The New York Giants have become the bottom feeders of the NFL with a record of 12-36 over the last three seasons. Obviously, this team has a multitude of issues that need to be solved, but none bigger than their awful defensive play. Last season’s young and inexperienced group managed a dreadful defensive ranking of 30th, so re-establishing this New York Giants defense has clearly become the issue that needs to be solved. New York’s success moving forward is heavily reliant on this challenge, and it has begun in free agency.
New York Giants Defense Is Key to Team’s Success
Noteworthy Free Agent Additions
Bringing in veteran cornerback James Bradberry from the Carolina Panthers was a great move as it did two very important things for this group. First, it brought in an immediate No. 1 corner coming off a very solid season. Secondly, it added a much-needed veteran presence to a very young Giants secondary. This is a secondary that got absolutely abused this past season and didn’t have a cornerback under contract over the age of 24 at this time.
The pass rush needs a lot of help as well for the G-Men and a guy that should be a big help in that department is defensive lineman Leonard Williams. Last Monday the Giants placed the franchise tag on the former sixth overall pick and Pro-Bowler. Although he didn’t light up the stat sheet in his eight games with the team, he is a beast who disrupts plays and can be used effectively both inside and out on the d-line. But behind that disruptive defensive line is where the G-Men need the most help, the linebacker position.
Free Agent Help at Linebacker
After cutting Alec Ogletree, it became obvious that linebacker was a position that would be heavily sought after this off-season. Through the start of free agency, that has certainly been the case. The signing of Blake Martinez from the Green Bay Packers brings in a guy who can take over as the signal caller for this group. He’s a little undersized but flies around and gets in on a lot of tackles. His strength is in the run game. Another linebacker signing from Green Bay was Kyler Fackrell. He is kind of the opposite of Martinez in how he plays as he is a big linebacker who can rush the passer and is a bit lacking in the run game. In 2018, Fackrell started seven games for the Pack and had an impressive 10.5 sacks. Lastly, the Giants also re-signed linebacker David Mayo who is a bit undersized and has limited tools but plays hard. The Giants have certainly had a busy free agency, but it is just as important for them to draft well and really have an emphasis on the defensive side of the ball.
Importance of the Draft and No. 4 Pick
One of the perks of finishing 28th in the NFL is that you have a lot of options with the draft. The Giants took their franchise quarterback in Daniel Jones with the sixth pick last year so are presumably not looking for another with the fourth pick. The good news is a lot of teams will be offering trades with a lot of value to land a quarterback of their own like Tua Tagovailoa or Jordan Love. The Giants should take these offers into consideration and certainly go through with one that has a ton of value. However, there are players that bring a whole lot of value by themselves that won’t last long on the board. The Giants need a talented offensive tackle in this draft to protect their young stars in Jones and Saquon Barkley, but Dave Gettleman has always been a firm believer in taking the best player available.
The best player available at No. 4 is more than likely going to be Isaiah Simmons, the star defender out of Clemson. He can lock down in coverage from the linebacker spot as well as stop the run and would be the most diverse defender that Giants fans have seen in a very long time. His height and lankiness combined with his 4.39 speed allows for Simmons to be more than a traditional linebacker. He has the ability to cover slot vertical receivers who could beat defenses deep. It would be hard for any team to pass on a linebacker who can also play mid-high safety and slot corner, especially a team that needs all the help they can get defensively.
Getting Back to Giants Football
The New York Giants have seen success before. To many fans it may feel like a distant memory, but those 4 Super Bowls each came together in the same way. They did it with their defense. Led by NFL legends like Lawrence Taylor and Michael Strahan, those teams terrified opposing quarterbacks. A new era has begun in New York, and the success of this team is heavily reliant on their defense.
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