Saturday was an eventful day at the NFL Combine. Texas receiver Xavier Worthy set the all-time Combine record with a blazing 4.21 40-yard dash, while several quarterback prospects wowed with their arm strength in Indianapolis. But, oddly, Detroit Lions defensive end Romeo Okwara was unwittingly pulled into the event, thanks to a mixup in Twitter accounts.
Washington receiver Rome Odunze—one of the best prospects in the the 2024 NFL Draft class—ran an impressive 4.47 40-yard dash, but when the official NFL Africa Twitter account posted a congratulations to Odunze for his solid time, they accidentally tagged Okwara.
It’s a harmless mistake. Both players come from Nigerian descent, hence the attention from the NFL Africa account. And Okwara was a good sport about it, too. In fact, he had a great response to the tweet:
Indeed, it would be absurd for Okwara—a 6-foot-4, 255-pound defensive lineman—to run a 4.47. In case you’re wondering, Okwara ran a 4.9 in his 40-yard dash back in 2016
In my dreams 😂 https://t.co/SYo1Q0ueOA
— Romeo Okwara (@RomeoND45) March 2, 2024
Okwara signed a three-year, $39 million deal with the Lions back in 2021. With those three seasons now expired, the veteran defensive lineman is set to become an unrestricted free agent in just over a week (March 13) should he not sign an extension with the Lions before then. Earlier this offseason Romeo’s brother—Julian—signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.
For more on the 2024 NFL Combine, check out our Combine result series that has been running all week.