Giants UDFAs: Get to know Ovie Oghoufo, edge, LSU

With Kayvon Thibodeaux, Brian Burns and Azeez Ojulari, the top of the New York Giants depth chart at edge defender is set. There might, though, be room for a surprise at the bottom that depth chart.

Could undrafted Ovie Oghoufo, out of LSU, be that surprise?

From Lance Zierlein of NFL.com:

Sixth-year senior with stops at Notre Dame, Texas and LSU. Oghoufo possesses a tapered frame with long arms and a leaner lower body. While he lacks anchor in his base, he avoids being centered and driven off the ball thanks to well-timed punches and an ability to play around blockers. However, he doesn’t have the burst to restrict outside runs or threaten the edge as a rusher. While he’s a try-hard player, he’s not skilled enough as a rusher and might lack the dynamic athleticism needed to create advantages against NFL opposition.

From Emory Hunt’s Football Gameplan Draft Guide:

Strengths:

– Has really good quickness and you can see potential upside as a sub-package pass rushing guy. He can really accelerate around the line of scrimmage.
– High energy guy who wins with effort and one who could thrive as a core special teamer on coverage units.
– Shows good gap integrity, won’t be the one to blow an assignment with his rush.

Areas of Improvement:

– Struggles to disengage from an offensive lineman’s block. Hands need to get more violent for that to swing back into his favor.
– Doesn’t always play as instinctive as you’d like. At times it looks as if he’s thinking too much out there, especially when trying read and diagnose.
– A bit herky-jerky in terms of athleticism, not an overly fluid athlete.

Career Accolades:

– 2024 Hula Bowl
– LSU Stats: 34 Tkls, 4 TFLs, 2.5 Sacks
– Played at Texas from 2021-2022
– Texas Stats: 96 Tkls, 14 TFLs, 4.5 Sacks, 5 PBUs, 2 FF
– Played at Notre Dame from 2018-2020
– ND Stats: 33 Tkls, 5 TFLs, 5 Sacks, 4 PBUs, 1 FF

Oghoufo’s Relative Athletic Score (RAS) shows some of the athletic challenges he faces:

Here are Oghoufo’s Pro Day workout numbers:

Height: 6-foot-2⅞
Weight: 248 pounds
Vertical Jump: 34 inches
Broad Jump: 9’11”
40-yard dash: 4.78, 4.65
20-yard shuttle: 4.25 seconds
Three cone: DNP
Bench Press: 20 reps