By james art 
The Arizona Cardinals have relied on a handful of players to take the next step in 2024, though perhaps none more so on the defensive side of the ball than sophomore rusher BJ Ojulari.
Ojulari showed some promise toward the end of his rookie campaign, and with the Cardinals not sinking any notable capital into the front end this past offseason, all eyes were on Ojulari in hopes of a breakthrough.
That didn’t happen — nor did he get the chance — as Ojulari suffered a torn ACL in training camp.
His season was over before it even started.
“At first it was definitely hard to deal with the lack of football,” Oyulari told Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com.
“It was my first time with a serious injury, especially coming back feeling really fit. There was a moment of decline when I was in my feelings.’
That’s to be expected, as such a devastating injury would affect anyone, although Oyulari told Urban he believes he can be ahead of schedule in his recovery.
The Cardinals have been forced to get creative with their pass rush in hopes of improving from their team-low 33 sacks in 2023. Defensive coordinator Nick Rallis has been able to do just that, and adding a healthy Ojulari to the mix could pay dividends.
“I felt like I could have made at least a little bit of an impact at quarterback on a play here or a play there,” Oyulari continued.
“Just looking from the outside in, seeing how important it is to have that pass rush and having guys that can get to the quarterback, seeing the game from a holistic perspective, it was definitely eye-opening.”
We’ll see if that experience can help carry over to his third season.