O'Connor is the 28th EMU player to be picked in the draft. He is just the third Eastern Michigan player to be selected by the Lions, joining Al Clark (1971) and Charlie Batch (1998).
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O'Connor was the team leader on a much improved defensive unit for EMU in 2016. In his final season, O'Connor set the EMU sack record since 1998 by getting to the quarterback 20.0 times in his career. In total on the season, the Chicago native sacked the QB a team-high 8.5 times, which was good for 41st in the country and fifth in the Mid-American Conference.
In addition, O'Connor had 42 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 16 QB hurries, and five forced fumbles, and was one of just 10 players in the nation with five or more forced fumbles on the season. He finished his career as the games played leader, sack leader, QB hurries leader, and forced fumbles leader, while also finishing third on the tackles for loss list with 33.5.
At the conclusion of the season, O'Connor was recognized for his substantial efforts by being named to the MAC All-Conference First Team, as well as the first team on Phil Steele's Postseason All-MAC list. He also participated in the 2017 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, played in Carson, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 21.
The MAC had 12 player drafted which is the most in the league's modern era, shattering the previous mark of 11 set in 2005.