The first difference between Julian Okwara and his older brother, Detroit Lions edge rusher Romeo Okwara, is fairly obvious to big bro.
“I’d say he’s a much better athlete than I am,” Romeo Okwara, 24, a former Giant, told the News on the phone Thursday from southern California with a chuckle.
“He’s speaking facts for sure,” Julian Okwara, 22, a pass rusher out of Notre Dame just like Romeo before him, confirmed with a laugh in a separate call from Charlotte, N.C.
“He’s definitely faster than I am, did a bunch more reps than I did on the bench press at the combine,” Romeo said (27 to 23). “He can do a lot of backflips. That’s something I can’t do.”
“I just kind of learned how to do that,” Julian said, ho-hum. “Romeo used to flip me off his leg and I’d do backflips in the pool all the time. Then I just started practicing them on the ground.”
Impressive, but that isn’t the talent that projects Okwara as high as a second-round pick in next week’s NFL Draft. The skill he has that teams covet is much more concretely rooted in football:
In Julian’s own words? “I can cause pressure on the quarterback and wreak havoc,” he said.
In the modern NFL, if a franchise quarterback is the most important commodity, the second most critical player is one that can put the other team’s QB on his back.
Giants fans know Romeo Okwara can do it. As an undrafted free agent rookie, he had his picture plastered on the Daily News back page, lying on top of Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, after recording eight tackles and a sack in place of the injured Jason Pierre-Paul.
The Giants won that game, 10-7, on Dec. 11, 2016, at MetLife Stadium. They have not beaten the Cowboys since.
They released Romeo in Sept. 2018, and the Lions claimed him off waivers after liking what they saw in joint preseason practices with New York. He then signed a three-year, $6.8 million extension in the spring of 2019.
Julian Okwara’s 6-4, 252-pound frame, athleticism, rushing ability, range and upside to add weight and seasoning to his game are all tantalizing elements for GM’s evaluating.
He was born in London (as one of four siblings), moved with his family from Nigeria when he was eight years old, and didn’t even start playing football until the eighth grade.
Romeo enrolled at Notre Dame at age 16, so they were never in high school or college together despite being only 2 1/2 years apart in age. But Romeo’s NFL success and filled-out frame provide a promising blueprint for GMs evaluating his younger brother. And Julian’s ceiling projects even higher.
He demonstrated production in 2018 at Notre Dame with eight sacks, 12.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and an interception. He was not as consistent in 2019, but his senior season also was cut short to nine games by a broken left fibula. He had four sacks, six tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and a blocked kick, and was a captain.
The Giants are one of many teams who have shown interest. They drafted Okwara’s teammate, defensive back Julian Love, in last year’s third round.
Okwara didn’t do any workouts at the NFL Combine other than the bench press. But here’s the best news: he’s healthy after rehabbing at EXOS in Arizona into mid-March, and he made a video this spring at Notre Dame so teams could see it for themselves.
“Back in South Bend, Ind., I was able to put together a film, doing footwork and showing them I’m healthy,” he said. “A lot of teams were able to get that. I’m telling them I’m 100% and ready to go.”
Romeo Okwara said this is what teams will be getting in his younger brother that they might not fully understand yet.
“He’s a really hard worker,” he said. “Watching him come back from his injury, his mindset through the whole thing. He’s been impressive to watch. He’s been calm and collected and improving, and that’s all he has on his mind.”
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Julian said he’s been working out recently at Architech Sports in Charlotte, where they’re keeping the training group small to about six people and ramping up to the NFL offseason safely during the coronavirus shutdown.
“People who really want it are gonna put in the time and find somewhere to train,” he said. “People who won’t will make excuses … I think it’s about staying level-headed and having the same mindset and coming in. We’re all new to this. You just have to find the best resources, find something that works. I was lucky enough to find facilities. It’s just a matter of putting the effort in.”
Okwara played mostly as a stand-up, 4-3 defensive end in a hybrid scheme at Notre Dame. But scouts also believe he could handle 3-4 outside linebacker duties due to his athleticism and ball skills, which would slot him as a possible fit in the Giants’ new scheme under defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
Some teams’ biggest concern with Okwara is that he did not demonstrate in college on a down-by-down basis that he can be stout against the run. But he does not believe he’s just a pass rusher. He said teams will find out he can do both.
“I think I’m a defensive end,” he said. “I can stop the run, set the edge, create pressure. I’m open to playing linebacker, but as long as I’m putting pressure on the QB and stopping the run, I see myself as a defensive end.”
Romeo said like himself, Julian also is “very curious” off the field, as well.
Romeo is an avid photographer, traveler, musician, and socially aware citizen, for example. He recently bought groceries for some families in Detroit to help weather the coronavirus shutdown, and he donated to Detroit-based non-profit Empowerment Plan, which is helping to make masks for healthcare workers.
Julian, a Notre Dame graduate just like his brother, is headed in a similar direction.
“Romeo likes to travel and explore and get to know new people, and I’m similar to that,” he said. “He got me to invest in a camera. I bought it a couple of weeks ago. I love taking pictures, to capture memories. I like cooking, too.”
First, though, football. And perhaps not just following in Romeo’s footsteps but taking an even larger step forward — upfield, that is, to terrorize quarterbacks.