Pappoe selected 168th by Arizona Cardinals in NFL Draft

The fourth Auburn player taken off the board was Owen Pappoe as he was selected 168th overall in the fifth round by the Arizona Cardinals. 

The 6-foot-0, 225-pound linebacker joins the likes of many Auburn legends to be drafted into the NFL like Takeo Spikes, Kevin Greene, Karlos Dansby, Aundray Bruce and many more. 

Pappoe comes from Loganville, Georgia, as a 5-star talent according to the 247Sports composite rankings, and was ranked the No. 1 outside linebacker in the country. Auburn landed his commitment over Tennessee. 

During his collegiate career, Pappoe played in 41 games. In those 41 games, he recorded 256 total tackles and eight sacks for a loss of 45 yards in 41 games. He also recorded two career interceptions alongside three forced fumbles. 

In his final season, Pappoe had 91 total tackles (51 solo tackles and 40 assisted tackles) with two sacks and served as a team captain for the second straight season. He earned an NFL Combine invite. 

At the combine, Pappoe put on a show for the scouts. He ran a 4.39 40-yard dash and also had 29 bench press reps at the combine. His prospect grade was a 5.95 entering today, according to NFL.com

At the end of the 2022 season, he was named a Butkus Award semifinalist, which is awarded to the best linebacker in the country. 

Pappoe is now the only active Auburn player on the Arizona Cardinals' roster.

Auburn edge defender Derick Hall was selected in the second round to the Seattle Seahawks Friday night and Auburn running back Tank Bigsby heard his name called in the third round to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Saturday, Colby Wooden was selected 116th overall by the Green Bay Packers.

The Cardinals struggled last season defensively stopping the run and the pass and forcing turnovers, and Pappoe looks to come in and make an instant impact to help rebuild the defense.