Safety Obi Melifonwu
Earlier this week, Oakland Raiders rookie safety Obi Melifonwu signed his rookie contract, officially making him a member of the Silver and Black. Highly touted as one of the premier athletes in the 2017 NFL Draft, Melifonwu earned praise by showcasing his size, strength, and overall natural-born abilities at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine.
Friday, Melifonwu talked with the media regarding his contract, as well as being at his first NFL training camp.
Here are his quick hits from this afternoon:
The former University of Connecticut Husky shared what he expects for himself in his rookie season.
"I definitely expect myself to make a big impact, hopefully on special teams and alongside the defense. I'm a guy that holds myself to a high standard, so I think I should definitely do something to help the team win."
Melifonwu talked about the positives of having a veteran like safety Reggie Nelson to help mentor him.
"It's honestly a blessing to have somebody, a pro, he comes in here and handles his business. Really pick his brain to find things to help my game become better is definitely going to be something I look forward to."
He talked about how he wants to be perceived on and off the field.
"That's actually really hard to do that. I think I'm a guy that does a lot of great things well. I just want to be known as an all-around great football player, an all-around great teammate and an all-around great person."
Melifonwu compared the similarities and differences between what he's learned so far in the NFL, as opposed to the college level.
"I think it's the game speed. Everything happens so much quicker. In the NFL, everybody is fast and the quarterbacks are a lot more elite. So, definitely the game speed and just slowing the game down."
He touched on how playing against tight end Jared Cook will help him compete against other tight ends around the league.
"It will work wonders. Working on leverage, working on his route stem and just really being able to lock on a guy like that is definitely going to help during the season."
