Senior Bowl 2021: 5 defensive NFL Draft prospects NY Giants should scout

Ade Ogundeji – LB, Notre Dame

Size: 6-foot-4, 268 pounds

Career stats: 82 total tackles, 13 sacks, six forced fumbles

Round projection: Round 1-2

If there is any defensive prospect that could raise his draft stock to levels Javon Kinlaw saw, surging into the No. 14 pick coming out of Mobile Ala. last year, it’s Ogundeji.

Ogundeji is a long defensive end with good bend, and explosive enough to be difficult to block both on his way into the backfield as a rusher and as a run-stuffer. That combination will serve him well this draft season.

Some scouts believe that Ogundeji has the chance to be a double-digit sack artist at the next level, and while some teams already have a Day 2 grade on the Notre Dame outside linebacker, one personnel man is eager to see him perform against the top talent the Senior Bowl presents.

“He’s a good defensive end,” an NFC personnel executive told me recently. “Can he be great? We’ll see.”

The Giants need to keep collecting productive rushers, especially given the uncertainty surrounding Oshane Ximines and Lorenzo Carter, coming off injuries. Depending on Ogundeji’s week and the futures of Williams or Tomlinson, he could be making the move from Notre Dame to New Jersey this spring.