The Arizona Cardinals’ second-round selection in the 2023 NFL draft was LSU edge defender B.J. Ojulari. After he was selected, general manager Monti Ossenfort raved about his football character.
However, there is more to Ojulari than just being a good, hard-working guy.
The Cardinals like what he offers with his defensive skillset.
“As far as on the field ability-wise, I love what Ojulari can do in the pass and run game,” defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said of Ojulari last week on Tuesday. “He’s a very versatile player. I think he’s a very natural pass rusher, and you can see his bend. I think coming off the edge with speed, he can beat you with speed but as soon as he gets overset it’s not, ‘Oh no, what happened?’ He’s very fluid and natural with his counter rushes, and then on top of that he can stick a long arm in there and work moves off his long arms.
“As far as his rush ability, he’s very versatile and very natural. There is a bit of— how natural is this guy rushing off the edge? He’s very natural.”
In three seasons at LSU, he had 16.5 sacks and 25.5 tackles for loss, He had 104 total pressures in his two years as a starter.
Rallis also likes what Ohulari offers in the run game.
“I love the tools that he has in the run game as far as being able to set some violent edges and collapse the edge,” he said.
We will see what position he actually plays for the Cardinals, as we still do not know what the base front will look like quite yet.
Arizona needs production from the edge with the pass rush. With Ojulari, adding him to the duo of Cam Thomas and Myjai Sanders, entering their second season.
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