STRENGTHS - Okafor has very good height and should be able to add weight to his already solid frame. He is consistently one of the first players moving at the snap as he demonstrates a solid burst off the ball and can threaten the edge.
WEAKNESSES - Okafor looks stiff and robotic in his movements as he tends to play upright with poor knee bend and flexibility. He seems tight in the hips which is most noticeable on zone drops and when trying to turn the corner on pass rushes. Although he gets off the ball well he lacks the speed and agility to consistently finish and lacks a variety of pass rush moves. He tends to let blockers get into his frame and control him at the LOS, and must improve his hand usage significantly. Too often he is sucked inside by PA fakes and he lacks the acceleration and speed to recover off false steps.
SUMMARY - Alex Okafor was a huge disappointment to evaluate as he clearly is not the athlete some have made him out to be. Because of his limitations NFL teams are likely to struggle finding a natural NFL position for him; his poor leverage and knee bend not only hurts his ability to operate in space, but also makes him an easy assignment on run plays. In the games I viewed he struggled with most all blocks, whether he faced a tackle head on, a tight end down blocking or a fullback lead-blocking. He is also not a consistent pass rushing threat, as despite his ability to get off the ball with excellent burst he can't turn the corner and accelerate to the QB and lacks the hand usage to string together a variety of moves. If he can improve his leverage and hand usage he may be able to carve out a career as a backup but he lacks the upside to warrant selection higher than the 2nd half of day three. .