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Levi Onwuzurike doesn't hold back after Detroit Lions pick: 'I like (bleeping) people up'
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- Levi Onwuzurike doesn't hold back after Detroit Lions pick: 'I like (bleeping) people up'
Dan Campbell wanted players who would bite off kneecaps. In second-round pick Levi Onwuzurike, the Detroit Lions may have got something even better.
Onwuzurike, the No. 41 overall pick in Friday's NFL draft , said he adheres to a colorful philosophy on the football field not too different from Campbell's kneecap approach.
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[ Lions get B for drafting Washington DT Levi Onwuzurike in second round ]
"I like (bleeping) people up," Onwuzurike said. "I like to get off the line and just put my helmet or my hands on an offensive lineman and (expletive) up an offensive scheme pretty much. I like pushing them back 2, 3 yards and just making them feel like shit."
Onwuzurike was widely considered one of the top two defensive tackles in a down draft at the position, and his selection Friday continues the Lions' early emphasis on building through the trenches.
The Lions used their first-round pick, No. 7 overall, on the draft's best offensive lineman, Oregon's Penei Sewell.
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Sewell will play right tackle for the Lions this fall, while Onwuzurike should be a factor on a defensive line that traded for Michael Brockers , re-signed Romeo Okwara and returns Trey Flowers , John Penisini , Nick Williams and Da'Shawn Hand.
"I think it means a lot (that the Lions have focused on the trenches so far in the draft)," Onwuzurike said. "The trenches are arguably the most important position group in football, so I think it's an honor for me to be the first D-tackle out, it's an honor to play with the Lions. I think the Lions are trying to build some shit right here and we got two good-ass parts to build that."
[ Levi Onwuzurike picked by Lions; ESPN NFL draft analysts not exactly thrilled ]
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A high school teammate of Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray , Onwuzurike had seven sacks in three seasons at Washington, where he played a variety of roles on the defensive line.
He earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors as a fourth-year junior in 2019, then opted out of the 2020 season because of COVID-19 concerns. Onwuzurike returned in January to play in the Senior Bowl, where he said he talked with Campbell for the first time.
Projected by some analysts as a first-round pick, Onwuzurike was the second defensive tackle taken Friday, going three picks after the New England Patriots traded up for Alabama's Christian Barmore.
SOCIAL MEDIA REACTION: Lions 'loading up on ass kickers' with Levi Onwuzurike pick
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Onwuzurike said he's excited to be teammates with Sewell, who he called "an elite player" and "one of the quickest players I've ever played against."
"He's elite, so we're going to make shit happen up in Detroit," he said.
And he said he was unbothered by his draft day slide.
"At the end of the day I'm going to have a chip on my shoulder, just cause if I went fourth round I'd be having a chip on my shoulder, if I went first round, first pick, I'm going to have a chip on my shoulder," he said. "Either way, I'm gonna (expletive) some shit up so I'm not really worried about that."
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Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions keep focus on trenches with Levi Onwuzurike draft pick
