Alex Okafor

Last updated

Alex Okafor
Alex Okafor.JPG
Okafor with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019
No. 57, 97
Position: Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1991-02-08) February 8, 1991 (age 33)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:261 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High school: Pflugerville (Pflugerville, Texas)
College: Texas
NFL draft: 2013  / round: 4 / pick: 103
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:215
Sacks:31.5
Forced fumbles:6
Fumble recoveries:3
Interceptions:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Alex Okafor (born February 8, 1991) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns, earning All-American honors. Okafor was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL draft, and has also played for the New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs. He won Super Bowl LIV with the Chiefs.

Contents

Early life

Okafor was born in Dallas, Texas to a Nigerian father and an African-American mother. [1] His parents met in college at Grambling State University, a historically black university, before settling down in Texas. [1]

Okafor attended Pflugerville High School in Pflugerville, Texas, and played for the Pflugerville Panthers high school football team, helping them to the 5A Div. II state championship. [2] He also played soccer and basketball and was a stand out in both, as well as being academic all-district twice. [3] Following his senior season, USA Today recognized him as a high school All-American in 2008.

College career

Okafor attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he played for coach Mack Brown's Texas Longhorns football team from 2009 to 2012. [4] In his freshman year, he helped Texas reach the BCS Championship Game, where he recorded one tackle in a loss to Alabama.

He finished his 2011 junior season with 46 tackles and seven quarterback sacks, and was named a first-team All-American as a defensive end by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). [5] He was also a first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2011 and again in 2012 and made the UT Athletic Director's Honor Roll three times. [2]

Okafor was named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Bednarik Award, Lombardi Award, and CFPA Defensive Lineman Trophy watch lists to start the 2012 season. [6] In his final game, he set the Alamo Bowl record for most sacks in a game. [2]

Professional career

Pre-draft

Okafor was ranked as one of the middle tier pass rushers in the 2013 NFL draft. [7] He was projected as either a defensive end or linebacker in the NFL.

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 4+1⁄2 in
(1.94 m)		264 lb
(120 kg)		33+7⁄8 in
(0.86 m)		9+5⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		4.91 s1.69 s2.82 s4.43 s7.26 s31 in
(0.79 m)		9 ft 4 in
(2.84 m)		21 reps
All values from NFL combine [8]

Arizona Cardinals

Okafor was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round, with the 103rd overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft. [9] He played in his first game in 2013, recording a special teams tackle before a bicep injury ended his season. [10]

Okafor recorded his first two career sacks in Week 6 of the 2014 season against the Washington Redskins on quarterback Kirk Cousins. [11] He had his first interception in Week 14 on Kansas City Chiefs' quarterback Alex Smith. [12] He ended the season playing in 13 games with 12 starts, recording 30 tackles, 8 sacks, three passes defensed and one interception. During his time in Arizona, he played in 39 games (25 starts), tallying 74 tackles (63 solo), 13.5 sacks, 30 quarterback hits, 18 tackles for loss, four passes defended, one interception (returned for 26 yards), one forced fumble and two fumble recovery.

New Orleans Saints

On March 14, 2017, Okafor signed with the New Orleans Saints. [13] He started the first 10 games of the season, recording a career-high 43 tackles, 4.5 sacks and four passes defended. He suffered a torn Achilles in the team's Week 11 win over the Redskins and was ruled out for the rest of the season. [14]

On March 16, 2018, Okafor re-signed with the Saints on a two-year contract. [15] He started all 16 games in 2018, recording 36 tackles and four sacks.

On February 14, 2019, the Saints voided the final year of Okafor's contract, making him a free agent at the start of the new league year. [16]

Kansas City Chiefs

On March 14, 2019, Okafor signed a three-year, $18 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. [17] In week 7 against the Denver Broncos, Okafor sacked Joe Flacco twice in the 30–6 win. [18] He played in 10 games before suffering a torn pectoral in Week 15. [19] He was placed on injured reserve on December 16, 2019. [20] He finished the season with 22 tackles and five sacks. [21] During his absence, the Chiefs went on to win Super Bowl LIV, their first championship in 50 years. [22] On August 10, 2020, Okafor and the Chiefs restructured his contract to save about $2 million in cap space. [23]

On October 24, 2020, Okafor was placed on injured reserve after suffering a hamstring injury in Week 6 and was activated on November 21, 2020. [24] [25] He played in 11 games and all 3 playoff games, recording 21 combined tackles and a forced fumble. [26]

Okafor was re-signed on July 20, 2021. [27] He played in all 17 games and all 3 playoff games, recording 27 combined tackles, 7 quarterback hits, 2 pass deflections and a forced fumble. He became a free agent at the end of the season but was left unsigned. [28]

NFL career statistics

Legend
BoldCareer high

Regular season

YearTeamGamesTacklesInterceptionsFumbles
GPGSCmbSoloAstSckTFLIntYdsTDLngPDFFFRYdsTD
2013 ARI 101100.00000000000
2014 ARI 1312302828.01112602630000
2015 ARI 1313312562.04000010100
2016 ARI 150131033.53000001100
2017 NOR 10104327164.55000042000
2018 NOR 16163625114.05000010100
2019 KAN 109221575.05000011000
2020 KAN 11016973.01000001000
2021 KAN 170237161.50000021000
106602151476831.534126026126300

Playoffs

YearTeamGamesTacklesInterceptionsFumbles
GPGSCmbSoloAstSckTFLIntYdsTDLngPDFFFRYdsTD
2014 ARI 115320.00000000000
2018 NOR 225320.01000000000
2020 KAN 305050.00000000000
2021 KAN 304130.00000000000
93197120.01000000000

Educational career

In 2020 during his time with the Chiefs, Okafor sponsored the NFL youth education program Kingdom United at Pflugerville Independent School District. The program was brought to Spring Hill Elementary School, Okafor's old school and the only school not in the Kansas City area to receive it. The program taught unity and diversity among students, and Okafor said “When we first started the season, we wanted to dedicate time and energy into social justice initiatives and ending systemic racism,” and that he "wouldn’t be where I’m at without the education I received there, it was a no-brainer for me to adopt them and bring the Kingdom program to every single kid in that school.” [29]

In 2024, Okafor ran to be on the PfISD Board of Trustees unopposed, and was elected on May 4. [30] He said about running for office, "This has been sitting on my heart for a while now, finally pulled the trigger and submitted my name on the ballot. I’ve spent the last decade building opportunities for students and advocating for my community. I’m ready to take the next step and lead from a place in office." [31] Since then, he has served on the Board and remained active in the Pflugerville community, hosting multiple book fairs and providing mentorship to students. [32]

Personal life

Okafor traveled to Kenya during the 2016 offseason with former Texas and Saints teammate Kenny Vaccaro and is involved in community and fundraising efforts to construct a school in the region. [33]

On March 9, 2015, Okafor was arrested for evading arrest on foot and for a misdemeanor warrant for jaywalking in Austin, Texas after he knocked over a pedestrian. [34] [35]

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References

  1. 1 2 Okafor, Alex (June 19, 2021). "'America needs you, Mom': KC Chiefs defensive end Alex Okafor speaks out for justice". The Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "80 Alex Okafor". Texassports.com. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Texas' Okafor looks to embark on NFL career – The Daily Texan". www.dailytexanonline.com. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Alex Okafor College Stats". Sports Reference . Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  5. ↑ AFCA Announces 2011 FBS Coaches' All-America Team Archived December 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ↑ "2013 Defensive End Prospect Rankings". Archived from the original on August 8, 2013.
  8. ↑ Alex Okafor – 2013 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile
  9. ↑ "2013 NFL Draft Listing". Pro Football Reference . Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Alex Okafor". Chiefs.com. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Washington Redskins at Arizona Cardinals – October 12th, 2014". Pro Football Reference . Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Kansas City Chiefs at Arizona Cardinals – December 7th, 2014". Pro Football Reference . Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Saints Add Free Agent DE Alex Okafor". NewOrleansSaints.com. March 14, 2017. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018.
  14. ↑ Patra, Kevin (November 20, 2017). "Saints DE Alex Okafor out for season with torn Achilles". NFL.com. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  15. ↑ Gantt, Darin (March 16, 2018). "Saints hang onto defensive end Alex Okafor". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  16. ↑ Teope, Herbie (February 14, 2019). "Saints' Alex Okafor to enter FA after hitting sack mark". NFL.com. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  17. ↑ Teicher, Adam; Triplett, Mike (March 14, 2019). "Chiefs agree to deal with DE Okafor". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Patrick Mahomes hurts knee in Chiefs' win over Broncos". ESPN . Associated Press. October 17, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  19. ↑ Teicher, Adam (December 16, 2019). "Chiefs' Alex Okafor suffered torn pec in win against Broncos, source says". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Chiefs' Alex Okafor: Placed on injured reserve". CBSSports.com. December 17, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Alex Okafor 2019 Game Log". Pro Football Reference . Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  22. ↑ Shook, Nick (February 2, 2020). "Chiefs rally once again to defeat 49ers, win SB LIV". NFL.com. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  23. ↑ Goldman, Charles (August 10, 2020). "Report: Chiefs DE Alex Okafor agrees to restructured contract". Chiefs Wire. USA Today. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
  24. ↑ Goldman, Charles (October 24, 2020). "Chiefs make two roster moves on Saturday". Chiefs Wire. USA Today. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  25. ↑ Williams, Charean (November 21, 2020). "Chiefs rule out Sammy Watkins, place Taco Charlton, Mitchell Schwartz on IR". NBCSports.com. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Alex Okafor 2020 Game Log". Pro Football Reference . Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  27. ↑ Patra, Kevin (July 20, 2021). "Roundup: Chiefs re-signing pass rusher Alex Okafor to one-year deal". NFL.com. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  28. ↑ "Alex Okafor 2021 Game Log". Pro Football Reference . Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  29. ↑ Macias, Rebeccah (November 27, 2020). "Former Longhorn standout Alex Okafor brings NFL program to Pflugerville elementary school". Austin-American Statesman. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  30. ↑ "Charlie Torres defeats Melissa Lee in race for seat on Pflugerville school board". Austin-American Statesman. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  31. ↑ Jones, Thomas (May 7, 2024). "Former Texas, NFL football player Alex Okafor elected to Pflugerville school board". Austin-American Statesman. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  32. ↑ "About Us - PfISD Board of Trustees". pfisd.net. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  33. ↑ Underhill, Nick (April 10, 2017). "'Pretty amazing': Saints' Kenny Vaccaro, Alex Okafor, building schools in Kenya, wowed by children's gratitude". NOLA.com. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  34. ↑ Weinfuss, Josh (March 9, 2015). "Police: Alex Okafor ran from scene". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  35. ↑ Duffy, Ty (March 10, 2015). "Alex Okafor Arrested For Being an Out of Control Pedestrian". thebiglead.com. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
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