Scouting New York Jets Defensive Lineman David Onyemata

In the run-up to the draft, we’ll be breaking down all of the players added by the Jets during free agency and in the legal tampering window. We continue today with defensive lineman David Onyemata.

The 33-year old Onyemata is listed at 6’3” and 300 pounds and was a fourth round pick out of Manitoba in 2016. Oyemata has started 115 games in his career, racking up over 400 tackles and 31 sacks.

Background

Onyemata is of Nigerian descent and immigrated to Canada in 2011 to attend the University on Manitoba. At the time, he had never seen a football game but he had an impressive college career which saw him win the JP Metras Trophy in his final season.

At the end of a college career that had seen him play 29 games in three seasons, Onyemata earned an invitation to the East West Shrine Game and started to earn some draft buzz. He had 151 tackles and 10 sacks in his college career.

During the 2016 NFL draft, the Saints selected Onyemata in the fourth round and he had 18 tackles in his rookie season but did not start any games. However, he started 10 games over the next two seasons, recording the first two sacks of his career in 2017 and then 4.5 more the following season.

From 2019 onwards, Onyemata has been a full-time starter. He played four more seasons with New Orleans, setting a career-high with 6.5 sacks in 2020.

For the past three seasons, he’s been a starter with Atlanta, averaging over 50 tackles per season and recording eight more sacks.

Oyemata was signed by the Jets in free agency on a one-year deal with a reported maximum value of $10.5 million.

Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Onyemata brings to the table, based on in-depth research and film study.

Measurables/Athleticism

Onyemata is listed at 300 by the Jets, which corresponds to his pro day measurement. He is likely heavier than that now, and was listed at 310 in recent seasons.

He has good length and is strong, having recorded 33 bench press reps at his pro day. His explosiveness numbers were also good and his agility numbers above average while he ran a 5.07 in the 40-yard dash. These numbers were recorded over a decade ago, of course.

Usage

Onyemata has primarily lined up in the B-gap during his career but he also lines up as a nose tackle at times and has been effective when he has done this. With Atlanta, he lined up outside more than he has in the past, albeit only a few times per game on average.

Motor

Onyemata is likely to have a rotational role with the Jets but is still capable of taking on a big workload as he played 57 percent of the snaps last season, just below his highest snap count in a season of 63 percent.

He hustles in pursuit and displays relentlessness and effort in the trenches.

Run defense

Onyemata is a solid run defender, which has been reflected by consistently solid run defense grades from analytical sites such as Pro Football Focus. They had him ranked 9th in the league in 2021, and 7th in 2023 at his position.

He has the ability and hustle to get downfield, shoot gaps and move laterally down the line of scrimmage to stay in front of ball carriers.

His strength in the trenches is impressive, enabling him to penetrate and stand up his blocker to bottle up runs.

Pass rush

While better known for his play against the run, Onyemata has also had some production as a pass rusher with 31 sacks and 86 quarterback hits in his career.

He peaked in 2020 when he had 6.5 sacks and was just one pressure shy of racking up 50 on the season. Pro Football Focus had him ranked 10th in the NFL in his position for pass rushing and seventh in their pass rush productivity metric.

Onyemata is effective at collapsing the pocket and brings good power with the bull rush.

However, he also has some quickness which can enable him to get upfield and makes him effective on stunts.

His production seems to be dropping off in this phase of his career, though. He had just one sack and only two quarterback hits last season.

Technique

In the trenches, Onyemata plays with good balance, leverage and pad level. He has an ability to throw his man off balance with his strength.

In the pass rush, he uses his hands well to maintain separation and is able to transition into a rip or arm-over move.

In addition to a violent club move, he can also spin off blocks and uses his length well.

Special teams

Most of Onyemata’s special teams contributions have come when rushing kicks, but he doesn’t have any significant production at the NFL level.

Onyemata, who also blocked on the kick return unit when he was a rookie but not since then, has three special teams penalties in his career, including one for running into the kicker.

Tackling

Onyemata’s production has ramped up since he moved from the Saints to the Falcons, as he has posted the three highest tackle totals of his career, including a career-high 62 last year.

He’s not someone who misses a lot of tackles, especially in recent years as he posted the lowest missed tackle percentage of his career in 2024 and then bettered that mark last season. The highest number of missed tackles he has had in any season was six.

He has only forced three fumbles in his NFL career, having forced one in college.

Coverage

Onyemata might drop off the line into a shallow zone a few times per game but isn’t someone who will be given any direct coverage assignments. He will hustle across to try and tackle on short passes, though.

In his career, he has batted four passes down at the line, broken one up and intercepted one.

Instincts/Intelligence

Onyemata seems to have good awareness and quick reactions as he reads the game well and isn’t readily fooled by misdirection.

He has only been called for offside or a neutral zone infraction twice in his NFL career.

Attitude/Demeanor

Onyemata is considered a good locker room presence but he was twice punished for violating the NFL’s performance enhancing substance policy. He was suspended for one game in 2019 and another six in 2021.

His on-field discipline has been sound, with 17 penalties in his career, although seven were personal fouls, including five for roughing the passer.

Injuries

Onyemata has been extremely durable over the course of his career, as he has only missed four games due to injury. Three of these were due to an ankle/foot issue in 2023 and he was also limited with that injury during that year. He also had some foot issues in 2025 but did not miss any time.

In 2020, he missed the first game of his career due to injury because of a calf issue.

Scheme Fit

Onyemata has played the majority of his career in 4-3 systems, but did perform well in a 3-4 system with the Falcons in the last two of his three seasons with them.

His strength in the trenches could equip the Jets to play more of those read-react fronts rather than attacking fronts. These could occasionally be with three-man fronts, within which he could back up T’Vondre Sweat at nose or play as a 5-technique. That probably won’t be a primary package though.

He has been a teammate of current linebacker Jets Demario Davis and Mykal Walker during his career. In addition, he is close to head coach Aaron Glenn, who was on the Saints staff when he was drafted and for the first several years of his career.

Conclusions

Onyemata has never been a pro bowler but a good measure of his ability is the contract he got from the Falcons in 2023, which was the 21st highest for NFL defensive tackles.

At 33, this might be his final season, as he expressed a desire to run it back for a year with Glenn. Based on last season, he was still a useful contributor even if his pass rush production dipped.

Of all the moves the Jets have made this offseason, this seems like one of the ones being most slept on because Onyemata should bring leadership while being a solid addition to further upgrade their defensive line depth.