Player
David Onyemata
DL · Falcons
David Onyemata: facts drawn from the play-by-play.
10 NFL seasons, 31 career sacks — a Saints draftee from Manitoba who's become Atlanta's anchor.
TrendOnyemata by season
| Season | Team | Tackles | Sacks | TFL | QB Hits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | NO | 9 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2017 | NO | 19 | 2.0 | 4 | 9 |
| 2018 | NO | 23 | 4.5 | 4 | 6 |
| 2019 | NO | 23 | 3.0 | 3 | 11 |
| 2020 | NO | 19 | 6.5 | 10 | 16 |
| 2021 | NO | 10 | 2.0 | 2 | 10 |
| 2022 | NO | 18 | 5.0 | 5 | 11 |
| 2023 | ATL | 15 | 4.0 | 6 | 16 |
| 2024 | ATL | 21 | 3.0 | 8 | 5 |
| 2025 | ATL | 28 | 1.0 | 7 | 2 |
A 4th-round pick out of Manitoba in 2016, Onyemata is one of the rare modern NFLers with no U.S. college football experience. He's parlayed that path into 10 NFL seasons — 7 in New Orleans, 3 in Atlanta — and 31.0 career sacks.
The shape of the career is interior-DL classic: peak pass-rush production in 2020 (6.5 sacks, 16 QB hits, 10 TFL), then a transition to a more two-gap, run-stuffing role in Atlanta where the tackles tick up (28 in 2025) and the sack column thins out.
Sacks by season
| Season | Sacks |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 0 |
| 2017 | 2 |
| 2018 | 4.5 |
| 2019 | 3 |
| 2020 | 6.5 |
| 2021 | 2 |
| 2022 | 5 |
| 2023 | 4 |
| 2024 | 3 |
| 2025 | 1 |
2020 was the breakout — 6.5 sacks, 10 TFL, 16 QB hits — all single-season career highs.
MilestoneOnyemata's age-28 season in New Orleans was the cleanest peak of the career. He set personal highs in sacks (6.5), TFL (10), and QB hits (16) in the same year — the trifecta of an interior pass-rusher hitting his window.
That year's 10 TFL is still the only double-digit TFL season of his career through 2025.
Saints era vs Falcons era: more sacks in NO, more tackles in ATL.
SplitOnyemata by franchise
| Team | Seasons | Tackles | Sacks | QB Hits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saints (2016-22) | 7 | 121 | 23.0 | 67 |
| Falcons (2023-25) | 3 | 64 | 8.0 | 23 |
The Saints got the pass-rushing prime: 23 sacks across 7 years in New Orleans, peaking in the late-2010s Dennis Allen / Ryan Nielsen front.
In Atlanta, the per-season tackle rate is up (21.3 tackles/year vs. 17.3 in NO) but the sacks are down to 2.7/year. That's the shape of an interior DL aging into a run-defense specialist — the Falcons are using him to set edges and clog gaps, not to win 1-on-1s off the snap.
90 career QB hits across 10 seasons — top-tier pressure production for an interior DL.
RareSacks get the headlines, but QB hits are the cleaner measure of interior pressure. Onyemata's 90 career QB hits across 10 seasons works out to ~9 per year — solid starter-level pressure from the 3-technique spot.
The 2020 (16) and 2023 (16) seasons are tied for his single-season high, both years when his sack total moved in opposite directions (6.5 vs. 4.0). The 2023 season is interesting — same pressure rate, fewer finishes, suggesting clean-up sacks went to teammates in his first year in Atlanta.
2025 in Atlanta: career-high 28 tackles, career-low 2 QB hits — the role has fully flipped.
AnomalyAt age 33, Onyemata's 2025 line is the inverse of his prime: 28 tackles (a career high) but just 2 QB hits and 1.0 sack — both career lows since his rookie year.
The usage shift is real. The Falcons are deploying him as a base-down nose/3-tech against the run, sliding more athletic rushers into obvious passing situations. The tackle volume reflects that — more snaps on running downs, more bodies-to-the-ball, less time pinning his ears back.
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