Same Edge Rusher Keeps Popping Up in Falcons Trade Rumors

NFL pundits continue to argued the Atlanta Falcons are a potential landing spot for one edge rusher who could be on the market before the league's trade deadline.

New York Giants linebacker Azeez Ojulari / John Jones-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons pass rush broke out in Week 9 versus the Dallas Cowboys. They recorded multiple sacks for the first time since the season opener. The Falcons' 3 sacks and 8 quarterback hits were season highs while the team's 5 tackles for loss were their most since Week 1.

But that won't change the fact that Atlanta's biggest roster need ahead of the 2024 NFL trade deadline is edge rusher. With that in mind, NFL pundits continue to mention one pass rusher as the trade candidate the Falcons should target -- New York Giants edge rusher Azeez Ojulari.

Bleacher Report's NFL scouting department again named Ojulari the top "add now" option for the Falcons on Monday.

"It's been mentioned a few times over the past few weeks that the Falcons could use some help at edge-rusher, especially since Matthew Judon has been underwhelming," wrote BR's team. "With the trade deadline steadily approaching, the club was recently paired with the No. 1 overall player in B/R's NFL Trade Block Big Board column."

The Falcons coaching staff has been touting that the defense has been close to turning the corner with its pass rush. But even though that appeared to be the truth Sunday, the Falcons could very easily add another pass rusher to solidify the team's biggest weakness.

Despite their pass rushing breakout versus the Cowboys, the Falcons remain bottom five in sack percentage and pressure rate. They are also still last in sacks with 9 in as many games this season.

Before Week 9, Ojulari had as many sacks as the Falcons with 6. He still has 6 sacks with 7 tackles for loss, 9 quarterback hits and 26 combined tackles in nine games this season.

It's possible Ojulari will set new career bests in all four of those categories.

The 24-year-old, who is a Marietta, GA native and played college football at the University of Georgia, is a free agent this offseason. But NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported on his network's pregame show Sunday that a team could acquire Ojulari at the trade deadline with the intent to sign him to a long-term deal.

In 44 career NFL games, Ojulari has posted 22 sacks, 21 tackles for loss and 36 quarterback hits with 105 combined tackles.

The NFL trade deadline is 4 pm ET on Tuesday.