Odafe Oweh

Odafe Jayson Oweh (; born December 15, 1998) is an American professional football outside linebacker for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). Oweh played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft. He has also played for the Los Angeles Chargers.

Early life Oweh, of Nigerian descent, was born on December 15, 1998, in Hackensack, New Jersey. He attended Blair Academy in Blairstown, New Jersey. While at Blair Academy, he became best friends with former teammate David Ojabo. He was selected to play in the 2018 Under Armour All-America Game. Oweh committed to Penn State to play college football.

College career As a true freshman at Penn State in 2018, Oweh played in four games and had two sacks. As a sophomore in 2019, he played in 13 games with one start and had 21 tackles and five sacks. He recorded 38 tackles, including seven tackles for a loss, in the 2020 season.

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

2021 season Oweh was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round (31st overall) of the 2021 NFL draft, which they previously obtained in a trade that sent Orlando Brown Jr. to the Kansas City Chiefs. Soon after the draft, Oweh announced that he would be going by his first name Odafe instead of his middle name Jayson, which he went by in college to avoid confusion regarding the pronunciation of his first name. He signed his four-year rookie contract, worth $12.6 million, on June 10, 2021.

Oweh got his first career forced fumble and recovery late in the fourth quarter against Clyde Edwards-Helaire and the Chiefs, his second career game. The turnover helped seal a 36–35 victory. He was named the defensive player of the week for his performance, which included three tackles, a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. He also had a quarterback hit on Patrick Mahomes that led to an interception by his teammate Tavon Young. He would not play the final two weeks of the season due to injury, becoming just one of the many Ravens players that would be injured that season. Oweh finished his rookie season with 33 total tackles, 5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and a pass breakup. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.

2022 season In Week 4 against the Buffalo Bills, he forced a fumble that was recovered by teammate Marcus Williams and also had a sack on Josh Allen. However, the Ravens would lose 20–23. He finished the season with 43 tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble and a recovery in 17 games and six starts.

2023 season In 13 games and five starts in 2023, Oweh finished fourth on the team with five sacks, along with 23 tackles and two forced fumbles.

2024 season On April 30, 2024, the Ravens picked up the fifth-year option on Oweh's contract. He made 17 appearances (10 starts) for Baltimore, compiling one forced fumble, 10 sacks, and 39 combined tackles.

2025 season Oweh made five appearances (two starts) during the 2025 season, recording 10 combined tackles.

Los Angeles Chargers On October 7, 2025, Oweh and a 2027 seventh-round pick were traded to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for Alohi Gilman and a 2026 fifth-round pick (No. 162: Chandler Rivers).

Washington Commanders On March 14, 2026, Oweh signed with the Washington Commanders on a four-year, $100 million contract with $68 million guaranteed.

Career statistics NFL Legend Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Fumbles Interceptions GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL FF FR Yds TD Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD 2021 BAL 15 2 33 23 10 5 5 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2022 BAL 17 6 43 30 13 3 7 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2023 BAL 13 5 23 20 3 5 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2024 BAL 17 10 39 25 14 10 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 02025 BAL 5 2 10 5 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 LAC 12 2 28 15 13 7.5 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 79 27 176 118 58 30.5 34 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Postseason Year Team Games Tackles Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL FF FR Yds TD 2022 BAL 1 0 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2023 BAL 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2024 BAL 2 0 3 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2025 LAC 1 0 4 4 0 3 3 2 0 0 0Career 6 0 11 9 2 5 5 2 0 0 0

College + SeasonGPTacklesFumblesInterceptions Solo Ast Comb TFL Sck FF FR Yds TD Int Yds TD PD2018 4 4 0 4 2 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 02019 13 13 8 21 5 5.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 12020 7 20 18 38 7 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Career 24 37 26 63 14 7.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

Personal life Oweh's younger brother, Otega Oweh, is a guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association.