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Jacksonville Jaguars land young pass rusher in proposed trade with Giants | Sporting News

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3 months ago

September 10, 2024

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Jacksonville Jaguars land young pass rusher in proposed trade with Giants | Sporting News

With star cornerback Tyson Campbell expected to miss multiple weeks with a hamstring injury, the Jacksonville Jaguars are short on secondary depth entering Week 2.

In a bit of a twist, Bleacher Report’s scouting department has the Jaguars targeting a different position of need on defense via trade.

B/R believes the Jaguars should get a deal done now with the New York Giants for EDGE rusher Azeez Ojulari. Here’s the staff’s reasoning:

The Jaguars are trying to break through in an AFC chock full of explosive offenses. Yet they don’t have much pass-rushing depth. Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker are good starting options. After that, the well goes dry pretty quickly.

Azeez Ojulari came in at No. 4 on our latest trade block big board. He has struggled to produce recently, but he had eight sacks as a rookie in 2021.

Ojulari, the No. 50 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, is now in a backup role after the Giants traded the Carolina Panthers for star pass rusher Brian Burns in the offseason. He’s struggled with injuries throughout his three pro seasons, but at 24, he’s young enough to be of interest to teams in the market for pass rush help.

The former Georgia Bulldogs star is now in the final year of his rookie contract, making him a flight risk in 2025 free agency for the Giants. Teams never want to give up on young pass rushers, especially guys selected with a top-50 pick, but at a prorated cost of less than $2 million, a team like the Jaguars could take a stab at Ojulari — for a Day 3 draft pick? — and hope a change of scenery nets fruitful returns sown the stretch in 2024.