Brian

Asamoah

The Vikings took Asamoah in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft but failed to find a role for him on defense. He did, however, develop into a high-volume contributor on special teams. Asamoah was active for all 17 games last year and logged 321 special teams snaps. That will likely be his path to sticking on the Titans’ roster.

Asamoah was selected with the 66th overall pick by the Vikings and was a starter in each of his final two seasons at Oklahoma. A former Butkus Award semifinalist in 2021, Asamoah has a chance to see significant snaps as a rookie and should contribute on special teams as well. His deal is worth $5.49 million and includes a signing bonus of $1.17 million.

Asamoah (6’0/226) was a two-year starter who led the Sooners in tackles both campaigns while being named a Butkus semifinalist in 2021. An athletic, undersized linebacker, Asamoah is a sideline-to-sideline presence in run defense. He has a knack for picking through traffic and evading blockers on his path to the ball. He lacks length and thus tackling radius, but he is a more efficient tackler than most his size, is dangerous on the blitz, and is a proven special-teamer. His lack of play strength shows up when offensive linemen can square him up, and Asamoah is surprisingly poor in coverage, with zero passes defended or interceptions in 2021. He’s an off-brand Patrick Queen.

Buffalo signed EDGE Von Miller this offseason, but could still add more defensive studs via the draft. Of this group, Winfrey is the highest touted player, and added to his hype during Senior Bowl week. He has been mocked to the first round by some analysts, and NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah ranked him as the 45th best player in this year’s draft. Both Bonitto and Asamoah are projected Day 2 picks.

Some scouts believe Asamoah (6'1"/228) doesn’t possess the size to run through guards and centers, but his speed should help him in coverage against tight ends. CBS’ Chris Trapasso likes his ability to back into the backfield along with his quick movements. He believes this will allow Asamoah to run a sub-4.5-second 40-yard dash at the combine. If he can show off his speed and ability to cover, he could be a valuable linebacker in a 3-4 defense that usually possesses more speedy players at that position.

Asamoah (6'1/228) announced via his personal Twitter account on Wednesday that he would be entering the 2022 NFL Draft, and also skipping the team’s Alamo Bowl game against Oregon on December 29th. This season, Asamoah recorded 87 tackles including 14 quarterback pressures, one sack and three forced fumbles per Pro Football Focus. He received a grade of 76.3 on the season per PFF, and now sets his sights toward the NFL. His departure for the NFL only adds to head coach Brent Venables’ challenges heading into 2022, as he not only has to navigate the recent de-commitment of several recruits, but the loss of players declaring for the NFL.

The big news out of Norman on Monday was the knee injury suffered by redshirt senior Caleb Kelly, and it’s feared that he suffered a torn ACL. That leaves a gaping hole next to DaShaun White at inside linebacker, as Kelly was expected to take over as the leader of the Oklahoma defense now that Kenneth Murray is in the NFL. So who fills that void? It’s expected that Asamoah (6'1, 230) will be first up, as he appeared in 13 games (23 total tackles) in 2019. Another possibility is moving senior Jon-Michael Terry back inside, but the general consensus has Asamoah being that guy next to White.