Basil “CJ” Chijioke Okoye made his way to the Chargers via the NFL’s Internation Player Pathway which is the league’s initiative to open doors for foreign players to chase their professional football dreams.
Okoye participated in the NFL Africa camp back in March of 2022. The sizable, and surpringly lean, Okoye was named the MVP of the camp after showing off his impressive athleticism and technique for someone who hasn’t been playing the game for all that long. He came out of last year’s IPP class deemed the most pro-ready player with the highest ceiling. Despite training a lot for the offensive line position, Okoye ultimately landed as a defensive tackle before signing with the Chargers.