BJ Ojulari NFL Draft Scouting Report

EDGE, LSU Tigers

BJ Ojualri is a true junior defensive lineman/edge player for the LSU who has been a key contributor for the program since his freshman year. Ojulari is the younger brother of New York Giants defensive end Azeez Ojulari. Leading into Ojualri’s junior year, he was given the No. 18 jersey number—that number represents one of the team’s captains and a high-character person on and off the field and in the locker room. 

Throughout Ojulari’s duration at LSU, he has been a part of multiple defensive coordinator changes which affected his alignments and ability to consistently learn one scheme and technique. Over three years of play, Ojualri has shown to play his best football as a stand-up edge rusher where he can use his natural athletic ability to be a difficult player to block in the passing game and run game. 

Ojulari’s biggest upside comes with him as a pass rusher. At the snap, Ojualri has an explosive first step that he can use to beat the offensive lineman with speed around the arc. At the apex of his rush, Ojulari showcases the ability to dip and rip under offensive linemen, keeping great balance and bending the edge to win around the edge on offensive linemen. Ojulari also is a fluid mover and has good change of direction, which is a problem for offensive linemen. Ojulari likes to use a hesitation move at the top of his rush to get offensive linemen off balance and then be able to choose the angle that he wants to attack. Ojulari has shown to have a couple of different hand combat moves that he can use to defeat offensive linemen in his pass-rush sequence. 

As a run defender, Ojualri plays best when he can use his athleticism. When he is on the backside of plays, he does a good job of using his closing speed to make tackles in backside pursuit. Ojulari also shows to be a difficult player to account for in read-option plays—when he is unblocked, he has the ability to play the quarterback and running back and make the play. 

Ojulari’s potential improvements as a player come from his lack of size and overall strength to play along the line of scrimmage. In the run game when Ojulari is on the front side of run plays, he struggles to work through the traffic and be a physical presence. Ojualri appears to struggle with disengaging with offensive linemen due to length issues when they get attached in the run game and often has to spin out of blocks in which he gives up yardage. 

As a pass rusher, Ojulari simply needs to be more decisive earlier in his pass rush. Ojulari will oftentimes hesitate to be decisive in his rush plan and fail to apply pressure. 

Overall, Ojulari is an NFL prospect with a high upside as a pass rusher—which will help him see the field early in the NFL—but he needs to continue to develop other aspects of his game to be viewed as a three-down player in the NFL.

Top Reasons to Buy In:

• Natural athleticism 
• Upside as a pass rusher
• Leadership qualities 

Top Reasons For Concern:

•  Size concerns playing on the line of scrimmage
•  Strength at the point of attack
•  Length 

Size (NFL Combine):

Height: 6′ 2”

Weight: 248 lbs

Arm Length: 34 1/4”

Hand Size: 10 1/2”

Athletic Testing (NFL Combine):

40-yard Dash: TBD

Vertical Jump: 32.5”

Broad Jump: 10′ 6”

Short-Shuttle: TBD

Three-Cone: TBD

Bench Reps: TBD

Ideal Role: Designated pass rusher 

Scheme Fit: 3-4 scheme OLB

TDN Consensus Grade: 73.50/100 (Fourth-Round Value)

• Sanchez Grade: 73.50/100

Written By: Keith Sanchez 

Exposures: Alabama (2022), Florida State (2022), Mississippi State (2022), Georgia  (2022),  Texas A&M (2022)

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