The New York Giants and linebacker Bobby Okereke agreed to terms on Monday, the league’s first day of the legal tampering period. Barring any unforeseen issues, he will officially sign his contract on Wednesday.
The addition of Okereke was the first truly big splash of Joe Schoen’s early run as general manager. It comes at a long-ignored position of need and sets the Giants’ defense up well headed into 2023.
Here are four quick things to know about Okereke.
Played college ball at Stanford
Okereke was born in Santa Ana, California to parents who had immigrated from Nigeria. He played football from an early age, throughout high school and later attended college at Stanford, where David Shaw served as his head coach.
In high school, Okereke earned the Watkins Award as the nation’s top African-American player in terms of academic and athletic excellence.
As a Stanford freshman in 2014, Okereke redshirted. From 2015 to 2018, he recorded 227 total tackles (20 for a loss), three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, 10.5 sacks, one interception, eight passes defensed and one touchdown.
He was named Pac 12 Honorable Mention in 2017 and 2018.
Third round pick
Okereke was a third-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in the 2019 NFL draft, which was a round earlier than most analysts and experts had projected.
NFL Network draft expert Lance Zierlein viewed Okereke as “undersized” and believed his NFL ceiling was a backup.
Undersized but instinctive and rangy, Okerke plays fast and is generally on the right track with his initial reads and response to play development. While he’s fairly sound from a technical standpoint, his lack of size and strength shows up in both tackling and downhill duties against blockers. He has adequate talent to drop and cover in space and his experience on special teams gives him a shot to become a quality NFL backup.
Eagle Scout
In 2013, after 12 years as a Cub Scout and Boy Scout, the Boy Scouts of America awarded Okereke the rank of Eagle Scout.
As a member of his troop, Okereke served as patrol leader instructor and librarian. He attended the National Boy Scout Jamboree in 2010 and later completed the National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) in 2012
Okereke is also a member of the Order of Arrow.
Tackling machine
In four NFL seasons, Okereke has recorded 420 tackles with 293 of those being solo. However, since being moved inside over the past two seasons, he’s recorded 283 tackles, which is a significant uptick (on average).
In 2022, Okereke was 10th in the NFL with 151 tackles and seventh with 99 solo tackles.
