Chukwuma Okorafor

Chukwuma Okorafor (born August 8, 1997) is a Nigerian professional American football offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Western Michigan.[1]

Chukwuma Okorafor
No. 76 – Pittsburgh Steelers
Position:Offensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1997-08-08) August 8, 1997
Nigeria
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:320 lb (145 kg)
Career information
High school:Southfield
(Southfield, Michigan)
College:Western Michigan
NFL Draft:2018 / Round: 3 / Pick: 92
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2019
Games played:14
Games started:4
Player stats at NFL.com

Early life

Okorafor was born in Nigeria, and lived in South Africa and Botswana, before his family immigrated to the United States in 2010.[2][3]

College career

Okorafor played college football for Western Michigan from 2014 to 2017.[4] In 2016 and 2017, he was named to the All-MAC first team.[5][6] In 2017, he was named a FWAA First Team All-American.[7]

Professional career

On December 11, 2017, it was announced that Okorafor accepted his invitation to play in the Senior Bowl.[8] Okorafor sustained an injury during practice in preparation for the Senior Bowl and was expected to miss the game.[9][10] On January 27, 2018, Okorafor played in the 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl and was a part of Denver Broncos' head coach Vance Joseph's North team that lost 45–16 to Houston Texans' head coach Bill O'Brien's South team.[11] Okorafor attended private workouts and visits with the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles.[12] At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Okorafor was projected to be a third round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the sixth best offensive tackle in the draft by Sports Illustrated, was ranked the ninth best offensive tackle by DraftScout.com, and was ranked the 11th best offensive tackle by Scouts Inc.[13][14]

External video
Okorafor's NFL Combine Workout
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 6 in
(1.98 m)		 320 lb
(145 kg)		 34 1⁄2 in
(0.88 m)		 10 1⁄4 in
(0.26 m)		 5.31 s 1.85 s 3.07 s 4.80 s 7.87 s 23 1⁄2 in
(0.60 m)		 8 ft 6 in
(2.59 m)		 19 reps
All values from NFL Draft[15][16]

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Okorafor in the third round (92nd overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft. Okorafor was the 11th offensive tackle drafted in 2018.[17][18]

External video
Steelers draft Okorafor 92nd overall

On May 22, 2018, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Okorafor to a four-year, $3.40 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $812,364.[19]

On November 25, 2018, against the Denver Broncos, Okorafor made his first NFL start at right tackle due to injuries to Marcus Gilbert and Matt Feiler.[20][21] During the 2018 NFL season, he had also made two starts as a tight end, being used by the Steelers as an extra tackle.[22][23]

On November 10, 2019, against the Los Angeles Rams, Okorafor made his first start of the 2019 NFL season due to an injury to Ramon Foster.[24]

References
  1. "WMU offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor earns first-team All-America honors". MLive.com. December 12, 2017.
  2. "Okorafor fell in love with football". www.steelers.com.
  3. "Chukwuma Okorafor's soccer past helps him 'holding his own' in Steelers camp". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  4. "Chukwuma Okorafor - Football". Western Michigan University Athletics.
  5. "Broncos Receive Record Number of MAC Awards". Western Michigan University Athletics.
  6. "WMU Garners 12 All-MAC Recognitions, Phillips Named Special Teams POTY". Western Michigan University Athletics.
  7. "Okorafor Named First Team All-American by FWAA". Western Michigan University Athletics.
  8. "Rudolph among 18 to accept invites this week". SeniorBowl.com. December 11, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  9. Goodbread, Chase (January 22, 2018). "Senior Bowl: Shaquem Griffin determined to impress scouts". NFL.com. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  10. "Best NFL Draft Prospects Not at the 2018 Senior Bowl". BleacherReport.com. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  11. "Okorafor participates, Phillips sits with sprained ankle at 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl". westernherald.com. January 29, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  12. "DRAFT Eagles NewsWestern Michigan OT Chukwuma Okorafor has official visit scheduled with Eagles". 4thandjawn.com. March 21, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  13. "Chukwuma Okorafor, DS #9 OT, Western Michigan". draftscout.com. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  14. "The 2018 NFL Draft Big Board, Vol. 2". si.com. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  15. "NFL Draft Prospect Profile - Chukwuma Okorafor". nfl.com. March 1, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  16. "Western Michigan OT Chukwuma Okorafor : 2018 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  17. "2018 NFL Draft Results: Pittsburgh Steelers select Chukwuma Okorafor with third round pick". Behind The Steel Curtain. April 27, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  18. "Steelers sign Okorafor". Steelers.com. May 22, 2018.
  19. "OverTheCap.com: Chukwuma Okorafor contract". Overthecap.com. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  20. "Steelers rookie Chuks Okorafor plays 'butt off' in 1st start". November 25, 2018.
  21. "Steelers' Okorafor on living up to The Standard". ESPN.com. November 30, 2018.
  22. "Steelers' Chuks Okorafor confident after rookie season | TribLIVE.com". triblive.com.
  23. "Chuks Okorafor introduced to Steelers' 3rd tackle/tight end role". August 25, 2018.
  24. "How the Steelers will adjust their offensive line vs. the LA Rams with Ramon Foster in concussion protocol". pennlive. November 8, 2019.
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