When it comes to the best general managers in the NFL, it's hard not to place Howie Roseman of the Philadelphia Eagles at the top. Over the years, Roseman has built the Eagles up into one of the top teams in the league, and eventually Super Bowl 59 champions. One way he's done that is to take advantage of other teams, whether that's picking up players in free agency that other teams let go, making trades to bring in top options, or drafting top prospects falling down draft boards. Look no further than the trade for A.J. Brown with the Tennessee Titans, the signing of running back Saquon Barkley after the New York Giants let him walk to free agency, and drafting Jalen Carter as other teams soured on him during the pre-draft process.
Roseman has a chance to make the Giants pay once again after signing Barkley and immediately winning a Super Bowl. He can trade away pass rusher Azeez Ojulari, who the Giants let walk in free agency and didn't explore trading during his walk year last season.
Eagles could do what Giants couldn't and actually trade Azeez Ojulari
Look, we're not saying that Ojulari has been lighting it up on the practice field for the Eagles this summer after signing on with them. But the fact of the matter is the Eagles have a ton of pass rushing depth, because of the moves Roseman made over the years.
Ojulari does carry some trade value, as he was a second-round draft pick out of Georgia. In his last season, he was Second-team All-SEC in 2020. When healthy, Ojulari was a solid pass rushing option. But his Giants tenure was stop-and-go due to the injuries he picked up.
As the Giants were in contention for the No. 1 overall pick last season, the expectation was that the Giants would trade away players to pick up more draft picks. Ojulari was a prime candidate, as he had six sacks in eight games before the trade deadline. He was on pace to break his single-season best of eight back in his rookie season. But Schoen was ultimately against it and kept Ojulari, citing that Kayvon Thibodeaux's injury played a role in keeping him. The Giants, according to ESPN's Jordan Raanan, left a fifth-round pick on the table.
To further add to the confusing plans of Schoen, he tried re-signing Ojulari, but was rejected. Ojulari instead signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Eagles.
Ojulari played in the Eagles' preseason opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, recording one tackle on 22 snaps.
The Eagles have Ojulari listed as their primary backup edge rusher behind Nolan Smith Jr. If head coach Nick Sirianni and Roseman are confident enough in their pass rush depth, they could explore dealing Ojulari away, especially those in need of an edge rusher. If they do, they'd get more than what Schoen and the Giants got!