Former UCLA shot putter turned interior defensive lineman who has battled injuries throughout his NFL career.
Otito Ogbonnia brought a rare athletic background, including a stint as a college shot putter, into a defensive tackle career with the Chargers. Injuries have interrupted several of his seasons, including a significant chunk of 2025.
Path to the league
Ogbonnia played four seasons at UCLA, starting all 12 games in 2021 with career highs of 30 tackles and two sacks. He also competed on the Bruins' track and field team as a shot putter, winning the 2019 Pan American U20 Championships. Los Angeles drafted him in the fifth round, 160th overall, of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Career highlights
A ruptured patellar tendon cost Ogbonnia most of his rookie season in 2022. He battled back to post a career-high 21 tackles in 2023 across eight games, then started all 17 games in 2024 with 37 tackles, showing durability before his 2025 injury setback.
2025 season recap
Ogbonnia suffered an elbow injury in Week 7 against the Colts and was placed on injured reserve, missing five games before being activated in early December ahead of a matchup with the Eagles. His availability was limited for a significant stretch of the season.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Otito Ogbonnia
- Pro Football Reference: Otito Ogbonnia
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Defense
9 games played▶Defense · career
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | SACK | INT | FF | FR | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | chargers | 9 | 10 | 7 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | chargers | 17 | 37 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | chargers | 8 | 21 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | chargers | 7 | 14 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Defensive Tackle
- Group
- defense
- College
- UCLA
- Hometown
- Houston, TX, USA
- Age
- 25
- Status
- active
