Giants perspective on Philadelphia’s offseason edge rusher addition.
The Philadelphia Eagles signed one free agent this offseason who qualified for a contract that counts against their compensatory pick formula: Azeez Ojulari. In other words, he’s their biggest veteran free agent investment.
Let’s learn more about the 24-year-old edge rusher by getting a New York Giants perspective on him. Here’s what Ed Valentine of Big Blue View had to say about Ojulari through answers to my questions.
1 – Can you recap his time with the Giants?
Had a really promising rookie season with 8.0 sacks, though his supporting numbers — like pressure rate and win percentage weren’t fantastic. Only played in 29 of 51 regular season games his last three seasons as injuries were a constant problem. Productive pass rusher who just hasn’t been able to stay on the field.
2 – Why was he available for so cheap and are you annoyed that the Giants didn’t retain him for a low cost?
Injuries. The Giants have waited … and waited … and waited for him to be healthy. I think they could have easily matched/exceeded one year, $4 million but have gotten tired of being teased.
3 – What are his strengths?
Simply put, he’s a good pass rusher when he can stay healthy.
4 – What are his weaknesses?
Health, as you might expect. It’s been one soft-tissue or lower body injury after another for Ojulari. Plus, he’s really a one-trick pony. He is a pass rusher. He is not a good run defender.
5 – Anything to know about him off the field?
Arizona Cardinals OLB B.J.Ojulari is his younger brother.
BLG’s take: I agree with BGN’s Jonny Page that the Ojulari signing was a no-brainer addition. It’s a low-risk signing that comes with good upside. That he was available for so cheap does raise some “buyer beware” red flags. And after watching some of his film from last year at a Fran Duffy PHLY film review event, I wasn’t overly impressed. But the Eagles needed help at edge rusher and I think Ojulari can ideally be a top three player at that position for them, assuming he’s able to put the injury bug behind him. The expectation here is that he’ll be more solid than a total revelation for the defense.
