Tennessee Titans draft Oluwafemi Oladejo: 5 things to know about the edge rusher
The Tennessee Titans traded their original second-round pick (No. 35) to the Seattle Seahawks for two picks (No. 52 and No. 82) in the 2025 NFL draft.
With the first of those two picks, the Titans selected UCLA edge rusher Oluwafemi Oladejo at No. 52.
The Titans have a ton of needs and could have gone in any direction with this pick, but they decided to take an edge to help boost their pass rush.
Three-star college recruit
A former three-star recruit from Cosumnes Oaks High School, he was accomplished on both sides of the ball before settling in as an inside linebacker at Cal. He flashed the athleticism that allowed him to transition to edge after transferring to UCLA.
Culture
He carries his heritage with him all the time, with both of his parents being born in Nigeria. His name Oluwafemi means "God loves me" in their native Yoruba language.
Outstanding Senior Bowl week
After an outstanding season, Oladejo flashed at the Senior Bowl as one of the more consistent and disruptive edge players on hand. This performance was huge in his evaluation and showcased his upside in his rapid development from inside linebacker to edge.
Experienced yet inexperienced
Although he has shown tremendous upside as an edge, he is raw and relatively inexperienced at the position. Though he has played in 27 games and racked up 238 tackles and 6.0 sacks during his college career, split between Cal and UCLA, the majority of them were at inside linebacker. He has only 10 starts on the edge.
Dedicated on and off the field
He transitioned to edge at UCLA and broke out with 13.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in 2024 en route to being named the Kenny Clark Award as UCLA's top defensive lineman. He also excelled in the classroom, where he earned spots on both the Big Ten Academic Honor Roll and UCLA Athletic Director's Honor Roll.
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LAS VEGAS — College football's future wore a baby blue suit, a gold pin that said 'UCLA' and a pair of diamond-encrusted hoop earrings. He glided toward the mic, sat down, then prepared for the grilling about how much money he makes, why he left Tennessee, who betrayed who when he departed, and what it all means for the college football world that his story now defines. Bottom line: If quarterback Nico Iamaleava handles the rest of the season as well as he did with his half hour of Q&A at Big Ten media days, chances are, UCLA will be good — maybe even very good — in 2025. 'I think, it's just, keep my head down and be humble,' the 20-year-old lightning rod of a quarterback said. 'And try not to let the outside noise affect you.' 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'It's unfortunate, the situation, and where we're at with Nico.' Before he'd even enrolled at Tennessee, Iamaleava was causing his share of turmoil. It was his NIL deal with the Vols that triggered an NCAA investigation and a lawsuit by the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia in January 2024. The NCAA settled that lawsuit, and though there aren't as many questions about who makes the payments to the players (the colleges can do it themselves now), recriminations that flowed when Iamaleava enrolled at Tennessee kept flowing after he made his move to UCLA. Asked about what triggered his move and exactly when it happened, Iamaleava said it came around the time 'false stuff about whether it was a financial thing or not' started coming out that made him 'not feel comfortable in the position I was in.' 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Obviously, everyone has to move on. I'm excited about what's next for me. But I'm where my feet (are), and right now, I'm a UCLA football player and I'm excited to go to camp.'
