The New York Giants are not having a great season. In fact, they’re not really having a great decade, having gone through four head coaches (if you count Steve Spagnuolo), two general managers, multiple different offensive and defensive systems, and once again appear poised for major change.
Currently, they are 3-11 on the season and even those three wins are surprising. They are slated to select second overall in the 2020 NFL Draft and could soon embark on a head coaching and general manager search.
Despite all of that, there are a few bright spots. And with the 2020 Pro Bowl rosters scheduled to be revealed on Tuesday night, we here at Giants Wire wanted to take a look at a few players worth of consideration.
Enjoy.
Dalvin Tomlinson
Because the Giants defense has been so poor this season, quality players such as Tomlinson are likely to be overlooked. And while that’s understandable, it’s also unfortunate because the third-year defensive lineman is actually playing quite well this year.
Tomlinson has become a force along the Giants’ defensive line and currently sports a 77.7 Pro Football Focus grade on the heels of a game against the Miami Dolphins in which he graded out with an 82.
In 14 games this season, Tomlinson has recorded 45 tackles, four stuffs, one forced fumble and 3.5 sacks.
Dexter Lawrence
Because there’s a larger spotlight on him as a first-round rookie, Dexter Lawrence has not exactly flown under-the-radar in the same way that Dalvin Tomlinson has.
That’s good news for Lawrence, who has progressively gotten better and better this season, and looks like a future superstar. He has consistently dominated inside, routinely eats up multiple blockers and still manages to wreak havoc despite that.
Lawrence has a 79.3 grade courtesy of PFF this year to go along with 35 tackles, one stuff, one pass defensed, one forced fumble and 2.5 sacks.
The rookie has proven to be every bit the three-down lineman the Giants anticipated him being.
Darius Slayton
A fifth-round pick who had a horrible rookie minicamp, Slayton carried relatively low expectations into his debut season. Needless to say, he’s far exceeded them.
Slayton is sixth among rookies with 44 receptions, fourth among rookies with 690 yards and first among rookies with eight touchdowns. He’s also among league leaders with more than 70% of his receptions going for first downs.
Slayton has also compiled a PFF grade of 72.4, which you can expect to tick up over the final two weeks of the season.
When all is said and done, Slayton could finish the season with over 800 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Not bad for someone who was originally any afterthought.
Riley Dixon
If there is one Giant truly deserving of Pro Bowl consideration, it’s Riley Dixon.
After spending an entire offseason being trained to punt like Jeff Feagles, Dixon has rewarded the Giants with his best season as a pro and one of the best season’s by a punter league-wide.
Currently, Dixon is seventh in the NFL averaging 46.4 yards per punt, tied for fourth in the NFL averaging 42.8 net yards per punt and tied for 10th in the league with 24 punts being down inside the 20-yard line (just two touchbacks, and one of those was the fault of the gunners).
Honorable mention: Markus Golden
We know people will read this list and immediately light us on fire for not including Markus Golden, who has more than earned his free agent contract and been an effective pass rusher for the Giants.
While all of that may be true, Golden is relatively one-dimensional and has struggled not only against the run, but in coverage (he is frequently dropped into zone).
So yes, Golden does lead the team with nine sacks and has made a mark as a sheer pass rusher, but he’s struggled outside of that, which is reflected by his overall PFF grade of just 58.1.
