Mizzou’s Okwuegbunam reunites with Lock in Denver as Broncos’ 4th-round NFL Draft pick
A second former Missouri Tigers player was selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, with Mizzou tight end Albert Okwuegbunam picked by Denver in the fourth round Saturday. He’s the latest addition to the Broncos’ offense in their quest to catch up to the Super Bowl-champion Chiefs in the loaded AFC West.
And “Albert O” will have a familiar face alongside him in the Mile High City: former MU and Lee’s Summit High quarterback Drew Lock.
“It’s awesome,” Okwuegbunam said Saturday in a teleconference call. “I can’t even explain how fired up I am to get into this new offense — just to have that chemistry, that trust and confidence kind of already established there. (I’m) obviously going to have to learn a new offense and get comfortable with that.”
Okwuegbunam’s selection at No. 118 overall follows that of Missouri defensive tackle Jordan Elliott on Friday by the Cleveland Browns in the third round at No. 88 overall. This is the 16th straight NFL Draft in which at least one Tiger has been picked.
While multiple mock drafts had multiple former Tigers picked in the later rounds, none were chosen by the time the 255-pick draft concluded. Mizzou finished with just two players selected in Elliott and Okwuegbunam.
Okwuegbunam, 22, was one of the more polarizing prospects in this year’s draft. While he’s plenty athletic — his 4.49-second 40-yard dash time at the NFL Scouting Combine wooed some scouts — there were also questions about his hands and blocking ability.
Labeled a possible boom-or-bust prospect, Okwuegbunam had a strong start to the Tigers’ 2019 season, including a stretch of five touchdowns in four games. But when the Mizzou offense started to struggle, so did Okwuegbunam. He had just 10 receptions for 66 yards receiving and one touchdown in MU’s final six games of the season. Part of that was owning to a shoulder injury.
After redshirting his freshman year, the 6-foot-5, 258-pound Okwuegbunam was an immediate threat — especially near the end zone. In his redshirt freshman season in 2017, Okwuegbunam hauled in 29 catches for 415 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was named to the All-SEC second team and All-SEC freshman team.
Okwuegbunam continued his solid play in 2018, but he missed the final four games of the season because he broke a bone in his shoulder in a game against Florida. Still, he was a finalist for the Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top collegiate tight end.
Entering the 2019 season, Okwuegbunam was a preseason All-America selection. He could’ve elected to declare for the NFL Draft after the Tigers’ 2018 campaign but chose to stay in Columbia.
The Broncos spent their first two picks of this year’s draft loading up on prime pass-catching targets for Lock: receiver Jerry Jeudy of Alabama in Round 1 and wideout K.J. Hamler from Penn State in Round 2. Okwuegbunam joins a tight end corps headlined by 2019 first-rounder Noah Fant of Iowa.
“Off the field, we’re brothers,” Okwuegbunam said of Lock. “We get along great and I think that really translated on the field. Being with him at Missouri, I just felt like a lot of the times, tough situations, I was the guy he felt comfortable just knowing that he would have an open throw to me.”
Several former Tigers were hoping to hear their names called but found themselves as undrafted free agents.
Those former Mizzou players who went undrafted are: quarterback Kelly Bryant; offensive linemen Yasir Durant, Trystan Colon-Castillo and Tre’Vour Wallace-Sims; linebacker Cale Garrett; cornerback DeMarkus Acy; punter/kicker Tucker McCann; and wide receivers Richaud Floyd, Jonathan Nance and Johnathon Johnson.
Here are the former Tigers signing with teams after the draft.
MU undrafted free agents
Offensive lineman Trystan Colon-Castillo is signing with the Baltimore Ravens, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Punter/kicker Tucker McCann is headed to Nashville with the Tennessee Titans, his agent announced on Twitter.
Linebacker Cale Garrett is also going to the Titans, Matt Derrick of Chiefs Digest reported.
Cornerback DeMarkus Acy is going to the San Francisco 49ers, he confirmed on Twitter.
Offensive lineman Yasir Durant is headed to the Super Bowl-champion Chiefs, as first reported by The Athletic.
Offensive lineman Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms tweeted that he’s signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Safey Ronnell Perkins confirmed on Twitter he’s getting a shot with the 49ers.
Wide receiver Johnathon Johnson is headed to Washington, as reported by The Athletic.
This story was originally published April 25, 2020 at 12:11 PM.