INDIANAPOLIS — When BJ Ojulari had the chance to team with his older brother in college, he instead set his own recruiting path to LSU over Georgia.
But, if the Giants decide to reunite the Ojularis by using a first-round draft pick on BJ, he would welcome a chance to follow Azeez’s footsteps to the quarterback.
Azeez (13.5 sacks in 24 career games) and last year’s first-round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux (four sacks) could benefit from another stud outside linebacker in rotation.
“We’ve always talked about it,” BJ said Wednesday at the NFL combine. “If I end up with him, I think it’s going to be a blessing to play with my brother again and dominate on the other end of the ball.”
The Giants hold the No. 25 pick in the late first-round neighborhood where BJ is projected to get selected and used one of their 45 formal interviews this week on the younger brother of their 2021 second-round pick.
If BJ was the most prepared to make a good impression, there’s a good reason.
“I lean on Azeez a lot: He’s been through the same process. He’s at the level where I’m trying to get,” BJ said. “Just being able to meet the whole staff was a great feeling walking out of the room. He sent me a couple texts saying who was going to be in there, what to expect. The interview went very smooth.”
In a defense where coordinator Wink Martindale and outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins breed big personalities, BJ’s confidence sounds like a good fit.
“I don’t talk too much trash,” BJ said. “I like to let my game speak. I like to dominate over you. At the end of the day, I don’t have to talk trash: You are going to be thinking about me when you go to sleep at night.”
The Ojularis share DNA but not the same skill set.
“We have some similarities, but I don’t think we play the same playing style,” said BJ, who favors the speed, long arm and “ghost rush” move popularized by Von Miller. “Azeez is more like striking, a bulldozer. I’m using more speed moves and swipes and other things like that, which he’s able to use, but that’s not his style.”
One scout familiar with both brothers told The Post that he graded Azeez higher and expressed concerns that BJ might be “a little stiff” and could have trouble setting the edge against the run.
“My playing style is based on a lot of effort,” BJ said. “Sideline-to-sideline plays. Chasing stuff down. Constant strain to the ball is a thing I take a lot of pride in.”
BJ had the more productive college pass-rushing career (22.5 sacks in 31 games) and next is trying to top Azeez’s draft spot (No. 50).
Azeez, who declined an interview request, surprisingly slipped out of the first round because of knee injury concerns and was deterred by three unrelated injuries during his second season, but he is one of the NFL’s most efficient pass rushers when healthy.
“Everything we did growing up, we competed,” BJ said. “Playing video games, we used to butt heads all the time. I think that made us closer. He’s one of my best friends and best mentors now.”
The Ojulari brothers are the grandsons of Nigerian royalty, Prince Twin Seven Seven. The late painter and musician used to visit his grandsons in Georgia and created memories — like getting paid $100 to eat grapes together — that predate even the brothers’ passion for football.
“That’s where a lot of my pride comes from, just being able to live up to his expectations,” BJ said. “I’m grateful for the relationship we had before he passed.”
Another family relationship is paying dividends now.
“Azeez told me to take as much knowledge as I can from this experience and enjoy the moment I’m in,” BJ said. “Going to the next level, he’s already told me that it’s still just the game of football after I adjust to the speed.”
