The New York Giants embark on their 2020 training camp this week with a boatload of challenges in front of them. They have a brand new coaching staff and a bevy of new players that all need to get acclimated fast.
With no preseason games to play and opportunities in practice limited because of the COVID-19 restrictions, the Giants are behind the eight ball this summer.
One unit that is fairly solid is the defensive line. The Giants will bring eight linemen to camp and likely keep six. It still has not been determined what the base defense will be, but it’s likely to be a 3-4 based on the personnel on the roster.
Here’s quick rundown of the group which will be coached this year by Sean Spencer (aka “Coach Chaos”), who is coming over from Penn State.
Leonard Williams
It seems like Williams has been in the NFL forever. The fact is, he just turned 26. Yes, he’s underachieved at times and is way overpaid, but after he came over from the Jets in that ill-advised trade last October, the Giants’ line played fairly well.
If Williams is going to play end however, he’s got to get the quarterback more than once per season. No matter what he does, anything short of a Pro Bowl-caliber performance this year will likely end his tenure with the Giants as he’ll be headed for free agency.
Dalvin Tomlinson
Tomlinson is a typical defensive lineman out of Alabama: strong, steady and reliable. He has started all 48 games since being drafted by the Giants in 2017.
In 2019, Pro Football Focus ranked him the Giants’ highest graded player on defense with a 78.1 overall grade. Tomlinson was ranked 11th among all interior DL with at least 500 snaps and marked his third consecutive season grading above 78 overall.
Tomlinson is in the final year of his rookie contract, so expect the Giants to keep him off the market with a contract extension.
Dexter Lawrence
Some questioned the Giants’ wisdom for making “Sexy Sexy” the 17th overall selection in last year’s draft, but he had a solid NFL debut.
Lawrence was voted the top defensive rookie lineman with a 76.1 overall grade. The knock on Lawrence was that he wouldn’t be a pile pusher in the middle, but he proved everyone wrong.
Lawrence showed a bit of a pass rush and played solidly overall starting all 16 games as rookie. He will only improve from here on out.
B.J. Hill
After a strong rookie season in 2018, Hill dropped off the score sheet in 2019. A lot of that had to do with the arrival of Williams, who took snaps away from him, but even while he was out there, Hill was a non-factor.
Hill did not have a tackle for a loss until Week 16 and did not record a sack until the final game of the season. The Giants could sure use a bounce-back season from him in 2020.
Others
The Giants signed former Tennessee Titans’ second-round draft choice Austin Johnson in free agency this offseason. Johnson played for Spencer at Penn State and the Giants are hoping the reunion ignites Johnson’s career.
The team is also still waiting on R.J. McIntosh to kick into gear, but he only appeared in 12 games last year and never played more than 25% of the snaps in any one of them.
The Giants are also bringing back Chris Slayton and inked Dartmouth’s Niko Lalos as an undrafted free agent this spring.
