Ravens' David Ojabo: "I want to go to battle with this group of guys"

Baltimore Ravens edge rusher and second-year player David Ojabo appeared on the latest episode of The Lounge (the official podcast of the team) published on Tuesday, July 18, and shared some interesting thoughts about the squad and mostly the defensive side of the team.

Ojabo was drafted by the Ravens but went through a tough rookie season in which he could only appear in two games following the recovery from an ankle injury he suffered at Michigan's Pro Day right before the NFL draft.

That sucked, but that also made it possible for him and the Ravens to create this beautiful partnership as Ojabo slipped through the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft and into the second day when he was finally selected by Baltimore with the 45th overall pick.

Ojabo was activated by the Ravens in November of last year and appeared in two regular-season games (at Cleveland and at Cincinnati) as well as in the postseason (at Cincinnati again) logging just 23 defensive snaps combined but still getting to sack Joe Burrow once.

As transcribed by Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, Ojabo said that he is "focused on what the Ravens defense can do during the 2023 season." The edge rusher is paying all of his attention to "what the unit needs to do" in order for Baltimore's defense "to ensure they can reach their full potential."

"We all feed off each other. You just feel it when everybody’s clicking. I feel that’s what we have in the locker room now. We just gotta put it on paper. Can’t talk too much, that’s how people get caught up. Don’t talk about it, man. When the pads come on, when the lights come on, when it’s showtime, go put on a show."

- David Ojabo (h/t Pro Football Talkl)

The second-year man also said that with the group of players that are part of the Ravens' defense, he "just want to go to battle with them," and "that's really how I feel."

Ojabo touched on other multiple topics, including his transition to football and his upbringing and unique roots as a Scottish-Nigerian football player. Ojabo, who spent three seasons at Michigan with the Wolverines, didn't play at all in his freshman year over there.

The rusher appeared in six games during the 2020 season making one tackle, and finally took over a starter role in 2021 before leaving college early in order to add his name to the draft and hear his name called by the Ravens in the spring of 2022, officially becoming a member of the Flock.

We wish Ojabo the best entering 2023 and surely hope he can stay healthy for the full campaign. If that's the case and he can play most (if not all) of the games on the Ravens' schedule, there is nothing on his way to becoming one of the best performers donning Baltimore threads out there on gridirons across the nation on a weekly basis.

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