As we enter draft season, edge rusher [autotag]BJ Ojulari[/autotag] seems to be universally considered LSU’s top prospect and the program’s best shot at having a player hear their name called during the first night of the 2023 NFL draft.
A lot of mocks have shown Ojulari coming off the board late in the first, potentially with the last pick, this latest mock from ESPN’s Matt Miller has Ojulari falling out of the first round — which is just 31 picks this year after Miami’s first-round pick was stripped due to tampering.
Instead, he has Ojulari going to the Los Angeles Rams early in the second with the 36th overall pick.
Positional value comes into play here, and with no left tackle of value on the board, the front office pivots to pass-rusher. Ojulari (6-3, 250 pounds) had 12.5 sacks the past two seasons while playing off the edge of the LSU defense and wearing the famed No. 18 jersey awarded to a team leader.
The Rams never really found a replacement at the edge in 2022 after losing Von Miller in free agency, and Ojulari could provide the answer. Taking him here would be good value, to boot.
As Miller mentions, Ojulari was a leader both on and off the field for the Tigers this season. His production dipped a bit in 2022 due to the emergence of true freshman [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag], but Ojulari played a key role as part of a tough LSU front seven this season.
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