Odafe Oweh likes to keep it simple when describing his play style. He likes to make plays, and because of his strength, quickness and athleticism, that's what he does on game days.
There should be plenty of chances to make plays in the Washington Commanders' new defense, and that gets him excited for what he can do with his new team.
"It's an attack mentality, and that's the style that I love to play in," Oweh said.
The Commanders invested more money than most NFL teams into fixing their defense, which ranked near the bottom of nearly every major statistical category in 2025, but Oweh is viewed as the most valuable asset because of how the team believes he can elevate a pass rush that struggled to put pressure on quarterbacks. They viewed him as a good fit for what defensive coordinator Daronte Jones has in store for the unit, and Oweh saw the system as the right opportunity to bring out his best.
"I think this defense is going to allow a lot of people to just wreak havoc," Oweh said.
Oweh did his share of that last season, particularly after he was traded from the Baltimore Ravens to the Los Angeles Chargers. He had 7.5 regular-season sacks and 18 pressures, almost all of which came after Week 5. He also added three sacks during the team's playoff game against the New England Patriots, which is even more impressive considering he only played 25 defensive snaps during that game.
But the Commanders didn't just sign Oweh because he can get quarterbacks on the ground. He had the 10th-best pass rush win rate for an edge player last season and generated 51 total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, resulting in nine quarterback hits and 31 hurries. The Commanders needed help in that area, as they were one of the worst teams in generating pressures with just 33 quarterback hurries (that last stat ranked 31st in the NFL in 2025).
Oweh described playing at his best as "a flow state."
"It's just out-of-body; just trying to make plays," Oweh said. "It's weirdly uncanny. I'm just there [to make plays] ... I'm just gonna be where the ball is at."
The Washington Commanders were on the field for the start of their OTAs. Check out the top photos from the afternoon practice.
He should be happy to be in Washington's new defense, because it's designed to get players around the ball. Jones played a key role in leading the Minnesota Vikings' defense, which paced the league in blitz rate and generated 49 sacks with 148 total pressures. They ranked first in team pass rush win rate and had the second-best sack percentage at 9.9%, resulting in the defense allowing the eighth-lowest passer rating.
Although it's widely expected that Jones is going to borrow several concepts from the Vikings and their defensive coordinator, Brian Flores, it isn't clear what his unit will look like in his first season as an NFL play caller. What Oweh does know is that Jones likes to attack, and he's a fan of that approach.
"As a pass rusher, that's all you want," Oweh said. "Create...one-on-one matchups. I feel like if I get a one-on-one, I can win a good amount of them. So, I think he does a good job of doing that. It's just an attacking mentality."
And Jones likes to attack by bringing pressure from multiple spots and creating confusion up front. Center Nick Allegretti said Jones has already given the offense multiple alignments during team drills, and what the unit ends up getting once the ball is snapped is not always what the defense shows before they run a play. When executed correctly, it can wreak the havoc Oweh alluded to, but it requires a heavy dose of discipline as well as developing an instinctual feel for how each player needs to work with each other.
It's a work in progress, but Oweh is optimistic about the progress the team has made so far.
"That's what [practice] is for; that's what camp's for," Oweh said. "We're honing ourselves, looking at different looks and different situations we're gonna be in based on the same call. I think that's what DJ [Jones] does a good job of, having different variations of the same call. Once you start memorizing that and understanding why you're doing that, when the game comes, we're moving fast. The bullets are flying."
Oweh is confident that his skill set will help him thrive in Jones' system, but he isn't the only player the Commanders have who can rush the quarterback. They also signed K'Lavon Chaisson, who had 50 pressures in 2025, and added him to a group that already had players like Daron Payne, Dorance Armstrong and Jer'Zhan Newton. One of the Commanders' biggest weaknesses has now become a perceived strength with the waves of pass rushers head coach Dan Quinn envisioned for the unit.
Although Oweh is the player up front with the most expectations, he believes all the Commanders' pass rushers can thrive in Jones' system.
"It will be a lot of havoc, to be honest," Oweh said.
