THE OJULARI FILE
Second-team All-SEC, 2020
Defensive MVP Peach Bowl, 2021
Set Giants rookie record (8) for sacks, 2021
By Lenn Robbins
We are not, repeat, not suggesting that Giants edge rusher Azeez Ojulari will have a better career than the greatest OL in NFL history – Lawrence “LT” Taylor.
But facts are facts.
Factually, Ojulari set the Giants rookie franchise record for sacks last season with eight. He did so because he had a terrific rookie season and the NFL didn’t begin keeping sacks as a statistic until the 1982 season. Unofficially, LT would have had 9.5 sacks to add to his 132.5 sacks.
On a disappointing 2021 Giants team, the rookie from Georgia was a standout player. He posted 9.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. Getting Ojulari in the second round (No.50 overall) is steal territory.
Ojulari sounds like a young player with a humble, hungry attitude. When asked what he wanted to achieve as a rookie, Ojulari undersold himself.
“Just coming in each week, trying to get better,” he told reporters after the season. “Compete with the best of the best; trying to show them I could play in this league.”
Mission accomplished.
Season 2 could be even better. The Giants used the fifth pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux, the former top-ranked prep player in the nation. With Ojulari on one side and Thibodeaux on the other, Giants could have the best, young pass-rushing tandem in football.
“I know how elite he is and how good of a player he is,” Ojulari said of Thibodeaux.