Rookie Profile: B.J. Ojulari Can Jump-Start Cardinals Pass Rush

The Arizona Cardinals selected B.J. Ojulari in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Let's break down what we need to know about the LSU pass rusher.

Author:
Richie Bradshaw
Publish date:
May 16, 2023 3:11 PM EDT

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Arizona Cardinals

As we continue our series of breaking down the Arizona Cardinals 2023 NFL Draft class, we hop in the day two picks and start with second-round pick B.J.

Ojulari, a pass rusher out of LSU, was viewed as one of the safer prospects in the draft class if not unspectacular. But don't tell that to Jonathan Gannon and the Cardinals who likely picture him as a big-time contributor for this pass rush.

As Ojulari gets ready to head into the first year of his NFL career, let's get to know the LSU product a little bit better. Here we will take a look at his accomplishments thus far, his 2023 NFL Draft profile, what we see on the tape, and his possible role for the Cardinals in 2023.

Let's get to know Ojulari.

Accomplishments

Highly recruited Four-Star High School Prospect (52nd overall prospect, third-ranked outside linebacker)
Two-way starter in high school (right tackle)
Started 24 games in three seasons
Wore prestigious #18 jersey in 2022
First-Team All-SEC in 2022
Permanent team captain in 2022
128 tackles and 16.5 career sacks

2023 NFL Draft profile

Two-year full-time starter and three-year full-time role player
Good production in two seasons starting
Decent size at 6'2" 248lbs but with 34 1/4" arms and 10 1/2" hands
Brother of New York Giants defender Azeez Ojulari

What the tape shows

With NFL bloodlines thanks to his brother, Ojulari came into the 2023 NFL Draft with name recognition that put some immediate focus into scouting him. The biggest strength of Ojulari's game is the play speed. Ojulari's get-up-and-go is top-tier and his ability to bend the edge gave him a unique advantage over his opposition. With that access to dipping and flattening the edge, Ojulari has a good complimentary ability to a more old-fashioned power rusher.

While Ojulari's speed is quite an asset, he is far from the biggest player on the field and this could lead to him getting swallowed up by NFL offensive tackles. Ojulari will need to continue refining his counter moves to disengage and perhaps finding a way to play with more functional strength could help. His lack of completeness could make him a role player to start his career while he continues developing and refining his overall toolbox to get after quarterbacks.

Projected role for 2023

Ojulari joins a depleted, but intriguing edge rushing group highlighted by second-year guys Myjai Sanders and Cameron Thomas. Outside of these three, the competition for snaps at edge rusher is far from elite.

Gannon ran a highly-effective pass rush a year ago with the Philadelphia Eagles that saw three edge rushers eclipse 11+ sacks, so he could in theory get the most out of these three. The upside of Ojulari will have Gannon's attention, but he could very well be in for a yar of stash and developing similar to what Sanders and Thomas went through a year ago. But again, the lack of established talent has me thinking Ojulari will still see the field quite a bit.

It is unlikely that Ojulari will be a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate or even a full-time starter and every down player, but we should still anticipate the second-round pick to see the field plenty in his rookie season. Ojulari will be an experiment for Gannon to see how quickly he can get the most out of his crew.