After being selected third overall by the Detroit Lions in the 2020 NFL Draft, Jeff Okudah has been traded to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for a 2023 fifth-round pick. Okudah enters the final year of his rookie contract. The Falcons have the right to exercise a fifth-year option for next season.
Jeff Okudah was considered the best cornerback in his draft class. Ever since he got drafted to Motor City, he has dealt with multiple injuries and struggled to stay on the field. In his first two seasons, Okudah only played in 10 games. He missed the 2020 season opener against the Chicago Bears with a hamstring injury and didn’t make his debut until the following week against the Green Bay Packers. Then in Week 11, Okudah suffered a season-ending groin injury. During that short rookie stint, he played 90% of snaps and allowed opposing pass catchers to catch the ball 77.4% of the time on 53 targets. Most of those are top-end wideouts such as DeAndre Hopkins and Davante Adams. He was pressured to be the ace corner experts raved about during the draft process while not considering that he was thrown into the worst secondaries in the league matching up against elite receivers.
Okudah injury woes continued in the 2021 season opener when he ruptured his Achilles tendon, and his season was immediately cut short. After rehabbing a full calendar year, and had a nice bounce-back season with a total of 73 tackles, a forced fumble, and a pick. The Lions overall had a breakout year under Dan Campbell, finishing nine and eight after a slow start. This didn’t stop the Lions from changing the secondary, adding Cam Sutton and Emmanuel Mosley in free agency. And with rumors of taking a corner with the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft, Okudah became expendable. The Falcons got great value for a young corner with a ton of upside. Hopefully, a change of scenery and learning from all-pros Jessie Bates and AJ Terrell can help him finally achieve his full potential.
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