Giants’ Azeez Ojulari accepting of reduced role in critical prove-it year

And then there was one. 

Edge rusher Azeez Ojulari is not only the last player still with the Giants from former general manager David Gettleman’s flop of a final draft class in 2021, he is also the final player on the 90-man roster that Joe Schoen, Gettleman’s successor, did not either acquire or re-sign. 

But the Giants did make a de facto decision on Ojulari this offseason by reducing his role with the trade for two-time Pro Bowler Brian Burns to take over as the starter opposite Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Ojulari, who had 13.5 sacks through his first 24 career games, missed six games due to injury last season on top of 10 the year prior, and saw his sack production drop to 2.5 in 11 games. 

“When I’m out there, I have to produce, stay healthy and do what I can do — get to the quarterback, make TFLs [tackles for loss], make plays that I used to make,” Ojulari told The Post. “I’m going to get back to myself and show it out there. Seeing the end of last season was not what I wanted at all. It was a bad look on me and I took that to the core. I was like, ‘I can’t do that again.’ It won’t be like that anymore going forward.” 

One reason for optimism is that Ojulari thinks he got to the source of his persistent lower-body injuries (calf, quad, ankle, hamstring) when he hired a chiropractor during the offseason. 

“My hips weren’t aligned. Stuff was off. One hip was longer than the other,” Ojulari said. “When I’m doing that work consistently, it evened me out. Balance. That should help with staying on the field.” 

Instead of sulking about lost snaps when the Giants traded for Burns and his 46 career sacks in 80 games, Ojulari looked for a positive. 

“When we played against Burns after the game my rookie year, I was trying to get tips from him,” Ojulari said. “I love the way he plays the game. Now he’s on the team, so I can learn from him. Add whatever I can take from his game to my game and improve it because I’ve seen what he’s done in this league and I want to get to that level, too.” 

The respect is quickly becoming mutual. 

“It comes very, very natural to him,” Burns said. “I think he’s very gifted. He has extremely long arms and natural leverage, so that makes him a premium pass-rusher as far as his build. He’s been doing great so far. I expect big things from him this year.” 

A healthy Ojulari in the rotation would open up things for defensive coordinator Shane Bowen not to overtax Thibodeaux and Burns and have fresh pass-rush legs in the fourth quarter.

Or he could design schemes to move one edge inside and have all three on the field together, if he decides that Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Jordan Phillips, Jordon Riley and Ryder Anderson aren’t pushing the pocket next to Dexter Lawrence. 

“I think a lot of that’s going to lean a little bit on where we’re at inside [at defensive tackle], how that competition shakes out,” Bowen said. “You go back to [my] days in Houston, early days in Tennessee, we’ve had kind of that in-between hybrid-type player as a fourth rusher inside to help. We’ve got the ability to do that.” 

Ojulari in the No. 3 edge rusher spot is an upgrade over Jihad Ward from the last two seasons.

Add in Lawrence and pass rush is expected to be the biggest area of strength on either side of the ball for the Giants. 

“You can’t run from it,” Ojulari said. “We’ve got to go out and prove it — dominate and set the tone every time. It’s a production league and you have to show it. We have the guys to do that, take pride in it and take advantage of it.” 

It was all on Ojulari’s mind as he and his younger brother BJ, an edge rusher for the Cardinals, were side-by-side in Atlanta through yoga classes, sauna sessions and “all types of different recovery methods” meant to keep the body fresh.

A bad break already struck BJ, who tore his ACL in practice last week and is out for the season. 

A fully healthy contract year could change the forecast for Azeez’s future. 

“You can’t forget about it,” he said, “but it’s another opportunity to continue to improve one step at a time every day. Don’t look too far ahead, don’t look too far behind. That’s what I’m on right now. Keep it steady.”