Chiefs Draft: The Lowdown on a Low Round Fit

His name is Godwin Igwebuike (pronounced ig-weh-BU-kay) and he plays Safety for Northwestern University. While his skills are NFL ready there is more to this young man than a good football player. So, here’s the lowdown on a low round fit for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Let’s flip the script and begin by taking a look at a 3:11 highlight reel for this 6-foot-0, 205 lb. Renaissance man:

Why would I call him a Renaissance man? For couple of reasons. His mother, Ebony Igwebuike, taught him well — at least he was paying attention. She stressed to him:

“… that he needed to be well-rounded. Nobody just wants a football head they can’t talk to. No girl wants that. They want someone who can talk to them about football… but also can go to a play.”

Also, he’s the front man for an Indy group called, “Graffiti Lake” and if you think a football player can’t sing (apologies to Tamba Hali) you’ll at least have to agree that Godwin Igwebuike CAN SING. Actually, the first time I heard his group (I have played it several times because I actually like it) I thought that his group would fit right in here in the K.C. jazz scene.

Now, onto the football skills of Godwin Igwebuike.

Igwebuike has played in 50 games for Northwestern University listed as a Safety then as a DB in his Senior year. During that time he’s recorded 324 tackles, an averaged 91 tackles per year in his last three seasons there. He also recorded 12.5 tackles for a loss and 7 INTs. This may be an over-used comparison but he plays like an Eric Berry-lite. He’s all over the field, loves to hit-and-tackle and does it well. He’s the same size as Ron Parker and could be his eventual replacement. Maybe.

Godwin Igwebuike’s coaches speak highly of him and he is not only a natural team leader on and off the field but a positive force in the locker room. While he’s played the Free Safety position he’s also played a good deal of Strong Safety. So, he has that position flexibility that the Chiefs current regime prefers in their prospects.

While Godwin Igwebuike can be instinctive, he used to guess a lot in both run and pass coverage. If he does that in the pros he’s doomed. However, when he does read-and-react he gets good grades. His recovery skills and speed are top notch which may be a problem in the sense that he’ll rely upon those abilities too much and revert to guessing. Part of his make-up is to be aggressive so he can make a lot of big plays but that can also lead to getting beat if he’s plays everything so overly aggressive.

When he plays the run he has excellent recognition of the play and the hole and has also reminded me of DJ in the way that he’s able to go low and take the feet out from under a ball carrier. That means that Godwin Igwebuike will probably make a better Eric Berry replacement than he would a replacement for Ron Parker. He is very good in the box but needs work on covering plays deep. However, his athletic ability and pedigree make him a great pick in the 4th round and if by some chance he’s still there in the 6th round he’d be a fantastic selection then. 

Here’s 2:54 of game tape of Godwin Igwebuike and Northwestern vs. Iowa in 2017 from DraftBreakdown.

You know what Real Estate agents say about which house to buy on the block right… buy the worst house on the best block. We’ll, Godwin Igwebuike is the opposite… and I think that’s a good thing because he’s been the best player on a bad team. So, maybe Northwestern wasn’t the worst team on the block as they have gone 32-and-19 in Godwin Igwebuike’s four-year tenure. CBSSports ranks Igwebuike as the 182nd best prospect in this draft while DrafTek has him ranked at 162. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein rated Igwebuike the 7th best Safety in a preseason ranking last August.

Igwebuike went to the same high school, and played his high school ball, with TE Jake Butt. Here’s what the Butt said (now how often can you say… the Butt said…  and mean it?) of Igwebuike,

“He’s one of the best guys, down to the core. Obviously, he’s a great football player. But when you speak about a guy at his inner core, who he is as a man? He is a rock-solid dude.”

Jake Butt also said that a lot of players might be made fun of by putting themselves out there as a musician but not Godwin. But says,

“Some people might try that and just get terrorized by the rest of the team. When Godwin does it, it almost motivates you to want to do it, too. He goes about it in his Godwin way that inspires and raises up the people around him.”

In a piece by Dan Parr for NFL.com called, “Godwin Igwebuike breaks jock stereotype, but don’t call him soft” he states thatIgwebuike has become more than just a motivator for his teammates,

“Igwebuike’s long been comfortable in the role of motivator, whether he’s firing up his team in a locker room or preaching to a congregation from a pulpit. His drive to go outside of his circle to engage in a new one is part of the reason why his teammates swear by him. They don’t just look at him as a friend; they see him as someone who has affected their lives in a meaningful way.”

One of Godwin’s ex-coaches said of him, “He’s like a rock. Some guys are what you call heavy hitters. He’s probably that heavy hitter. When he hits you, he jolts you. You feel it.” When asked what he’d say to NFL team’s considering drafting him, Igwebuike says,“I’m a guy who’s just going to attack. I attack life. I’m a grinder. I’m a go-getter. Ain’t no soft. Ain’t no fear.”

I mentioned Godwin Igwebuike’s pedigree. His father is the second cousin to Christian Okoye. So… he’s a “must-draft” player in my book. 

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