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The Atlanta Falcons brought in Kirk Cousins this offseason in a hope to make a push for the post seasonThe Atlanta Falcons brought in Kirk Cousins this offseason in a hope to make a push for the post season and so far it is working. The offense is playing at an extremely high level and the Falcons are sitting at 5-3 and in first place in the NFC South after eight weeks. The same can’t be said for the Falcons defense though. They are the 19th ranked defense for scoring, giving up 24.4 points per game and the pass rush is a big reason why the defense isn’t better. The Falcons have a good secondary, but their pass rush is the worst in the league, only sacking the quarterback seven times in eight games. If the Falcons want to be true contenders, they are going to have to upgrade the pass rush and the New York Giants Azeez Ojulari is the perfect player to do that.
As I talked about above, the Falcons have a very good shot at making the playoffs in the NFC, especially with the injuries to both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin for the Buccaneers. They currently sit at 5-3 and in first place with a top ten offense in yards per game and a top 12 offense in points per game. However, if the Falcons want to have a shot at making noise in the playoffs they have to upgrade their pass rush. They brought in Matthew Judon in the offseason, but he hasn’t been able to help the Falcons pass rush in the way many thought he would. Judon only has 1.5 sacks on the year and the Falcons need more help. Ojulari has been on a tear since he got the chance to start with the Kayvon Thibodeaux injury in New York. Ojulari has six sacks on the year, five in the last three weeks. He would be able to step in straight away opposite Judon and help the Falcons in a big way. Another big plus for the Falcons is that Ojulari shouldn’t cost them as much as some of the other top pass rushers available for trade. Ojulari will be a free agent after this season and the Giants already have Thibodeaux and Brian Burns and won’t be able to keep him. Ojulari is also only 24 years old and would give the Falcons a young piece on the defensive line to build around. It makes too much sense for the Falcons to get him.
From the Giants perspective, if they were in the playoff race you could keep Ojulari and say you were trying to win it all with a great pass rush. However, the Giants are 2-6 and aren’t sniffing the playoffs. Ojulari will be a free agent after this season and paying a third pass rusher what he will likely get just doesn’t make sense. They could wait and see what kind of comp pick they would get for him, but if they plan on signing any free agents, they may not get anything for him that way. Trading him now, on the heels of multiple dominating performances for the Giants would maximize what they could get from him from a team that needs a pass rusher. The Giants need to capitalize on Ojulari now and get as much draft capital as they can to help in their rebuild.
The Falcons have playoff and Super Bowl hopes and they need a pass rusher like no other team in the NFL. The Giants have an extra pass rusher whose contract will be up at the end of the season and they won’t be able to keep. The Giants need draft capital to rebuild with. Swapping Ojulari for draft picks helps both teams and just makes sense. This is a deal that should be done already.
