Atlanta Falcons: Are we overlooking Ade Ogundeji in 2022?

The Atlanta Falcons need any help they can get for their pass rush, they ranked dead last, last season by a wide margin in total sacks with 18 total. That is simply unacceptable even with the long history of woeful Falcons’ pass rush.

If they are going to improve it will require multiple players to step up in a big way and be able to put consistent pressure on the opposing quarterbacks, this includes guys like Lorenzo Carter, Arnold Ebiketie, and even Ade Ogundeji.

Are Falcons fans overlooking the potential of Ade Ogundeji in 2022?

Ade Ogundeji was a fifth-round draft pick by the Atlanta Falcons in 2021 out of Notre Dame. He was thrown into a significant role for a rookie because of the lack of talent ahead of him on the depth chart.

All in all, he was impressive all things considered but still was not a starter-quality player. His rookie experience showed throughout the year but that is to be expected of a young player trying to make it in the NFL.

He recorded one sack, two QB hits, eight QB hurries, and 11 pressures in 2021 on 521 snaps. Again, certainly, you would have liked more production from him last season but he was only playing in his first handful of games in the pros.

So, what should his outlook be in 2022, and are we overlooking him?

It is easy to predict that Ogundeji will see a significant jump in production this upcoming season. He is a year older and has a full season of experience under him, so Dean Pees will likely lean on him much more going forward.

This is not to say he will reach double-digit sacks, as nice as that would be, but you should expect to see around five to eight sacks on the season which would be respectable.

You do not hear much about him in the Falcons community and that should change. People do seem to be overlooking him. Even though he will probably not become a star for the Falcons’ defense, he should be a solid piece for it, and you cannot ask much more from a fifth-round draft pick in his second year.