The Atlanta Falcons signed their fair share of reclamation projects this offseason, and they all have different things to prove in their first season in Atlanta. Tua Tagovailoa is looking to prove he's a capable starting QB, while Christian Harris is hoping to prove the Texans wrong for benching him.
And for all of the many short-term starters the Falcons found in the bargain bin this free agency, one of those specific players stands out. After losing Arnold Ebiketie and Leonard Floyd, they needed to add pass-rushing depth, especially considering the James Pearce Jr. situation was wildly uncertain.
So the Falcons signed two different veteran defensive linemen: Samson Ebukam from Indianapolis and Azeez Ojulari from Philadelphia. Both men are expected to make an instant impact behind Pearce and Jalon Walker, but there's one thing that could prevent them from doing so, mainly with Ojulari.
Azeez Ojulari needs to prove he can stay consistently healthy in 2026
Talent has never been the issue with a player like Azeez Ojulari: availability is. In his rookie season with the New York Giants, he appeared in every game and took advantage. In 13 starts, he logged eight sacks and 42 total pressures, looking primed to establish himself as the future of their pass rush.
However, his injury-proneness started to surface. The 26-year-old never appeared in a full 17 games again and played in just 31 games across the next four seasons. Yes, he logged 5.5 sacks in 2022 and 6.0 in 2024, but Ojulari's inability to stay healthy directly prevented him from taking another leap.
The 2021 second-round pick out of Georgia spent 2025 with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he seemed poised to turn his career around, but he played just three games as an Eagle and did not log a single sack with them. So they instead turned to Ebiketie over him, which should work out better.
22 career sacks feels like a pretty low number, but they mainly came in 32 career starts and 49 career games. With Ojulari, there's a lot of meat left on the bone, but this isn't an instance where they need to tap into anything. This is a situation where they have to hope the injury bug doesn't strike again.
If he manages to stay consistently healthy with the Dirty Birds, don't be surprised if the Georgia native enjoys a career renaissance playing for his hometown team. But if not, his NFL future as a whole could come into question, and he could become a what-if rather than a solid rotational edge rusher.
Azeez Ojulari was once looked at as one of the NFL's brightest young pass-rushers, and he signed with the Falcons as a part of his quest for redemption. But staying healthy is a key to finding it.
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