Falcons’ Foye Oluokun had the 3rd-highest tackle rate in the NFL in 2018

Foye Oluokun was a steal in the 2018 NFL Draft, uncovered in the sixth round. When called upon due to the early-season injury sustained by Deion Jones, and the poor play from Duke Riley, he really gave Atlanta a solid return on its investment.

Next Gen Stats revealed that he was maybe even better than we remembered, uncovering that Oluokun was third in the NFL in tackle rate in 2018 (among the 322 defensive players who played at least 500 snaps), recording a tackle on 17.6% of his snaps.

The Yale alum is keeping very good company on this list. Dallas’ Leighton Vander Esch, who was drafted in the first round of the 2018 draft, was selected to the Pro Bowl in his rookie season. Indianapolis’ Darius Leonard, taken in the second round of the 2018 draft, was named the Defensive Rookie of the Year and was a First-Team All-Pro selection.

Oluokun may be the most unknown player in that top five in terms of national recognition, so much so that his name is actually misspelled on the graphic. He will certainly earn more recognition if he builds on the 2018 season he just had.

Foye Oluokun was second on the team with 91 combined tackles, just three behind De’Vondre Campbell, despite starting in only seven games. He’ll slot in as a valuable depth piece for the Falcons going into 2019, and may be in line for an even greater role moving forward.