An interior pass-rushing force out of UCLA whose relentless pressure earned him an $80 million extension in Dallas.
Osa Odighizuwa is a defensive tackle who spent five seasons anchoring the Dallas Cowboys' interior pass rush after arriving as a third-round pick out of UCLA. His ability to consistently collapse the pocket from the inside made him one of the more productive young interior linemen in the league before he moved on from Dallas.
Path to the league
Odighizuwa played four seasons at UCLA before the Dallas Cowboys drafted him in the third round, 75th overall, in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Career highlights
Across five seasons with Dallas, Odighizuwa appeared in 84 games with 76 starts, totaling 216 tackles, 17.0 sacks and 81 quarterback hits. His consistent interior pressure led the Cowboys to sign him to a four-year, $80 million contract extension.
2025 season recap
Odighizuwa had one of his best seasons in 2025, leading all defensive tackles in the league with 23 quarterback hits and finishing with 52 total pressures, which ranked sixth among all defensive tackles per Pro Football Focus.
Sources
- Dallas Cowboys: Osa Odighizuwa
- 49ers.com: Osa Odighizuwa
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Defense
17 games played▶Defense · career
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | SACK | INT | FF | FR | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | cowboys | 17 | 44 | 16 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | cowboys | 17 | 47 | 25 | 4.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2023 | cowboys | 17 | 46 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | cowboys | 17 | 43 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | cowboys | 16 | 36 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Defensive Tackle
- Group
- defense
- College
- UCLA
- Hometown
- Portland, OR, USA
- Age
- 28
- Status
- active
