Edge Rusher Ovie Oghoufo, LSU

The New York Giants have begun adding to their undrafted free agent haul by bringing in a well-traveled, lunchpail-style edge rusher in LSU’s Ovie Oghoufo. The 6-3”, 248-pound collegiate journeyman started his post-secondary career at Notre Dame, where he played in 16 games over the final two of his three seasons in South Bend. 

He then transferred to the University of Texas, where he competed in 25 games over the next two seasons. After the 2022 season at Texas, a career-best season, he transferred to LSU to finish his eligibility. Although not blessed with elite-level traits, Oghoufo is a relentless pursuer of the football and is surprisingly effective in the box. 

What’s to Love? 

Oghoufo is the very definition of a “go-getter.” He is a picture of consistency—a guy who knows what he brings to the table and always delivers on the things his skills work best for. One skill explains his effectiveness as a run defender. He has a surprisingly strong punch to go with long arms that catch blockers off guard before they are able to generate movement. 

This allows him to control his gap, close down the distance to the ball carrier, and make a tackle. He is a never-give-up type of football player, and he provides the relentless pursuit of the football or quarterback even if he does not routinely get home on the pass rush.

What Needs to Improve? 

Oghoufo does not possess the elite-level explosion of his three new Giants teammates. He does not fly by offensive tackles, and he does not have the explosiveness to consistently chase down backs who bounce outside or pull up quarterbacks who break the pocket laterally. 

To stay on this roster, he will need to be a master of technique. He will also need to improve his lower body strength because if he is not able to stop the initial advance of a run blocker with his punch, he can not anchor down to limit being driven off the line of scrimmage. He will need to continue to build his lower trunk and work on keeping his center of gravity lower. 

How He Fits 

In this defense, the edge rushers must be active participants in the run game. They need to secure the C-gap while trying to collapse the B-gap and make the football spill to them. This is where Oghoufo could see his highest value to the team. 

If Oghoufo can show the consistency as a run defender that he did over his final three years in college, especially his 2022 season, when he recorded 8.5 tackles for loss, he will have value on this team as a rotational spell guy. He will also need to make a splash on special teams, which seems likely given his work ethic and go-getter mentality. 

Football Gameplan’s Scouting Report (Emory Hunt)

Oghoufo is the 34th-rated DE (Edge) in FBGP 2024 Draft Guide. “He’s a high-energy guy who wins with effort and could thrive as a core special teamer on coverage units. He shows good gap integrity and won’t be the one to blow an assignment with his rush. He doesn’t always play as instinctively as you’d like. At times, it looks as if he’s thinking too much out there, especially when trying to read and diagnose.”