see from the team, Okwara was also an open book. He left no doubts what kind of a defense the team is going to be, and even called out the Lions opponents to issue a bit of a warning.
“I think just a defense that runs the ball, plays hard, gets in the backfield, hits the quarterback. Putting that pressure on him, not sitting back in soft coverage just sitting back there. We’re getting at the quarterback,” Okwara said. “I think being violent attacking you. We’re not sitting back waiting for you to throw the ball over our head and all that stuff, so we’re coming at you with full force.”
Last season, the Lions collected only 30 sacks, so getting to the quarterback seems to be a vital variable that everyone wants to see. The Lions are obviously going to come at the opposition and try to bring some of the pain themselves.
Okwara’s Stats & Highlights
If there’s any young player that could seemingly help the Lions get to where they want to go in 2022, it’s Okwara given what he did last year.
Coming into 2021, it was clear Okwara was going to be primed for a big effort on the field. He had missed most of his rookie 2020 season with injury, so Okwara was in position to do some damage for the Lions if he could stay healthy. Injuries up front to other players ended up helping Okwara see more of the field, as did the effort he put in as it relates to honing his craft. In his NFL career, he has 30 tackles, 5 sacks and 9 quarterback hits, with the bulk of that work playing out in 2021.
Collegiately, Okwara showed these attributes. At Notre Dame, he put up 79 tackles and 15.5 sacks in his career to go with 2 interceptions and 4 forced fumbles. Here was some of his work in college:
It was good to see Okwara come into his own in 2021, and it is better to see him taking ownership of the defense. Already, he’s talking like a young leader of one of the most important positions on the team and is helping set the tone.
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