Azeez
Ojulari.
Azeez
Ojulari.
Georgia· 6'2"· 249 lb· 4.63s 40
"A Georgia edge with an 8.5-sack redshirt sophomore breakout and a first-round athletic profile masked by a mid-second-round grade for run defense and length."Pre-draft read
Azeez Ojulari is a designated pass rusher built around elite ankle flexion and one of the quickest first steps in his draft class. His signature win is the speed-to-power counter: he threatens the arc with a low-hipped bend, gets the tackle over his skis, then converts speed into a long-arm bull that jars the passer's spot. His hand package — chops, swipes, cross-chop into rip — is more advanced than his college snap count would suggest, and he chains counters when the first move is denied.
As a run defender he plays with effort and technique but not power: a 249-pound base gets moved by tight ends on kickouts and single-blocked at the point of attack by NFL right tackles. He is a situational third-down force, not a base-down anchor.
Azeez Ojulari thrives in a 3-4 front that prioritizes attacking with quick, athletic edge rushers, often featuring one-gap principles.
His Year 1 role is likely a situational designated pass rusher, eventually developing into a starting 3-4 outside linebacker with improved run defense.
He would be a poor fit as a hand-in-the-dirt 4-3 base strongside defensive end who is expected to consistently set a hard edge against the run.
Ojulari's elite bend and first-step give him high upside in a pass-rush heavy scheme, but his frame currently limits his every-down utility against the run.
Azeez Ojulari — 2021 Peach Bowl (Georgia)
Official Georgia channel: the signature three-sack SEC Championship MVP performance vs. Cincinnati.
Azeez Ojulari Scouting Report — 2021 NFL Draft
Pre-draft scouting breakdown covering bend, hand package, frame concerns and Giants projection.
Azeez Ojulari — Speed to Power
Giants-era cutup showcasing the signature speed-to-power counter and first-step get-off.
Azeez Ojulari entered the draft as a productive college edge rusher, projecting as a speed rusher for NFL teams. He offers elite bend and hand quickness, generating consistent pressure and finishing sacks. However, questions surrounded his frame and ability to hold up on early downs against professional power.
He redshirted in 2018 due to an ACL injury, then broke out at Georgia with 8.5 sacks and Second-Team All-SEC honors in 2019. His 2020 season included 9.5 sacks, 12.5 TFLs, and an SEC Championship MVP award after a three-sack performance in the Peach Bowl. This production came at a high level of competition within the SEC.
Evaluators considered his 6'2", 249-pound frame and 32 5/8" arm length to be light for a 4-3 defensive end, just meeting the length threshold. Despite good testing numbers, the consensus placed him as an early second-round pick, valued for his pass-rushing traits but with concerns about his ability to anchor against the run.
- 01
Bend and corner
one of the more flexible edge athletes in the class, dips under punch, flattens the arc to the quarterback and turns tight rather than running past the pocket.
- 02
Pass-rush production
real ACC and SEC sack production at Georgia; converted pressures into finishes and produced quarterback-affecting weeks against premier tackle competition.
- 03
First-step get-off
quick out of his stance, wins the arc with pure burst and forces tackles into panicked oversets and interior counters early in reps.
- 04
Hand-usage plan for age
flashes real cross-chop, swipe and long-arm sequences; the pass-rush toolkit of a rusher who wins with more than one move on any given rep.
- 05
Motor and pursuit
chases plays sideline to sideline, finishes through the whistle and shows up on backside effort tackles more than his position typically warrants.
- 01
Frame and mass
6-2, 249 pounds with average length; profiles as a designated stand-up edge or 3-4 outside linebacker rather than a hand-in-the-dirt base end.
- 02
Run-defense strength
plays high and can be washed on gap runs and reach blocks to his side; needs to add functional strength to hold up as a base end on early downs.
- 03
Length limitations
sub-33-inch arms cap his ability to keep NFL tackles off his frame; punch can be swatted or extended past by longer offensive linemen on the corner.
- 04
Anchor at the point of attack
leaner build can be walked back on down blocks and kick-out blocks; not a true edge-setter yet against tight-end and pulling guard combinations.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.63sp50
- Vertical
- 30inp50
- Broad jump
- 127inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.27sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.34sp50
- Bench
- 26repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Georgia | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Georgia | 14 | 35 | 5.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | Georgia | 10 | 31 | 9.5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Career | — | 27 | 70 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Realistic outcome — a productive designated rusher whose sack numbers spike in the right scheme but whose team churns because of the frame and durability profile
Ceiling case if the frame carries weight and the run defense catches up — a versatile 4-3/3-4 hybrid edge who hits 10+ sacks and plays base downs
Floor case is a career specialist edge who bounces between teams as a situational rusher on one-year deals
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Hit. 8 sacks as a rookie, 7 in year two, elite pressure rates. Knee injuries in 2023 (torn meniscus) and 2024 (ACL) capped his ceiling. Fifth-year option picked up, returned in late 2024 as a pass-rush specialist. When healthy, top-30 pass rusher in the league — durability the story.
**Pre-draft context.** Azeez Ojulari entered the 2021 NFL Draft as one of the most productive edge rushers in college football over a single season, but with real questions about the frame under the bend. A four-star Marietta, GA prospect who redshirted 2018 (ACL), he broke out at Georgia with 8.5 sacks and Second-Team All-SEC in 2019, then exploded in 2020 with 9.5 sacks, 12.5 TFLs and the SEC Championship MVP after a signature three-sack performance vs. Cincinnati in the Peach Bowl. He arrived at his pro day at 6'2" and 249 pounds with 32 5/8" arms — light in the frame for an NFL 4-3 defensive end and just at the length threshold — but tested well (4.63 forty, 35.5" vertical). The board consensus placed him as an early 2nd-round speed rusher: elite bend and hand quickness, real production, but a projection to hold up on early downs against NFL power.
**NFL fit — Giants.** Joe Judge and Patrick Graham drafted Ojulari as an immediate designated pass rusher, and he delivered: 8 sacks as a rookie (Giants rookie sacks record), 5.5 in an injury-shortened 2022, and a 6-sack 2023 in 11 games. From that point the profile became a chronic durability story — recurring ankle and hamstring issues, missed games every year, and a 2024 season limited to nine appearances. The Giants let him walk in 2025 free agency and he signed a one-year prove-it deal with the division-rival Eagles as a rotational edge behind Nolan Smith and Bryce Huff, where the reduced snap count is the point.
**Retrospective.** Ojulari is the pre-draft archetype confirmed in both directions. The trait — first-step burst, ankle flexion, hand counters — was NFL-caliber from day one and produced sacks in every healthy stretch of his career. The flag — a 249-pound frame that lived on the edge medically and physically — is exactly what capped him at a designated-rusher role rather than a three-down starter. A hit as a second-round pass rusher, not a miss, but the ceiling everyone tried to project (10+ sack DE1) never had a realistic path.