Improving the pass rush was one of the San Francisco 49ers‘ priorities this offseason, and their addition of Osa Odighizuwa reflects that focus.
Odighizuwa was a key piece of the Dallas Cowboys‘ defensive front in 2025, logging 691 defensive snaps. He finished the season with a 65.9 defensive grade from PFF and consistently disrupted opposing quarterbacks.
The veteran defensive tackle totaled 52 pressures, including three sacks, 20 QB hits, and 29 hurries. Against the run, Odighizuwa contributed 20 solo tackles while helping anchor the interior of Dallas’ defensive line.
Ahead of Odighizuwa’s first season with the Niners, Grant Cohn of 49ers on SI shared what he’s seeing from the veteran defensive line amid ongoing OTAs for the team.
“[Odighizuwa is] different,” Cohn said in a May 30 video on his YouTube channel. “He’s smaller, [but] he’s absolutely chiseled, though. He’s in great shape [and] he practices hard, and it seems like he’s one of these rare veterans on the 49ers who is actually going to set a tone and show up every day…
“Osa was one of the veterans out there going through everything and talking to all the young players. It was interesting to watch Gracen Halton and CJ West go up to him one after another, and he would have so much to say. I didn’t know what he was saying. I’m not allowed to talk about what he’s saying. I didn’t even hear what he was saying, but he was clearly coaching up the young players.”
49ers’ Osa Odighizuwa Is Setting the Example
Moreover, with the 49ers having a young defense, Odighizuwa will have to step into a leadership role, as the only other veteran on the line is Nick Bosa. Nonetheless, it appears the former Cowboys standout is stepping up and setting the tone.
“They need guys who are actual leaders and not just captains in name,” Cohn added. “It seems like Osa Odighizuwa is that kind of guy. Again, the defensive line needs that player because their best player is Nick Bosa, who spends the offseason in Florida.
“Other than Bosa, who do they have on the defensive line who’s a veteran? Sam Okuayinonu, who isn’t really qualified to give that kind of advice to young players. And at defensive tackle in particular, there are a lot of young players who can learn from Osa Odighizuwa.”
Osa Odighizuwa Ready to Play Cowboys
Odighizuwa wants to get off to a good start with his new team. Nonetheless, the defensive lineman won’t have to wait long to face the team that traded him away this offseason, as the Niners and Cowboys will play on Nov. 15 at AT&T Stadium. On the May 19 edition of “The Richard Sherman Podcast,” Odighizuwa didn’t hold back on facing Dallas later this year.
“Speaking to the [49ers-Cowboys] rivalry, this is a game that for a long time I was, this is the game that I mean, it’s like you’ve got a picture on a dartboard and you’re throwing knives at it,” Odighizuwa told Sherman. “Now I just take down that picture and I put up the other one, and I’m on the other side of it, but the energy is exactly the same.”
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