Former New York Giants second-round draft pick and pass rusher Azeez Ojulari signed with the bitter rival Philadelphia Eagles this offseason, and ESPN NFL writer Bill Barnwell believes he could follow in the footsteps of running back Saquon Barkley in 2025.
Barkley, of course, had a career year with the Eagles, winning an Offensive Player of the Year award to go along with his Super Bowl ring. So, why not Ojulari?
“With the Eagles fielding the most expensive offense in NFL history for the second consecutive season, it was inevitable that they were going to need to find cheaper solutions on defense,” Barnwell wrote after listing Ojulari among his 2025 breakout predictions.
“Defensive tackle Milton Williams played his way out of their budget with his 2024 season. Pass rusher Josh Sweat might have been the best player on the field in the Super Bowl. Veteran edge rusher Brandon Graham retired,” he explained. “The Eagles are stacked with young defenders at all three levels, but they were going to need to find some veteran depth on the cheap.”
The player they chose was Ojulari, and Philadelphia even shipped out Bryce Huff to open up a clear role for him.
Azeez Ojulari Is Expected to Thrive in ‘Situational Role’ With Eagles After Bryce Huff Trade
Barnwell went on to detail the move from his perspective:
“General manager Howie Roseman could have built his equivalent of an NBA team and found ring-chasing veterans who were willing to sign on the cheap, but I liked the decision to try to find some players who still have upside,” he noted. “The Eagles know Ojulari well, as the 2021 second-round pick just finished out his rookie deal with the Giants and has three sacks in his past two games against Philadelphia.”
“Listed at 240 pounds, Ojulari is one of the league’s smallest edge defenders, which limits his ability to play a heavy workload on early downs,” Barnwell continued later. “His role will likely be to replace free agent disappointment Bryce Huff, who wasn’t able to carve out a steady role in his debut season in Philadelphia and appears to be on his way to the [San Francisco] 49ers in a salary-dump trade.”
“In a situational role on passing downs behind Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt, Ojulari should be able to tee off on opposing quarterbacks,” the veteran writer concluded. “On an Eagles defensive line that is thinner than recent years, he could end up being a surprisingly important player.”
Giants Upgraded on Azeez Ojulari With Abdul Carter
The Giants made a clear effort to re-sign Ojulari, but it’s probably for the best that they weren’t able to reach an agreement.
Considering how things turned out in the NFL draft — with Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter falling into Big Blue’s lap — there wouldn’t have been much of a role for the former second-rounder if he had stuck around.
After all, the Giants still have Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, and they also signed another potential situational pass rusher in Chauncey Golston. Although they might not have done that if they were able to retain Ojulari.
Either way, this isn’t a Barkley-type deal, but it’d still be nice if Ojulari didn’t go on to have a breakout season in Philly after struggling to stay healthy in New York.
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