Keep Texans Talk Google Ad Free!
Venmo Tip Jar | Paypal Tip Jar
Thanks for your support! 🍺😎👍

Houston Texans 6th round DE/OLB Duke Ejiofor from Wake Forest

Went to Alief Taylor. Played with my brothers.

I like the pick. To me he looks more polished as a player coming out than Mercilus did. Not as good athletically but he’s not a stiff either.

I think/hope he’s going to be a real good player for us.

And to be drafted by your hometown team where he went to high school about 25 mins away has to be amazing.

Congrats Duke!!!
 
Last edited:
ESPN: Ejiofor has the size and length to set the edge, but he's not a physical tone-setter. He is a crafty and productive pass-rusher who grades out as a rotational backup LDE with the versatility to kick inside on passing downs.

Rotoworld: Texans selected Wake Forest DE Duke Ejiofor with the No. 177 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft. Ejiofor (6’4/264) was a two-year starter and three-year contributor for the Demon Deacons, tallying 41 career tackles for loss and 23.5 sacks. Ejiofor tore the labrum in his right shoulder early last October and played through it, still logging 43 QB pressures but seeing his sack total dip from 10.5 as a junior to 6.5 as a senior. Ejiofor had surgery in February and suffered two known concussions in college. When healthy, Ejiofor is a long-armed (34 7/8") finesse rusher whose toughness was questioned by scouts.

CBS Sports: (A) NFL-sized DE who can kick inside to DT to rush the passer. Long, heavy hands he uses well. Not twitchy but powerful. Awesome DL depth. | Long-limbed. Frequently uses swipe/swim to keep offensive linemen away from his frame. before they get into his body. More of fluid athlete than twichy one. Not great deal of bend or dip around the edge, and he has tendency to slow down at pass-rushing apex. Awareness and hand use work wonders against the run. With some coaching, he can be a quality, well-rounded player.

SI: Scouting Report: Ejoifor won with an unusually advanced set of pass-rush moves at the collegiate level; he’s nuanced, efficient and creative when it comes to hand usage. The question is how well it will work at the NFL level, since Ejiofor is a middling athlete. His draft season has also been complicated by labrum surgery. He carries some risk, but his advanced game might allow him to step in as a quality No. 2 pass rusher.

 
zshawn10 said:
Rotoworld: Texans selected Wake Forest DE Duke Ejiofor with the No. 177 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft. Ejiofor (6’4/264) was a two-year starter and three-year contributor for the Demon Deacons, tallying 41 career tackles for loss and 23.5 sacks. Ejiofor tore the labrum in his right shoulder early last October and played through it, still logging 43 QB pressures but seeing his sack total dip from 10.5 as a junior to 6.5 as a senior. Ejiofor had surgery in February and suffered two known concussions in college. When healthy, Ejiofor is a long-armed (34 7/8") finesse rusher whose toughness was questioned by scouts.
Click to expand...


Dude plays thru a labrum tear and you question his toughness ..... that's talking heads for you.
 
Texans Wire



Texans land Wake Forest EDGE Duke Ejiofor with 6th round pick
Share on FacebookTweetShare on WhatsappShare by Email




With their first selection in the 6th round of the 2018 NFL Draft the Houston Texans select Wake Forest EDGE Duke Ejiofor.

dukeejiofor_dd2.png







The 6-3, 264-pound pass rusher is a Houston native and was generally projected to be a fourth or fifth-round pick. He primarily played with a hand in the dirt for the Demon Deacons but his size and length will allow him to transition to outside linebacker in Romeo Crennel’s defense.



Texanswire.usatoday.com
 
I know many think Jacksonville has a fearsome D, but so do Texans.
AFC South teams must be spitting chips that we didn't have a 1st or 2nd in this draft but still got Justin Reid and Duke Ejiofor on defense. :)
 
A study co-written by Dr. James Andrews in 2014 showed that the return to play % was high for NFL athletes........~90%. However, the average time from surgery was ~8.5 months..........a rookie missing those important months will not play well towards his potential production for 2018.
 
Texans got the guy I wanted the Bears to draft Edge Duke Ejiofor from Wake Forest

— Greg Gabriel (@greggabe) April 28, 2018



Top 100 players still available:
DT Maurice Hurst
WR Equanimeous St. Brown
OT Tyrell Crosby
DE Ogbo Okoronkwo
DE Duke Ejiofor
DT Foley Fatukasi https://t.co/7gjGwDGY5i

— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) April 28, 2018



Duke Ejiofor in the 6th is crazy. Texans got Clowney, Watt, Mercilus and Ejiofor

— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) April 28, 2018
 
I read that he had labrum surgery, so I'll be impressed if the Texans get any meaningful production.
 
Watching this kid and wondering how he fell to the 6th round. Not to sound like a downer but it has to be medical. His tape looks like a 2nd or 3rd round talent.
 
AngryNateFTW said:
Watching this kid and wondering how he fell to the 6th round. Not to sound like a downer but it has to be medical. His tape looks like a 2nd or 3rd round talent.
Click to expand...
I think that CnD hit it right on the money upthread... his value is unknown at this point
 
AngryNateFTW said:
Everything I've read says he will be ready for training camp. If that's the case, why would he fall to the 6th? Being ready for training camp is a good thing.
Click to expand...

It will come out why he fell... but medical is probably a big part
 
I like this pick a lot.
This guy is more than intriguing - once his shoulder injury is fully rehabbed, he will most likely start contributing immediately.
I like this guys upside. He is said to have advanced hand skills for a college recruit and that augers well for a rookie.
His rush needs work, but he was getting the job done in college with his technique.
Some coaching from RAC could see this dude become an effective Texan in short order.
The main question on him right now is how long will his shoulder take to get back up to speed? He had his surgery mid February. Calling CnD...
 
Texansphan said:
I like this pick a lot.
This guy is more than intriguing - once his shoulder injury is fully rehabbed, he will most likely start contributing immediately.
I like this guys upside. He is said to have advanced hand skills for a college recruit and that augers well for a rookie.
His rush needs work, but he was getting the job done in college with his technique.
Some coaching from RAC could see this dude become an effective Texan in short order.
The main question on him right now is how long will his shoulder take to get back up to speed? He had his surgery mid February. Calling CnD...
Click to expand...

Answered this earlier:

CloakNNNdagger said:
A study co-written by Dr. James Andrews in 2014 showed that the return to play % was high for NFL athletes........~90%. However, the average time from surgery was ~8.5 months..........a rookie missing those important months will not play well towards his potential production for 2018.
Click to expand...

Another July 2016 study of Div I players was published in the Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine gives us additional breakdowns:

177 shoulder injuries in 153 athletes were identified and met inclusion criteria. Overall, 85.4% of players who underwent arthroscopic surgery without concomitant procedures returned to play. 82.4% of players who underwent anterior labral repair, 88.7% of those that underwent posterior labral repair, and 84.8% who underwent combined anterior-posterior repair returned to sport. Categorized by depth chart position, 93.3% of starters, 95.4% of utilized players, and 75.7% of rarely used players returned to play. The percentage of games played in by athletes prior to injury was 49.9%, and rose to 71.5% following surgery. Athletes who played in a higher percentage of games prior to injury (49.4 +/- 43.4%) were more likely to return to play than athletes who played in a fewer percentage of games (19.6 +/- 39.4%). Of the 42 athletes identified as starters prior to injury that returned to play, 98% continued as starters; 2% became utilized players. Of the 41 players that prior to injury were utilized, 49% became starters, 49% remained utilized, and 2% rarely played following surgery. For the 56 players identified as rarely playing pre-injury that returned to play, 36% became starters, 23% were utilized athletes, and 41% maintained their rarely playing status. Having a scholarship significantly correlated with RTP after surgery.
Click to expand...

The Texans have said that they plan to allot as much time as needed for Ejiofor to make a full recovery.
 
The Texans plan to allow as much time as he needs to make a full recovery. This would be out of character for the Texans org.
 
So much fun watching Duke play. Can get washed out at times against the run but more than makes up for it with his uncanny ability to get into the backfield using his wide array of tools not too many rookies come into the league having:

 
TheRealJoker said:
So much fun watching Duke play. Can get washed out at times against the run but more than makes up for it with his uncanny ability to get into the backfield using his wide array of tools not too many rookies come into the league having:

Click to expand...

He looks like Mercilus did coming out of college.

He needs to learn how to drop in coverage and be a bit more physical with TE's at the LOS. A redshirt season getting healthy and stronger may be the best thing for his career. I like his style of play though. Knowing how to set up an OT is half the battle and he already know how to do that.
 
Duke Ejiofor: The Dark Horse Of The Texans 2018 Draft
Texans 6th round pick could surprise you this season.


We know about Justin Reid and his knowledge of NFL defenses. We’ve heard about Keke Coutee’s agility and willingness to learn. And we are aware of Martinas Rankin’s injury, which may not be as positive but it is news in this dull part of the year.

One player from the Texans’ 2018 Draft we haven’t heard much about is OLB Duke Ejiofor.

Drafted in the 6th round, Ejiofor fell in the draft due to a lingering shoulder injury. His measurables and production are well above his draft position, yet teams will always be weary to
take a player who has an injury history.
***
https://www.battleredblog.com/2018/7/4/17521778/duke-ejiofor-the-dark-horse-of-the-texans-2018-draft

 
Duke Ejiofor, the defensive end from Wake Forest presently graded as a potential third-round pick by Draft Analyst, is recovering from successful surgery to repair a torn shoulder labrum.

It is believed the injury occurred during the Clemson game which took place on the first Saturday of October. The tear, which occurred in his right shoulder, affected Ejiofor the remainder of the year.

Entering the season, the senior was stamped as a second-day prospect by NFL scouts and finished with 43 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. Those numbers are a reduction from his junior campaign, when Ejiofor finished with 50 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks.

Ejiofor was forced to pull out of last month’s Senior Bowl due to the injury and won’t work out at the combine. It’s unlikely he’ll perform for scouts before the draft, but we’ve been advised he will be ready for training camp.

An athletic defensive front-seven prospect, Ejiofor compares favorably to Tarell Basham, the third-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts during the 2017 draft. Consistently effective against the run and pass, scouts love his versatility to line up as a 4-3 defensive end or 3-4 outside linebacker.
Click to expand...
http://draftanalyst.com/ejiofor-completes-successful-labrum-surgery

Tony Pauline
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
I don't expect him to be back by TC, especially since he played with a torn labrum and probably extended the injury. His surgery was Feb 10 of this year. The return to play on average would be expected to be closer to 8.5 months. In addition, he will have lost extremely important prep time for a rookie.

I addressed this in detail in a previous post.
Click to expand...

Damn CND, it's already rained on parades all over town, you don't have to pile on lol
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
I don't expect him to be back by TC, especially since he played with a torn labrum and probably extended the injury. His surgery was Feb 10 of this year. The return to play on average would be expected to be closer to 8.5 months. In addition, he will have lost extremely important prep time for a rookie.

I addressed this in detail in a previous post.
Click to expand...
thanks for info. We should have enough OLBs allowing
Ejiofor time he needs.
 
IDEXAN said:
Duke Ejiofor: The Dark Horse Of The Texans 2018 Draft
Texans 6th round pick could surprise you this season.


We know about Justin Reid and his knowledge of NFL defenses. We’ve heard about Keke Coutee’s agility and willingness to learn. And we are aware of Martinas Rankin’s injury, which may not be as positive but it is news in this dull part of the year.

One player from the Texans’ 2018 Draft we haven’t heard much about is OLB Duke Ejiofor.

Drafted in the 6th round, Ejiofor fell in the draft due to a lingering shoulder injury. His measurables and production are well above his draft position, yet teams will always be weary to
take a player who has an injury history.
***
https://www.battleredblog.com/2018/7/4/17521778/duke-ejiofor-the-dark-horse-of-the-texans-2018-draft
Click to expand...

CnnnD, I've been a big proponent of letting these NFL investments truly heal before putting them back on the field. It can't always be about the dollars, sometimes it should be 100% about the potential talent for the future.

Since Ejiofor's measurables were considered much higher than his draft position b/c of a shoulder injury (torn labrum) forced his drop, then the Texans should look at this as a potential draft steal and treat it as such. IR the guy for the season, let that torn labrum fully heal and give him the requisite time to rehab his injury and gain NFL weight/strength. Just treat him like a 2019 pick that didn't cost them a pick since a healthy version of this guy in the 2019 NFL Draft probably sets this team back a RD2 or 3 pick versus a 2018 RD6 pick.
 
Last edited:
OptimisticTexan said:
CnnnD, I've been a big proponent of letting these NFL investments truly heal before putting them back on the field. It can't always be about the dollars, sometimes it should be 100% about the potential talent for the future.

Since Ejiofor's measurables were considered much higher than his draft position b/c of a shoulder injury (torn labrum) forced his drop, then the Texans should look at this as a potential draft steal and treat it such. IR the guy for the season, let that torn labrum fully heal and give him the requisite time to rehab his injury and gain NFL weight/strength. Instead treat him like a 2019 pick that didn't cost them a pick since a healthy version of this guy in the 2019 NFL Draft probably sets this team back a RD2 or 3 pick versus a 2018 RD6 pick.
Click to expand...

Under the circumstances, that would be the smart approach. The one comment I would have is that, at least for some time, Ejiofor may not be able to man the right side, from which he mostly played in college because his right shoulder may not be able to handle the torque............this position change could be something which may have to be maintained the remainder of his NFL career depending on the results of his final rehab status.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top