Getty Julian Okwara on the field for a 2020 game.
The Detroit Lions are looking forward to the 2022 season, and pondering what players are going to be the next in line to dominate when the time comes to kick off a new year.
With a young roster on the rise, there are plenty of choices for the Lions in terms of what players will be the next to make a major jump to stardom this coming year. Interestingly enough, a player who has already taken some of those steps is seen as the next up.
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Recently, Bleacher Report and writer Alex Ballentine took a look at naming each team’s breakout player for the 2022 season. When it came to Detroit, the pick was a defender in the form of linebacker Julian Okwara. Okwara stepped up last year, and Ballentine even projected him to lead the team in sacks for 2022.
As Ballentine explained, even in spite of defensive changes, Okwara will make plays. “The defense switching to more four-man fronts will make things interesting for the slender Okwara (6’4″, 245 lbs), but it’s a good bet his explosiveness and athleticism will force the coaches to find the right role for him,” he wrote
Detroit’s defense will change, but talent is talent. It would not be a stretch to see Okwara dominating with his brother Romeo Okwara on the field in tow. To that end, this is a quality pick by Ballentine for next season’s breakout stud.
Okwara’s Stats & Highlights
Coming into the 2021 season, it was clear that 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 it was clear coming in that 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 27 tackles, 3 sacks and 7 quarterback hits, with the bulk of that work playing out in 2021.
Collegiately, Okwara always showed these kind of attributes. At Notre Dame, he put up 79 total tackles and 15.5 sacks in his career to go with 2 interceptions and 4 forced fumbles. Here was some of his work this year:
Okwara long felt like a player who could do some special things at the NFL level, and he finally showed signs of that. Come 2022, that could be something to expect on a regular basis.
Okwara Recently Received Praise From Charles Harris
Okwara himself was brought up by Charles Harris while he was having his introductory presser with the media after re- signing in Detroit. Harris himself brought a lot to Detroit’s pass rush in 2021 given he had 7.5 sacks, but he sees a player in Okwara that is ready to step up and provide some more to the team for 2022. That’s something Chris Burke of The Athletic tweeted about in the moment:
Charles Harris on Julian Okwara’s upside: “I don’t think there is a ceiling, honestly. That’s something (Kelvin Sheppard) tells him all the time: I’m hard on you but I believe in you. … He’s just got it. He really does, he’s got it.”
“Charles Harris on Julian Okwara’s upside: “I don’t think there is a ceiling, honestly. That’s something (Kelvin Sheppard) tells him all the time: I’m hard on you but I believe in you. … He’s just got it. He really does, he’s got it,” Harris said according to Burke’s tweet.
Most Lions fans probably wanted to choose to focus on Harris given he was coming back to the mix, but it was neat to see that he wanted to focus more on Okwara and his upside. That’s not only the mark of a good teammate, but a good leader as well.
It’s also a great sign to see the Lions with a player that their teammates think will be effective at a key position. That proves it isn’t just the media that thinks Okwara will be a star in short order, but teammates as well.
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Underrated Defender Projected as Lions’ Breakout Star for 2022