Samson Ebukam

Nnamka Samson Ebukam (born May 9, 1995) is an Nigerian-American football outside linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Washington and was drafted by the Rams in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Samson Ebukam
Ebukam with the Rams in 2018
No. 50 – Los Angeles Rams
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1995-05-09) May 9, 1995
Nigeria
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school:David Douglas
(Portland, Oregon)
College:Eastern Washington
NFL Draft:2017 / Round: 4 / Pick: 125
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • First Team All-Big Sky Conference (2016)
  • First Team FCS All-American (AFCA) (2016)
  • Third Team FCS All-American (AP, STATS) (2016)
  • Second Team All-Big Sky Conference (2014-15)
Career NFL statistics as of 2020
Total tackles:150
Sacks:14.0
Forced fumbles:6
Fumble recoveries:4
Interceptions:1
Pass deflections:6
Defensive touchdowns:2
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Ebukam was born in Nigeria.[1] He attended and graduated from David Douglas High School in Portland, Oregon, in 2013.[2] While there, he played high school football for the Scots. As a senior, Ebukam played at defensive end, tight end, and fullback, earning First Team All-Mount Hood Conference honors as a defensive end, and also earning honorable mention honors as a tight end.[3]

College career

Coming out of high school, Ebukam received only two Division I scholarship offers. He chose to attend Eastern Washington University over an offer from Portland State.[4]

Ebukam played for Eastern Washington as a three-year starter. Over 38 career collegiate starts, Ebukam produced 188 tackles, 44 tackles for losses, and 24 sacks. As a senior, he tallied 15 tackles for losses and 9.5 sacks, plus three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, eight quarterback hits, and an interception.[5]

Professional career

Ebukam was not selected to participate in the 2017 NFL Combine, but he did participate in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.[6]

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand size40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 7⁄8 in
(1.85 m)		 240 lb
(109 kg)		 1⁄2 in
(0.01 m)		 5⁄8 in
(0.02 m)		4.45 s1.53 s2.57 s4.31 s7.02 s39 in
(0.99 m)		10 ft 10 in
(3.30 m)		24 reps
All values from 2017 EWU Pro Day.[7]

2017

The Los Angeles Rams selected Ebukam in the fourth round with the 125th overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft.[8][9] The Los Angeles Rams traded their fourth-round (141st overall) and sixth-round (197th overall) picks in the 2017 NFL Draft to the New York Jets and received the fourth round pick (125th overall) used to draft Ebukam.[10] Ebukam was the 17th linebacker drafted in 2017.

External video
Rams draft Samson Ebukam 125th overall
Samson Ebukam NFL Draft Highlights

On June 20, 2017, the Los Angeles Rams signed Ebukam to a four-year, $3.01 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $613,082.[11]

Throughout training camp, Ebukam competed to be a backup outside linebacker against Morgan Fox, Ejuan Price, Cory Littleton, and Carlos Thompson.[12] Head coach Sean McVay named Ebukam a backup outside linebacker to start the regular season, behind Robert Quinn and Connor Barwin.[13]

External video
Ebukam strip sacks Tom Savage

He made his professional regular season debut in the Los Angeles Rams' season-opener against the Indianapolis Colts and recorded three solo tackles in their 46–9 victory.[14] On November 12, 2017, Ebukam recorded one solo tackle and forced the first fumble of his career during a sack in the Rams' 33–7 win against the Houston Texans.[15] Ebukam made his first career sack on Texans' quarterback Tom Savage for a seven-yard loss and forced a fumble that was recovered by teammate Tyrunn Walker in the third quarter.[16] On December 3, 2017, Ebukam earned his first career start and collected a season-high five solo tackles in a 32–16 win at the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13.[17] He finished his rookie season in 2017 with 31 combined tackles (26 solo), two sacks, and a forced fumble in 16 games and two starts.[18]

The Los Angeles Rams finished the 2017 season first in the NFC West with an 11–5 record and earned a playoff berth.[19] On January 6, 2018, Ebukam appeared in his first career playoff game and made one tackle during the Rams' 26–13 loss against the Atlanta Falcons in the Wild Card Round.[20]

2018

Ebukam entered training camp slated as a starting outside linebacker. Head coach Sean McVay named Ebukam and Matt Longacre the starting outside linebackers to begin the regular season, alongside inside linebackers Mark Barron and Cory Littleton.[21] In Week 11 on Monday Night Football, Ebukam scored two defensive touchdowns off turnovers (one fumble, one interception) and forced another interception in a 54-51 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, earning him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.[22][23] Ebukam finished the season with 40 tackles, one interception, and three forced fumbles.[24] In the Divisional Round against the Dallas Cowboys, he recorded two tackles in a 30-22 win.[25] In the NFC Championship Game against the New Orleans Saints, he recorded three tackles and a forced fumble in a tough 26-23 overtime victory.[26] The Rams made it to Super Bowl LIII where they played the New England Patriots, but lost 3–13. Ebukam recorded four tackles in the Super Bowl.[27][28]

References
  1. "The odyssey of Samson Ebukam: From Nigeria to the NFL playoffs". ESPN.com. January 7, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  2. "David Douglas High School's Samson Ebukam reflects on his rise to becoming an NFL starter". NBC Sports Northwest. October 7, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  3. "Official Eastern Washington Eagles Samson Ebukam bio". Goeags.com. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  4. "EWU defensive end Samson Ebukam is a game-changer for the Eagles". Spokesman.com. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  5. "'Sleeper' pass-rushing prospect Samson Ebukam to visit Packers". usatoday.com. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  6. "NFLPA Collegiate Bowl Players Well Represented in NFL Draft". www.nflpa.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  7. "Annual Pro Day Features Six Eagles, Including Kupp". Eastern Washington University Athletics. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  8. "2017 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  9. "Ebukam and Bourne to Play Saturday in NFLPA Bowl". goeags.com. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  10. "2017 NFL Draft Results: Los Angeles Rams Trade Up With New York Jets To Select Eastern Washington LB Samson Ebukam". TurfShowTimes.com. April 29, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  11. "Spotrac.com: Samson Ebukam contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  12. Boner, Tevin (July 5, 2017). "2017 Rams Roster Preview: OLB Morgan Fox Seeking Position Change Boost?". TurfShowTimes.com. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  13. DaSilva, Cameron (September 5, 2017). "Rams release first depth chart of regular season". theramswire.usatoday.com. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  14. "Indianapolis Colts at Los Angeles Rams - September 10th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  15. "Houston Texans at Los Angeles Rams - November 12th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  16. "NFL Game Center: Week 10-2017: Houston Texans at Los Angeles Rams". NFL.com. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  17. "NFL Player stats: Samson Ebukam (2017)". NFL.com. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  18. "NFL Player stats: Samson Ebukam (career)". NFL.com. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  19. "2017 NFL Standings & Team Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  20. "Wild Card - Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Rams - January 6th, 2018". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  21. DaSilva, Cameron (September 4, 2018). "Rams Week 1 depth chart: Kelly is No. 4 RB, Littleton starting next to Barron". theramswire.usatoday.com. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  22. "Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Rams - November 19th, 2018". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  23. Knoblach, Austin (November 21, 2018). "Samson Ebukam, Saquon Barkley among Players of the Week". NFL.com.
  24. "Samson Ebukam 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  25. "Divisional Round - Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams - January 12th, 2019". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  26. "NFC Championship - Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints - January 20th, 2019". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  27. "Super Bowl LIII - Los Angeles Rams vs. New England Patriots - February 3rd, 2019". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  28. Shpigel, Ben (February 3, 2019). "Patriots Win in Lowest-Scoring Super Bowl Ever". The New York Times. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
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