How is outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari going to follow up his impressive rookie season? The NY Giants and head coach Brian Daboll can’t wait to find out, as Ojulari was simply brilliant during Year 1 with the G-Men. Ojulari was hard at work throughout the offseason in the gym and the results are showing.
While speaking to the media on Thursday, Ojulari looked noticeably different while standing at the podium. That’s because the sack master revealed that he put on about 10 pounds of muscle during his workouts in the past few months. Ojulari played last season in the 245 range and he’s now up to 255. This is rough news for NFC East quarterbacks.
Azeez Ojulari says he added about 10 pounds of muscle this offseason. At 255 pounds. Played at around 246 last year. pic.twitter.com/DSd38UWb9d
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) May 19, 2022
NY Giants Azeez Ojulari put on 10 pounds of muscle this offseason
That’s what you call taking the offseason conditioning program seriously. In the photo above, shared by ESPN insider Jordan Raanan, you can see just how much bigger Ojulari looks. He hasn’t lost any of his speed either, so this is certainly going to make him much more of a force in the trenches when trying to get to quarterbacks.
Ojulari is pretty darn good at that, as he set the Giants rookie record for sacks in 2021, finishing the year with eight. There’s debate that Lawrence Taylor is ahead of him, as LT posted 9.5 sacks in 1981. However, sacks didn’t become official until 1982. Regardless of that, Ojulari had some unreal performances and he was one of the few bright sports for the Giants.
Azeez Ojulari is excited to get to work with Kayvon Thibodeaux
While speaking to the press, Ojulari also said that he’s excited to get going with No. 5 overall pick Kayvon Thibodeaux. Those two working on the field together is something that Giants fans are really excited to see, as they could form to be one of the best tag teams in the NFC for years to come.
With Thibodeaux having the potential to break Ojulari’s rookie sacks record, this could prove to be a fun little rivalry between the two on who can bring the QB down more this upcoming season. Regardless of who comes out on top, both pass-rushers are in a great spot to help New York flip the switch and record a much better campaign than a year ago. Ojulari is ready to get to work and his mindset couldn’t be better right now.