Houston Texans Rookie Review: Duke Ejiofor

Houston Texans drafted outside linebacker Duke Ejiofor in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

The Houston Texans drafted pass rusher Duke Ejiofor from Wake Forest University with the 177th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Ejiofor turned out to be another great pickup so late in the draft for Texans general manager Brian Gaine.

Ejiofor was widely projected by draft pundits to be a day two or early third-day pick, but he fell down the draft due to injury concerns. Albeit it was the preseason, Ejiofor played in three games in the preseason. He lived in the backfield creating plays, disrupting opposing quarterbacks, and making special teams tackles.

Ejiofor showed the ability to translate some of his pass rush moves from college to the NFL and proved to be adept than most rookies at his age at battling with offensive linemen. Ejiofor played in 12 regular season games only missing four games due to hamstring and shoulder injuries.

He finished with nine combined tackles, one sack, one fumble recovery, one tackle for loss, two pass deflections, and two quarterback hits. Ejiofor served as a rotational pass rusher and became the third outside linebacker on the depth chart after the Texans placed Brennan Scarlett on the injured reserve list with a knee injury.

According to Pro Football Reference, Ejiofor ended up playing in 158 of the snaps on defense and 56 total snaps on special teams. He is a promising defender moving forward as a rangy linebacker with the length and strong arsenal of pass rush moves to pressure opposing quarterbacks.