Azeez Ojulari was a home-run draft pick for the New York Giants with the 50th overall selection in 2021. Ojulari had a first-round projection but fell into round two, becoming an absolute steal for the Giants. This offseason, the Giants could add another Ojulari into the fold as Azeez’s younger brother B.J. Ojulari is projected to be drafted in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Giants meet with BJ Ojulari at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine
The Giants met with B.J. Ojulari this week at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. Ojulari said that his meeting with New York went “very well.” B.J. also explained that Azeez gave him a few pointers heading into the meeting.
“Just being able to meet the whole staff was a great feeling walking out of the room,” B.J. Ojulari said at the Combine. “[Azeez] sent me a couple texts saying who was going to be in there, what to expect. The interview went very smooth.”
When asked about the possibility of playing alongside his older brother in the Big Apple, B.J. Ojulari said, “If I end up with him, it’s going to be a blessing to play with my brother [Azeez] again.”
The Giants could target B.J. Ojulari in this year’s draft and create a fire-and-ice duo with the two brothers. Despite playing the same edge rusher position, Azeez and B.J. have very different playing styles, as B.J. described.
“We have some similarities, but I don’t think we play the same playing style,” B.J. Ojulari explained. “Azeez is more like striking, a bulldozer. I’m using more speed moves and swipes and other things like that, which he’s able to use, but that’s not his style.”
Picking 57th overall in the second round of this year’s draft, the New York Giants could add the younger Ojulari brother to their lineup. The Giants do have two locked-in starters on the edge already with 2022 fifth-overall pick Kayvon Thibodeaux joining Azeez Ojulari in DC Wink Martindale’s defense last season. But Giants fans should know better than most that an NFL team can never have enough pass-rushers, as evidenced by the team’s two most recent Super Bowl victories.
What could BJ Ojulari bring to Big Blue?
B.J. Ojulari stands in at 6-foot-3, 244 pounds, possessing natural athleticism, upside as a pass rusher, and leadership qualities according to The Draft Network. However, Ojulari’s lack of strength, length, and size gives scouts concerns about his ability to play on the line of scrimmage.
Ojulari recorded 5.5 sacks, 8.5 tackles for loss, and 58 total tackles as a true junior for LSU’s defense in 2022. The LSU product projects as a designated pass-rusher in a 3-4 defensive scheme as an edge-rusher/outside linebacker at the next level. This makes B.J. a perfect fit with the New York Giants who could look to add Azeez’s younger brother in the second or third rounds of this year’s draft.
Overall, Ojulari is an NFL prospect with a high upside as a pass rusher—which will help him see the field early in the NFL—but he needs to continue to develop other aspects of his game to be viewed as a three-down player in the NFL.
The Draft Network on B.J. Ojulari
B.J. Ojulari’s projection as a designated pass-rusher could be the reason he lands with Big Blue. The Giants have two starting, three-down edge rushers on their roster in Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari. However, the team could afford to add more pass-rushing depth to their roster. B.J. Ojulari could be mixed in on passing downs and rush the quarterback alongside Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari.
“My playing style is based on a lot of effort,” B.J. described at the Combine. “Sideline-to-sideline plays. Chasing stuff down. Constant strain to the ball is a thing I take a lot of pride in.”