The San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints have been looking at a number of different players heading into the NFL draft at the end of April and one of the most intriguing is former London Olympian Lawrence Okoye, who has turned the heads of many scouts in the NFL.
According to NFL.com, the 21-year-old held a workout in London on Wednesday for scouts as he tries to make the NFL and he did a number of drills at London's Soccerdome. Okoye is a former Olympian that came in 12th in the discus finals at the London Olympics and he likely would play defensive end in the league if he makes it to the NFL.
Okoye has some amazing measurable at 6-foot-6, 308-pounds and according to NFL.com, a "double-digit number of teams" are interested in him, including the Saints and 49ers, who hosted visits with him previously.
Okoye has never played football before, but his size and athleticism seems to be a good fit for the league and many feel that he would be successful as a DE. He worked out at the NFL Super Regional Combine in Dallas and put up excellent numbers, making teams interested in drafting him. The NFL is trying to extend itself into England by having games there during the season and Okoye would only help grow the game.
"It would be pretty audacious of me to say I should be drafted when I've never played a down of American football before," Okoye said. "But it's a crazy world and we'll see what happens. I'm sure I will be with an NFL team either through the draft or via free agency and the important thing is that I get in the right program and continue to progress as much as possible.
