Eagles Press Conferences
The Atlanta Falcons are making moves to reshape their defensive front heading into the 2026 NFL season, and their latest addition carries both a familiar name and a familiar zip code. The team has signed edge rusher Azeez Ojulari to a one year contract, bringing the Austell, Georgia, native back to his home state after stints with the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles.
The signing also marks the second former University of Georgia player added to the Falcons’ roster in a single day a detail that speaks to the organization’s current approach to building its front seven with players who share a common football foundation.
Who Azeez Ojulari is and what he brings
Ojulari arrives in Atlanta after five NFL seasons that have been defined in equal parts by flashes of genuine pass rush talent and a frustrating pattern of injury interruptions. Across 49 career games, he has accumulated 113 combined tackles, 22.0 sacks, 22 tackles for loss, 3 passes defended and 3 fumble recoveries numbers that paint the picture of a productive edge rusher when healthy and available.
His path to the NFL began at the University of Georgia, where he played from 2018 to 2020 after arriving on campus already managing the aftermath of a torn ACL suffered during his senior year at Marietta High School. That injury limited his freshman contributions, but Ojulari rebounded steadily. By 2019 he had worked his way into the starting lineup, recording 36 tackles and 5.5 sacks. His breakout came in 2020, when he led the entire Southeastern Conference with 8.5 sacks during a COVID-shortened season and forced 4 fumbles, establishing himself as one of the draft’s most intriguing pass rush prospects.
The New York Giants selected him in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft with the 50th overall pick.
A promising start followed by injury setbacks
Ojulari’s rookie season with the Giants was genuinely impressive. He set the franchise’s rookie sack record with 8.0 sacks, announcing himself as a legitimate contributor from his first year in the league. But the seasons that followed told a different story. Injuries sent him to injured reserve in both 2022 and 2023, significantly limiting his availability and making it difficult for him to build the kind of sustained momentum that turns a promising young pass rusher into a proven one.
He appeared in 46 games across his 4 seasons with the Giants, starting 30 of them, before signing a one-year deal with the Eagles ahead of the 2025 campaign. Philadelphia represented a fresh start and an opportunity to reset his career trajectory alongside one of the league’s most successful franchises. Instead, a hamstring injury limited him to just 3 games, where he managed 6 tackles and 1 tackle for loss a return that fell far short of what either side had hoped for when the deal was signed.
What Atlanta needs from him
The Falcons are entering 2026 in something of a transitional moment defensively. The team enjoyed its best pass-rush season in franchise history in 2025, setting a new record for sacks in a single season but several of the contributors who drove that performance are no longer on the roster, and the organization is working to maintain that edge with a reshuffled group.
The overall defensive picture offers room for improvement. Atlanta finished the 2025 season ranked 15th in total defense, allowing 326.6 yards per game, and 19th in scoring defense, surrendering 23.6 points per game. Run defense was a particular area of concern, with the Falcons ranked 27th in expected points added per rush allowed a metric that suggests opposing offenses were finding consistent success on the ground.
Ojulari’s primary role will be as a pass rusher, where his 22 career sacks and his history of generating pressure make him a credible addition even after the injuries. Whether he can stay healthy and produce at a meaningful level is the central question surrounding the signing.
A homecoming with something to prove
There is an obvious narrative appeal to Ojulari’s return to Georgia, and the Falcons clearly see value in adding a player who grew up in the area, played his college ball at one of the state’s most celebrated programs and now has a chance to establish himself in the city that represents home.
More practically, the one year contract structure gives both sides a low risk arrangement. The Falcons get a high upside edge rusher at a price that does not constrain their roster flexibility, and Ojulari gets the kind of prove it opportunity that could reset his market value heading into future free agency cycles assuming he can finally put together a full, healthy season.
At 26 years old and with legitimate NFL production already on his résumé, Ojulari is far from a reclamation project. He is a player whose career has been interrupted rather than derailed, and Atlanta is betting that a change of scenery, a return home and a defense that already knows how to generate pressure will be enough to bring out the best in him.
