Browns' Oshinowo eager to prove worth
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Mary Kay Cabot
Plain Dealer Reporter
Browns sixth-round pick Baba Oshinowo is out to make the team forget they ever thought about drafting top-rated nose tackle Haloti Ngata.
Oshinowo, out of Stanford, is the extra player the Browns landed in the trade with Baltimore when they moved down a spot to No. 13 and allowed the Ravens to take Oregon's Ngata at No. 12. The Browns got the pass-rusher they coveted at No. 13 in Florida State's Kamerion Wimbley, and then got their noseguard in Oshinowo 169 picks later - 181st overall .
"I don't feel like the Browns lost anything by drafting me instead of Ngata," Oshinowo said at the recent rookie minicamp. "In my mind, we're on the same level. He's an amazing talent that attracts a lot of coaches, but I feel like, put in the same situations, I can do just as good a job."
Oshinowo, who's 6-1, 302 pounds, doesn't have Ngata's size (6-4, 338), but he feels he makes up for it on the field.
"I'll give you everything I have on every play," he said.
Browns General Manager Phil Savage, who made an almost unheard-of trade with a division rival, is convinced the Browns got the better end of the bargain.
"A combination of Babatunde and Kamerion Wimbley versus Haloti Ngata? I feel pretty good about how the trade worked out in the end," he said.
One draft expert, Rob Rang, a senior analyst for nfldraftscout.com, agreed.
"I love what the Browns did," said Rang. "It was stunning. They got their premier pass-rusher and they also got their noseguard of the future.
Oshinowo is a terrific value for them in the sixth round. I was surprised he fell that far."
Rang said Oshinowo slipped because he's a pure 3-4 nose tackle and only about six NFL teams play the scheme full time.
"Ngata and Baba were the top two noseguards in the draft and the Browns were fortunate to land one of them," he said.
But Rang disagreed with Oshinowo that he's on par with Ngata.
"There's no question that Ngata is the more gifted player," said Rang.
"Ngata is a rare talent who's expected to play at a Pro Bowl level. But he's also known for taking plays off and Baba isn't. So, the Browns might be better off in the long run."
Dave Tipton, Oshinowo's defensive line coach at Stanford and a former NFL defensive end, agreed with Oshinowo.
"Baba actually had better statistics than Ngata, and I don't think Ngata has Baba's work ethic," said Tipton.
In Oshinowo's final year at Stanford, he had 54 tackles, 10½ for a loss and 4½ sacks. In Ngata's final year at Oregon, he had 61 tackles, nine for a loss, three sacks, five pass breakups and two blocked kicks.
"The Browns are getting a heck of player and an even better person," said Tipton. "They got a steal in the sixth round. I'm the pro liaison and everyone I talked to had him slotted in the third round, some even in the second."
Tipton, who recruited Oshinowo, said the Browns would be hard-pressed to find a smarter, more talented player. His parents came from Nigeria in the 1970s. His father is a nuclear physicist, his mother is a computer specialist, and his older sister, Adeoti, is in her second year of medical school at Stanford and was an alternate on Great Britain's Olympic track team.
His younger brother, Timi, is a 6-7 offensive tackle in high school who's being recruited by Stanford. Oshinowa has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and is working on his master's degree.
"Baba is incredibly smart, but also tough," said Tipton. "He bench presses 520 pounds and he's a rock."
Ngata has the first-round pedigree, but Oshinowo feels he has something Ngata doesn't: the best mentor at the position in Ted Washington, who's expected to hold down the job for a year or two.
"It's cool to be able to learn from him because he's been doing it for 15 years," said Oshinowo. "And even if he didn't want to teach me at all, I can just see the things that he's doing well and apply what I can."
But what about the size difference? Washington is 6-5, 375.
"It's the technique that counts," said Browns coach Romeo Crennel. "If [Oshinowo] learns the technique, he'll be able to play at 310 or whatever.
Ted already knows it because he's played it for many years."
Oshinowo said he can get bigger if the Browns want him to, but he might not have to. "What I'd like him to weigh is what he can do the job best at," said Crennel.
Crennel said Oshinowo's conditioning was subpar during minicamp and that he'll be more impressive once it improves. Oshinowo vowed to work with strength coach John Lott and do whatever the Browns ask.
"I want to be a great player at this level," he said.
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