Ochaun Mathis is officially heading to the NFL.
The former Nebraska EDGE was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the sixth round of the NFL Draft with the No. 189 overall pick.
Mathis, who is listed as a defensive end at the NFL level, was the first Husker in the 2022 draft class to be selected. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers followed just two picks later by taking former Huskers star receiver Trey Palmer.
>>> RELATED: Bucs draft Trey Palmer in sixth round
During his pre-draft process, Mathis said during an NFL Combine media interview that he sees himself in a similar light to Philadelphia Eagles star defensive end Josh Sweat. Some teams like the 6-5, 260-pound Mathis for his potential to play some snaps inside as an interior defensive line pass rusher.
Mathis played snaps as a 3-technique defensive tackle in February's Shrine Bowl during the game and in practice leading up to the event. He impressed with his versatility in that way, but Mathis still views himself as a perimeter player.
“EDGE position, outside linebacker moving off the ball on the outside, coming down on the edge. I see myself as that type of player at the next level,” Mathis said.
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Mathis spent his first four college seasons at TCU and was a two-time All-Big 12 Second Team selection in 2020 and 2021.
Mathis broke out in 2020 with 46 tackles, nine sacks, 14 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, and he followed that in 2021 with 45 tackles, four sacks and seven TFLs.
In 2022, while with the Huskers, Mathis finished with 50 tackles, 3.5 sacks and five TFLs along with two pass breakups. He finished his college career with 183 tackles, 19 sacks and 35.5 TFLs.
ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller broke down the pick moments after Mathis was selected:
“Four-year starter who looks the part — he’s 6-5, 250. Didn’t run as well as expected in the pre-draft process, but the arm length automatically jumps off the table. That ability to find the ball, to disengage from offensive linemen, that is all there. He can stand up, put his hand in the dirt. He’s got to get stronger, that’s the big key here. That’s why he’s available in round six. He got pushed around way too often, especially in the run game. Getting stronger, getting that sand in his core a little bit will help him get on the field.”
Mathis had an overall impressive career production-wise. One of the perceived knocks on Mathis throughout the draft process was his age and the miles he has put on his legs. Mathis, though, said that the age did not come up during his informal interviews with NFL personnel during the pre-draft process.
“Not that I know of. From situations with scouts and stuff, they didn’t really bring up my age or anything," Mathis said. "But I do feel like that was going to be an impact going into the longevity of playing in the NFL. They want a younger guy. And that was really impacting me trying to come into the draft this year, for sure. Didn't want to get too old during the process of it. So just testing the waters in getting out there and just taking that leap of faith is one of the biggest things I had to do.”
Mathis said that he stuck around longer in college because he wanted to fine-tune some of his skills and learn more. That was the No. 1 reason he wound up transferring to Nebraska. He wanted to get snaps against Big Ten offensive linemen and get film of him going against future NFL O-linemen such as Northwestern's Peter Skoronski, the No. 11 overall pick in this year's draft, and Illinois' Julian Pearl – two linemen Mathis mentioned as being especially difficult matchups last year.
“I wanted to get a little more experience, especially with the transferring process, seeing what other defenses I can play on to increase my knowledge of different types of defenses to play on," Mathis said. "I know after the TCU coaches got released, I felt like there was a better option for me to go out and try to see what defense was going to be using me in the scheme of things. And at the end of the day, I felt like Nebraska was gonna be that team.”
Mathis said that his time with the Huskers taught him a lot, most notably learning how to deal with challenges as Nebraska struggled to a 4-8 record while dealing with midseason coaching turnover.
“The biggest things I learned, I feel like the overall experience was a great opportunity to be challenged with adversity,” Mathis said. “A lot of things happened during the year. Not what I expected it to be. But at the end of the day, I learned a lot and felt like the overall experience has taught me a lot.”
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