Philadelphia is reportedly interested in the UCLA edge rusher.
NFL Draft week is here and so are plenty of rumors about this weekend’s possibilities.
The latest buzz comes from Tony Pauline, who typically seems to have accurate intel on the Philadelphia Eagles. He notably predicted the Cam Jurgens pick in 2022 and he was all over the Eagles’ interest in Quinyon Mitchell last year.
As it relates to the 2025 NFL Draft, Pauline says the Eagles could select UCLA edge rusher Oluwafemi Oladejo at pick No. 32. Via his SportsKeeda column (bold emphasis mine):
During the Senior Bowl, I mentioned that the San Francisco 49ers are very high on Oladejo, and that remains true. It’s also a topic I spoke about at length last week with Stephanie Sanchez during her 49 Karats podcast.
In conversations late last week, I was informed that Oladejo will end up being selected anywhere from pick 30 to 45. Besides the Niners, who hold pick 43, I’m told the Philadelphia Eagles with the last pick in Round 1, as well as the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots at the top of Round 2, are possibilities to pull the trigger on Oladejo.
We do know the Eagles brought Oladejo to Philly for an official pre-draft visit. Here’s what we wrote at the time:
The 21-year-old originally played for Cal from 2021-2022 before transferring to UCLA. He changed positions from off-ball linebacker to edge rusher (a reverse Zack Baun, if you will) during the 2024 season. Oladejo finished last year with 14 TFLs and 4.5 sacks.
Oladejo’s limited body of work rushing the passer makes him an interesting player to project at the NFL level. Perhaps he’s only scratching the surface of his upside.
The Eagles have been showing interest in multiple edge rusher prospects leading up to this year’s draft. Oladejo just might wind up landing in Philly.
Oladejo’s NFL.com scouting report has him projected as a third-round pick. He’s the No. 111 prospect ranked by Pro Football Focus.
But perhaps the Eagles and/or other teams are considerably higher on Oladejo’s outlook. The Birds drafted Jalyx Hunt in part because Vic Fangio really liked him. Maybe Fangio has high hopes for Oladejo.
It’s also possible this report is a #smokescreen. We’ll see.
For now, it’s an interesting note to monitor.
