2nd Round Pass Rushers: The NFL Has a Problem

Sure, I am not a fan of the Femi Oladejo, but the NFL has an issue that is tied to the Tennessee Titans: 2nd Round Pass Rushers

I have made no bones about it, I wasn’t a fan of Femi Oladejo’s tape heading into the draft and despite my pleas, the Tennessee Titans decided to use their second round pick after trading back on him. People will say he is a very raw prospect, but in all reality he is essentially this, if Krang was a baby:

He’s not dumb by any means, but raw doesn’t begin to describe in accuracy the newness he really showed on tape, but also has shown on the preseason. You see flashes of what the Titans saw…in the run game…but not really pass rushing. His best game in the preseason came lining up against UDFA Rookie Tackle Logan Brown, who had some of the most awful tape I have ever seen and one of the more putrid OT games in the NFL. Remember, I have watched NPF, Dennis Daley, Andre Dillard…etc…all play games here.

This isn’t really an article bashing Oladejo though. God, I hope I am wrong about Femi, likely won’t be. But, no, the Femi pick is more indicative of an NFL wide issue that seems to be plaguing decision makers: drafting pass rushers in the second round.

The 2025 Draft

The 2026 draft is shaping up a lot like the 2024 draft, pass rusher heavy. We still got a long ways to go, but the early signs are pointing towards a draft class filled with lots of pass rushers. Here’s the thing though about having a lot of options…those options tend to let a GM take more risks. You suffer Choice Overload or the Paradox of Choice.

Now everything that falls under this Paradox isn’t going to apply in the NFL, but here’s why more choices doesn’t equal better decisions:

• Increase anxiety. The more options available, the more pressure you feel to make the "perfect" choice.

• Lead to decision fatigue. The mental energy required to process multiple options depletes your cognitive resources.

• Create regret and dissatisfaction. Even after choosing, you may feel unsure whether you made the best decision, leading to lingering doubt.

• Cause avoidance or procrastination. When a decision feels too complicated, you may put it off indefinitely.

I think if you were to apply this to the Titans this last draft, you could say they succumbed to the last two. I think they regret not drafting Isaac TeSlaa, knowing full well that everyone say everything you’d need to see in a prospect to feel safe he would be a dude at this level. He has shown that. I think avoidance and procrastination came into play in a different way. They put off taking a WR, but because they traded back, they created a situation where they drafted the 9th pass rusher in the draft and the 15th best on the Consensus Big Boards. This caused a ripple effect in the rest of their draft and they had one of the worst drafts relative to value according to the consensus big boards.

In all reality, Femi was a 3rd round or later guy. No way around it, it was a reach. But they’re not alone in making this mistake.

2020-2024 Data: Sacks

The NFL is rarely finding value and success in the second round of the draft with the players they decide are worthy of that pick. Often times, they’re valuing athletic traits and overvaluing their coaching staff’s ability to develop players. It’s easy to be hypnotized by body beautiful players. But all these traits and no production has rarely worked out in the NFL.

I have been a big proponent of three things that make a successful EDGE rush at every round:

• Year-to-Year Consistency

• Production

• Athleticism

Even if you’re not Abdul Carter levels of production, but if you’re consistently an 8 sack guy in college, you’ll likely find success at the next level. However, teams tend to avoid those guys in the second round, and to a lesser extent in the first round. So, what I did is take the last five drafts and look at what the latest trends tell us about this strategy of taking EDGE rushers in the second round.

So, I took every pass rusher drafted from 2020-2024 in the second round and looked at their final year of college sack total and then looked at their rookie year in the NFL in the same stat. From there it was looking at their career years. Growth/decline rates were calculated year -to-year, and then taking into account the aggregate data of those growth rates.

TL;DR…it ain’t good y’all.

Again, while this isn’t a Titans issue, it doesn’t bode well for Femi Oladejo’s outlook no matter how you try to slice it. Here’s the interactive chart for your viewing pleasure: