COLUMBIA, MO. – University of Missouri junior TE Albert Okwuegbunam (Springfield, Ill.) was selected Saturday in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft and the standout pass-catcher will be reunited with his former quarterback Drew Lock with the Denver Broncos. Denver selected Okwuegbunam with the 12th pick of the fourth round (No. 118 overall), making him the second Tiger to be taken in this year’s draft (DT Jordan Elliott – 3rd round to Cleveland).
Okwuegbunam burst onto the scene in 2017 for Mizzou as a redshirt freshman and played his way to 2nd-Team All-SEC honors and the All-Freshman SEC team when he caught 29 passes for 415 yards and an eye-popping 11 touchdowns (most receiving TDs in the SEC). He followed by putting together a very strong 2018 season that had him on track to win national honors, only to see his season end prematurely with a scapula injury in game nine. Prior to that injury he caught 43 passes for 466 yards and six scores – earning him a spot among the finalists for the 2018 John Mackey Award.
He saw action in 11 games in 2019, but was not fully healthy, and his production dipped a bit because of that. Even so, Okwuegbunam still led the Tigers in receptions with 26 catches over 11 games that went for 306 yards and six touchdowns. For his Tiger career, Okwuegbunam started 25 times in 33 appearances and ended with 98 career receptions for 1,187 yards and 23 touchdowns – the latter of which was the second-most in MU history, traling only 2008 Mackey Award Winner Chase Coffman (30 from 2005-08). Okwuegbunam’s touchdown rate of once per every 4.2 receptions is the best in program history.
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