Giants 2025 UFA Primer: OLB Azeez Ojulari

New York Giants outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari was supposed to be one-half of the dynamic pass-rushing duo of the team’s future. However, his inability to stay healthy, combined with the arrival of Brian Burns via trade, likely spells the end of the team’s 2021 second-round pick’s time in East Rutherford.

Azeez Ojulari, Outside Linebacker

Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 240 lbs
Age: 24
NFL Exp: 4 Years
College: Georgia

Outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari has worked hard to become a consistent presence in the New York Giants’ pass-rushing efforts for much of his first four years in the NFL.

With increasing competition and injuries that have limited his time on the field, it’s been challenging to maintain that to where the team might want to consider letting him go to another opportunity.

Ojulari stepped onto the scene in East Rutherford in 2021 after the Giants selected him with the 50th overall selection in the second round of the draft from Georgia.

He began working with excellent pass-rushing veterans like Leonard Williams and Lorenzo Carter. He quickly became one of the team's tried-and-true producers in the defense and sacks column.

In his debut season with New York, Ojulari played in all 17 games for the Giants and finished as the fourth most active linebacker with 49 total tackles (29 solo), eight sacks, which led the entire defense, eight tackles for loss, one forced fumble and two pass deflections.

However, it would be the second season that Ojulari started to have his run-in with injuries and could not replicate the same stats that the Giants became acquainted with in year one.

He suffered a calf injury early in the 2022 season that kept him to just seven games and 14 tackles, albeit with some impressive late production that included 5.5 sacks and three forced fumbles, the former still finishing second on the defensive leaderboard.

In the following two seasons, Ojulari appeared in 11 games each. Still, the 2023 campaign would arguably be his lowest with just 16 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, and one fumble recovery in the Giants' 6-11 record after making the playoffs off the strength of their defensive unit the year before.

Before joining the professional ranks, Ojulari was a three-year player at the University of Georgia, where he earned a second-team All-SEC honor in his final campaign with the Bulldogs. He played a redshirt season in his first year and then played most of the next two years, notching at least 31 total stops and leading his school in pressures forced and sacks in that span.

He’s about to enter his first free agency period in the NFL, and uncertainty is looming about whether the Giants will bring him back. They are compiling talent in their outside linebacker and edge rushing realms, making it more challenging for Ojulari to stand out on the field, assuming he stays healthy enough to be on it.

Sep 22, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; New York Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke (58) and New York Giants linebacker Azeez Ojulari (51) celebrate after a sack during the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

2024 Recap

For the second straight season, Ojulari appeared in just 11 eleven games for the Giants, but he still ended up being one of the team’s best players in getting to the quarterback.

Ojulari missed the Giants’ last six contests with a toe injury he suffered in Week 12 against the Buccaneers. Still, he finished the season with 28 tackles (12 solo), six sacks for 31 yards, seven tackles for loss, and one fumble recovery, which he made in Week 3’s win over the Cleveland Browns.

With those numbers, Ojulari was the sixth most productive linebacker overall, but he also was the Giants’ third most successful playing in the sacks department after Dexter Lawrence II (9) and Brian Burns (8.5).

He had two games with two sacks apiece in the Giants' Week 6 and 8 losses to the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers, and he added 11 combined takedowns. This helped the team nearly come away with two of their one-score games, which marred them throughout the season.

While Ojulari wasn’t the most efficient edge man regarding overall pressures, where he graded out at 54.6 on PFF, he still collected 22 total pressures, including 12 hurries that ranked third in the team’s position group.

He earned a pressure rate of 7.6 percent and turned that into an 8.4 percent win rate, with most of his pressures coming off the left side of the line.

Jan 7, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants linebacker Azeez Ojulari (51) recovers a fumble by Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Marcus Mariota (not pictured) during the second half at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Why the Giants Should Keep Him

Azeez Ojulari’s tenure in New York got off to a hot start. Ever since his rookie season, when he had his career-high eight sacks, he has tried to give it his all to the Giants defense and has been a pleasant surprise for their pass rush.

The Giants have also learned a tough lesson about the importance of working to retain homegrown talent, even if it doesn’t make the most clear financial sense.

Joe Schoen let two All-Pro players, Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney, walk in free agency for cap reasons, and the two ex-patriots have now been posting record numbers for their new teams.

Based on how Ojulari has performed in limited time over the last three seasons, the Giants could be wary of letting him test the open waters and become something bigger for another franchise in the NFL.

Nothing speaks more to this than the record start that Ojulari got off to this fall when he amassed his six sacks in the first couple months of the campaign. Had he not gotten injured, he might have been chasing the team pressures title with Dexter Lawrence II, who also finished with his career-high in an injury-shortened season.

The Giants have the depth to overcome a loss of Ojulari if he were to take his talents elsewhere. Still, it might behoove the organization to learn from their mistakes and reward a day-one player who has blossomed in their system and proven they’ve had some good hits in their recent draft history.

Why the Giants Shouldn't Keep Him

While Azeez Ojulari has been a promising talent on the gridiron, his inability to remain on the field should concern the Giants regarding investing in their 2021 second-round pick from the Dave Gettleman era.

The Joe Schoen-Brian Daboll regime hasn’t held much regard for players drafted before they arrived in East Rutherford. They might have an easier decision, given that Ojulari has missed at least six games since his NFL debut. The defense is such an important phase of this franchise, and they need health to compete and slow down the most successful teams in the league.

One reason the Giants have been able to look past this issue is the status of Ojulari’s contract, for which he’s been playing on a cheap rookie agreement. That now changes, and Ojulari may want an increased salary for his efforts. The team might not be willing to dole it out to him when they have other options already on the roster.

Depth is a secondary factor in the Ojulari decision. With guys like Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux holding down the starting spots and a potential offseason acquisition of an edge man via the draft or free agency, Ojulari could get worked out of the big picture even though he has offered some viable production to the Giants when his name has been called.

Dec 15, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New England Patriots defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. (91) and linebacker Titus Leo (97) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Potential Replacements If He Doesn't Return

Free Agency: Deatrich Wise Jr., New England Patriots

Many free agent options are slated to hit the free agent market in March, but some are either high in age or salary. The Giants are expected to have the NFL’s 13th-highest cap space at $59.08 million for the top-51 cutoff, and it’s unknown whether they’d open the purse for a premium pass rusher when they have some options on the roster.

However, one player they could consider adding for depth purposes is New England Patriots defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. The eighth-year veteran isn’t the most active tackler on the team, but he has been an elite sack artist for the Patriots and has been consistent in his efforts.

Unlike Azeez Ojulari, Wise has been an ironman for the Patriots defense, appearing in no less than 14 games per season since 2017. In his tenure in the AFC East, he has tallied 314 total tackles (177 solo) with 34 sacks, including at least five in each of his last three campaigns.

Wise’s last contract, signed in 2021, gave him an average annual value of $5.5 million, which is affordable if the Giants want to lure him to the Big Apple. Things aren’t so bright in New England either, and that might make Wise want to leave and pursue partnering with a different future ahead of them.

Sep 14, 2024; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines defensive end Josaiah Stewart (0) pursues a play on defense against the Arkansas State Red Wolves at Michigan Stadium. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Draft: Josaiah Stewart, University of Michigan

The defensive end pool for the 2025 draft will be headlined by the Abdul Carters and Jack Sawyers of the world, but Michigan’s Josaiah Stewart is one prospect who could slip through the cracks and a possible mid-round grab by the Giants.

Ranked as a top-10 positional player by PFF, Stewart has been an ascending pressure man for the Wolverines in his three seasons. In 2024, he played in 440 snaps–221 in pass rush–and logged a career-high nine sacks to go along with 20 total pressures.

Stewart has been dominant in getting to the quarterback and offers stuffing efforts to slow down the run. He recorded a 27.1 percent win rate against the former and 8.3 percent on the ground and can give the Giants a younger answer on the edge if injuries befall the veteran pieces ahead of him.

Keep or Dump?

For as long as he has been a member of the Giants, Ojulari has been synonymous with getting home to the quarterback, causing some pressure that could lead to impactful turnovers on the other end.

Given his production and the obstacles he has had to overcome to earn that, a case could be made that Ojulari should at least have a conversation with the Giants about returning. That said, young pass rushers don’t go on trees, and it’s certainly fair to assume that some team will want to invest in Ojulari, who is just 25 and has shown he can be effective when healthy.

The Giants' defensive front was one of the most banged-up areas of the roster this past season, and that is not something they can repeat in 2025 if they plan on riding their pass rush again. With hot and cold spells also befalling their key weapons, having another option in Ojulari isn’t a bad idea if the two sides can agree to the right terms.