When the New York Giants drafted Azeez Ojulari with the 50th pick in 2021, they thought they were getting their next great pass rusher. His last season at Georgia suggested he could be something special. Ojulari represented potential. Unfortunately, potential doesn’t always mean production.
Ojulari came in hot. He set the Giants’ rookie record with eight sacks, but after that, it’s been a downhill slide, mostly because of injuries. He hasn’t played a full season since, and it’s stunted both his development and consistency. He was having a solid fourth season in 2024 with six sacks, but once again, it ended with him on injured reserve. They tried to trade him at the deadline, but ultimately kept him around because of Kayvon Thibodeaux’s own injury issues.
They tried to bring him back in free agency, but Ojulari took a page out of Saquon Barkley’s book and took his talents down I-95. Still just 25 years old, the Eagles took a flier on him to help replace a mass exodus of pass-rushing prowess during the offseason. And while it’s only training camp, things aren’t exactly going how they’d hoped. He’s already getting passed on the depth chart and hasn’t made much of a name for himself.
Azeez Ojulari is already getting buried on Philadelphia's depth chart
It’s still early, but this isn’t the start Ojulari needed, especially not on a team looking to reshape its edge room. The Eagles lost a good chunk of their pass-rushing production this offseason and hoped the former second-rounder would help ease that transition.
Instead, Ojulari’s first impression has been quiet at best and underwhelming at worst. And with Josh Uche, a guy essentially given up on by the struggling Patriots, already ahead of him in the rotation, the warning signs are flashing early.
Philly isn’t expecting Ojulari to become a double-digit sack machine overnight, but with Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt locked in up top, the margin for error behind them is thin. Since the pads have come on, Uche has shown more burst, more consistency, and a better feel for defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense, which only adds to the pressure for Ojulari to flip the script fast.
Feels like Josh Uche is the Eagles’ EDGE3 over Azeez Ojulari right now.
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) August 4, 2025
Injuries might’ve slowed him down in New York, but that leash won’t stretch forever in Philly. The fact that he’s already getting passed over by a glorified depth piece like Uche doesn’t say much for how the coaching staff views his ceiling. If he can’t pop against a sorry, second-string Bengals line this week, it’s hard to imagine a path where he climbs this chart before September.
At a certain point, the “still young with upside” argument loses its luster. It’s been three years of trying to get things back on track. What we’re seeing now is a player still trying to find his footing, and it’s clear that was never just a Giants problem.