Earlier this week, an old Falcons friend was released by the Steelers. Per a team announcement, Pittsburgh waived Atlanta’s fifth-round pick from the 2021 NFL Draft, Ade Ogundeji, from the 53-man roster among a flurry of roster moves.
Along with Ogundeji, the Steelers released Jaray Jenkins and added Lance McCutcheon to the practice squad in his place. Ogundeji appeared in the Steelers’ Week 6 contest against the Raiders, taking 15 defensive snaps after he was elevated to their active roster. Ogundeji had two tackles in his effort against Las Vegas and is a candidate to be brought back to the practice squad.
Ogundeji was a member of Terry Fontenot’s first draft class as Falcons GM, a draft class that has seen nearly every single pick part ways with the club in one way or another. Ade Ogundeji only lasted a couple of seasons with the Falcons, spending the 2021 and 2022 campaigns in Atlanta.
During that time, he appeared in 32 games, starting 27 of them, and recorded 3.0 sacks, 75 total tackles, and eight tackles for loss. He was a Day 3 draft pick, so it wasn’t the biggest blow that he was released before his rookie contract ended, but that trend has continued with other Falcons draft classes.
Fontenot has had absolutely no consistent success drafting outside of the first ten selections, including a couple of top 100 draft picks who are no longer with the team. The Falcons need to be better in this area because it’s not how you find sustained success in the NFL.
Best of luck to Ade Ogundeji.
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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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