Thorough pessimism surrounding Houston Texans free agent Jeff Okudah

Detailing Houston’s newest cornerback’s path to becoming a Texan

As much fun, optimism, and potential presumed to be in every NFL Draft class, there’s always stories of failed opportunities and busts. And to be transparent, there’s many more of these less-than-fairy tale stories than there are of ones where the slipper fits.

Jeff Okudah is one of those less-fortunate stories.

Entering the 2020 Draft, Jeff Okudah was the darling of a 2019 Ohio State team that went to the College Football Playoffs. The First Team All-American had three interceptions his Junior year and was one of the most lock down corners college football had seen in a while.

At 6’1, 205 pounds, he ran a 4.48 at the NFL Combine and when Detroit drafted him with the third overall pick in 2020, they pegged him as the cornerstone of their rebuild moving forward.

His tenure in Detroit went less than expected. His first two seasons were cut short due to injury. His third season saw more playing time and health, but was marred by poor play and mistakes.

In 2022, Detroit traded him to the Atlanta Falcons for a fifth round pick. He started the first nine games of the season before being benched for rookie fourth rounder Clark Phillips III. With the disappointing end to the season and a new Defensive Coordinator in town, Okudah was released by Atlanta.

Okudah’s speed is not what it was projected. He lets receivers get even on him, then put him in their back pocket downfield. He loves to use his hands at the line of scrimmage and whiffs more than me in third grade coach pitch baseball.

Okudah’s issue is his play style depends on this hyper-aggressive technique that his athleticism can’t hold up to anymore. That’s what happens when you have hamstring and achilles tears in back to back seasons.

These technical dependencies in his old game need to be trained out of him moving forward. He’s not a press cover corner. He’s not able to bump and run. He sure as hell can’t transition to safety.

Then what is he? Why did Houston sign what appears to be a washed up cornerback? The potential. Okudah is and always has been the ideal profile and modern NFL cornerback play style. He’s instinctive, long, and gritty. If Houston can re-develop his technical side – specifically coach out of him the mistakes in man coverage at the line of scrimmage – he can turn into a serviceable, matchup dependent cornerback again.

According to PFF, Okudah has been mediocre at best. His grade in coverage (COV) has never been good… hell it’s never beed good enough to be considered bad.

Now, the Texas native is coming back to the state for what seems to be his last chance to stay in the league. He signed a one year, $6M contract with Houston and is slated to be a starting cornerback across from Derek Stingley Jr.

Okudah is a man-cover corner by nature, but not by talent anymore. The switch to Houston’s zone scheme will be an intriguing development and storyline for the player.

If Okudah can put it together in Houston, it would be a remarkable resurgence in his career. It’s concerning that Houston is entering the 2024 season with as big of a flight risk as Jeff Okudah is in the secondary. If Houston doesn’t add a legitimate starting corner in free agency or in one of the two second round picks,