New York Giants pass rusher Azeez Ojulari has used the offseason to increase his size and strength in order to match up better on the edge.
The former second-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft played as an edge rusher for the Giants at around 245-pounds. In his rookie season, he was able to put up promising production as he recorded 13 QB hits and 8.0 sacks over the course of 17 games.
However, this was not enough for the former Georgia Bulldog as he is always striving for more.
“I just felt like trying to improve my game, my weight to just hold up. I just feel good. Just wanted to get bigger,” Ojulari told reporters on Thursday.
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
To “get bigger,” Ojulari added 10 pounds of lean muscle since the end of the season and checked in at around 255 pounds during OTAs. This weight is much more comparable to other pass-rush specialists around the league and will allow Ojulari to have more strength when battling in the trenches.
This will be important for the upcoming 2022 season as Ojulari and the Giants hope to turn things around from an underwhelming 2021 season in which they recorded only 34 team sacks.
Getting the sophomore linebacker to double-digit sacks should help turn this problem around, “obviously I want to hit double digits for sure, but you’ve just got to work every day, try to improve every single day matter what it is.”
