Defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa was a little surprised when the Dallas Cowboys traded him to the San Francisco 49ers in March. Rather than dwell on the Cowboys seemingly no longer wanting him, he focused on the positives. The 49ers clearly wanted him on their roster.
Odighizuwa made an immediate impact in his 49ers debut last week against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia. The defensive tackle tallied a team-high five pressures, two tackles, and four quarterback hits. His 74.3 pass-rush grade from Pro Football Focus was the highest of the game.
Odighizuwa joined Bay Area radio station KNBR on Tuesday morning and shared why he has so much confidence heading into his sixth NFL season and first with the 49ers, especially after joining a defense featuring so many established star playmakers.
"It was dope," Odighizuwa said. "I feel like that was something that was exciting just in terms of coming to this team in the first place, having guys like [DE] Nick [Bosa], like [LB] Fred [Warner], and [LB] Dre [Greenlaw] was brought back.
"And just knowing that I was going to be on the field with guys like that is something that definitely gives you some confidence, because it's always great as an interior guy when you have a great edge rusher to rush with."
Coming from the Cowboys, Odighizuwa already knows what it means to be part of a major rivalry. That experience continues in the NFC West, although he now has some different teams to contend with.
Odighizuwa got his first taste of one of the NFC West's long-standing rivalries last week, when San Francisco beat the Rams 27-7. He was asked about his first glimpse of what he will face in a loaded division.
"It was good," Odighizuwa said. "I am big on the other side is always the enemy. So coming in, being a part of this team, just knowing what we got to get done, knowing that we have a loaded division, knowing that it's going to come down to the wire, it makes it exciting.
"Not to the wire, but you know what I mean. You have to do really well in this division to make it to the playoffs. So just knowing all of those things, and knowing that it's a very competitive division, is something that was exciting."
Odighizuwa and the 49ers defense will look to build on their impressive debut this weekend when they host the Miami Dolphins at Levi's Stadium. San Francisco will be looking to improve to 2-0 to start the season.
Mentioned in this article: Nick Bosa, Dre Greenlaw, Osa Odighizuwa, Fred Warner
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