The 2021 NFL Draft will be a great event for teams to start building for their future. Here is the Azeez Ojulari 2021 NFL Draft Profile.
Position: Edge Rusher
Size: 6-foot-3, 240 pounds
Class: Redshirt Sophomore
2020 stats: 31 total tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, 2 passes defended, 4 forced fumbles 1 fumble recovery
Over his three seasons on Georgia’s campus, Ojulari continually improved and became a great player. After he developed into a defensive force during the 2020 season, he decided to declare for the 2021 NFL Draft.
He was a U.S. Army All-American in high school who decided to stay in state to play for the Bulldogs. In his first year at Georgia, he redshirted, but did get some playing time. For his redshirt freshman season, he was a starter who logged 33 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. The Bulldogs went 12-2 with a win in the Sugar Bowl that season. Ojulari took another huge step forward in 2020 with 31 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks. The Bulldogs went 8-2 with a win in the Peach Bowl over Cincinnati to cap off the year.
After two really good seasons of on-field play, Ojulari is ready for the draft. He is currently projected to be a first or second round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Azeez Ojulari
Ojulari has great burst for an NFL pass rusher. He gets out of his stance very quickly, which makes him a problem from his first steps. Ojulari uses that quick burst at the snap as momentum fro the rest of the play. His burst gives him a step ahead of offensive tackles and makes him hard to block. Ojulari’s quick first step can totally disrupt a play for an offense.
His athleticism is up there with the best of the class for edge rushers. Ojulari has great speed, quickness and agility, which makes him an athletic mismatch for most offensive tackles. In adition to his movement skills, Ojulari is flexible, which allows him to turn the corner on tackles and get to the quarterback. There won’t be many more athletic pass rushers in this class.
In addition to his athleticism and burst, Ojulari has terrific hand usage. He has strong, powerful hands that he uses to keep offensive tackles from punching at him. Not only are his hands powerful, but he also has solid placement and knows how to use them to make him harder to block.
The biggest weakness for Ojulari is play strength. He is just 240 pounds, which isn’t up to par with NFL edge rushers. Ojulari will need to add weight to be able to handle the strength of NFL offensive linemen and to hopefully prevent injury. In doing this, he will want to make sure that the added weight doesn’t come at the expense of his athleticism and quickness.
With the lack of play strength, Ojulari doesn’t have much power. He can’t covert his speed to too much power because of this. The lack of strength also limits what he can do as a pass rusher, as he won’t win with a bull rush. Don’t expect to see Ojulari blowing up running plays by overpowering his matchup either.
Some may question whether Ojulari can be an every down player in the NFL. He has just two years of production at the college level and didn’t play all of Georgia’s snaps. There will be questions if he can endure the grind of an NFL season and playing every down because of this.
Projected Draft Range: First Round Pick-Second Round Pick
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