When the Baltimore Ravens ' CJ Okoye sacked QB Stetson Bennett in his first ever game of football - a 2023 NFL preseason game for the Los Angeles Chargers - he could have been forgiven that life in the league would be a breeze.

However, the next two years would show the defensive lineman that the gulf between where he was and his dreams was still vast - but also that he had the mettle to continue the climb.

Eventually, he became the first African International Player Pathway (IPP) Program graduate to play an NFL regular season game, but the two seasons before that were far from an easy ride to the top.

After two years at the Chargers, where he failed to progress higher than the practice squad, Okoye finally made his NFL regular season debut for the Baltimore Ravens on September 28

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