Eagles thrilled to see Azeez Ojulari flash, excited to see more
Eagles thrilled to see Azeez Ojulari flash, excited to see more originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Azeez Ojulari didn't wait very long on Sunday to make a play.
He did it on his first snap.
I told him, Dang, man,'" fellow edge rusher Patrick Johnson said. You couldn't wait one play? You had to make a play on the very first one?'"
After watching the first four games of the Eagles' 2025 season as a healthy scratch, Ojulari was active for the first time this season for the Eagles' loss to the Broncos on Sunday. He picked up a tackle for loss on his very first defensive snap halfway through the first quarter, when he got off a block and dragged down RJ Harvey for a three-yard loss.
And by the end of the game, Ojulari had played 34 snaps (tied for second among the Eagles' edge rushers) and had 3 tackles, a TFL and a QB hit. It was an impressive debut.
Not bad for a guy who couldn't get on the field the first four games.
I think for any athlete, when you put the work in and you know what you're capable of, it's always tough to sit behind," said cornerback Adoree' Jackson, who was teammates with Ojulari for four seasons with the Giants before both joined the Eagles this offseason.
But to be resilient enough and to be able to keep doing your job, keep working is one thing. And then to go out and execute the way he did on Sunday is another thing. It's cool to see."
The Eagles signed Ojulari to a one-year deal this offseason after Ojulari spent the first four years of his career with the Giants as a second-round pick. While he missed some time with injuries in New York, he was always productive. So it was a bit of a surprise that after the Eagles signed him to a $3.5 million deal this offseason, Ojulari got buried on the depth chart this summer thanks to a lackluster training camp performance.
And because special teams factors into the game-day inactives, Ojulari didn't dress out for the first four games. But after injuries to Nolan Smith and Ogbo Okoronkwo, Ojulari finally got his chance on Sunday.
Yeah, he made some nice plays out there for a guy that hadn't played at all in the regular season," defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. So that was encouraging."
It seems like the Eagles didn't plan for Ojulari to be as big a part of the rotation as he was, but Fangio said, when he was going, when he made a couple plays, keep him there."
With Nolan Smith still expected to be out a few more weeks, the Eagles will need to keep getting contributions from Ojulari. The edge rusher rotation now includes Jalyx Hunt, Za'Darius Smith, Josh Uche, Johnson and Ojulari.
Ojulari's teammates were thrilled to see him make some plays on Sunday.
Of course, man," Uche said. To see one of your brothers get that opportunity they've been itching for and to see him do his thing, get out there and be in a natural habitat, yeah."
The Eagles this season haven't gotten a ton of production from their edge rushers, although Fangio on Tuesday said he has been pleased with the pressure. But that group has just 1 1/2 sacks through five games and they all belong to Za'Darius Smith.
Ojulari during his four years in New York had 22 sacks and 38 QB hits in 46 games, so maybe he'll be able to contribute going forward. His QB hit on Sunday wasn't a cheapie either; he beat nine-year veteran left tackle Garett Bolles around the edge to hit Bo Nix on an incompletion.
He's been working hard," Johnson said. Obviously, everybody wants to be out there on the field as early as they possibly can.
But knowing Azeez and being with him when I was in New York, he's a hard worker and he came with a good attitude about it the whole time. Always communicating with Howie (Roseman), communicating with Wash (OLB coach Jeremiah Washburn), stuff like that. They always told him that they love him here and it's showing. He went out there and made some plays. It was great."
The Eagles suffered their first loss of the season on Sunday and have a quick turnaround before playing the Giants at MetLife Stadium on Thursday night.
This will be Ojulari's first game against his former team. For the first month of the season, it was looking like he would be a spectator for this one. But he'll be on the field again on Thursday against the Giants, trying to build on an encouraging Eagles debut.
His teammates are looking forward to seeing him do it again.
You never hear him say anything crazy," Jackson said. He's always quiet, put his head down and work, a great person. And I think that's going to take you a long way. When you're a great person, you treat the game right, the game will do right to you. And it did that for him on Sunday."