Last year, when the New York Giants hired James Bettcher to help fix their sagging defense, all we heard was how creative he was and that his system was ‘predicated on pressure.’
Instead, all we saw was a disjointed unit where the parts didn’t mesh before management decided to sell off some players while others got hurt. In the end, the Giants couldn’t stop anyone when it counted and finished with just 30 sacks, tied for next to last in the NFL.
This offseason, they are going to give reviving the defense another go. They already replaced their safeties and are in the process of reforming their front seven. Here’s a look at what they have in-house to build on and where they will likely seek to upgrade and add.
Defensive backs
Cornerback Janoris Jenkins played 99.18% of the snaps last year and the Giants will be looking for him to repeat that in 2019. He’s the only holdover on the roster penciled in as a starter. His partner across the field will be Sam Beal, who the Giants used a third-round pick on in the Supplemental Draft last July. Unfortunately, Beal injured his shoulder upon arrival and missed his entire rookie season.
At safety, the Landon Collins/Curtis Riley era is over. Collins was allowed to leave via free agency and Riley was not re-signed. Coming in the door is 34-year-old veteran Antoine Bethea, who led the Arizona Cardinals in tackles last season and 23-year-old Jabrill Peppers, a former first round pick of the Cleveland Browns who has been mildly disappointing in his first two seasons.
Those four, barring injury, will see the lion’s share of the snaps and the unit — if all goes as planned — will be a more traditional, functional one. The draft can offer upgrades on the slot corner position (where Grant Haley is currently penciled in) and provide some depth. There’s a lot to choose from in this draft and I expect the Giants will bring in about four or five more players to compete with the incumbent backup corners on the roster.
In this draft, I don’t believe the Giants will take a defensive back until the third round (No. 95) at the soonest, so here are some possibilities:
Safeties to keep an eye on: Darnell Savage, Jr. Maryland; Jaquan Johnson, Miami; Juan Thornhill, Virginia; Amani Hooker, Iowa and Marquise Blair, Utah.
Cornerbacks to keep an eye on: Joejuan Williams, Vanderbilt; Jamel Dean, Auburn, Mark Fields, Clemson, David Long, Michigan, Sean Bunting, Central Michigan.
Linebackers
Alec Ogletree is the captain and the core of this defense. He missed three games due to injuries, but played every snap in the 13 games he did appear in. In his first year under Bettcher, he was abysmal against the run but had five interceptions. He’ll have to improve if the Giants are going to have any type of success going forward. With Collins gone, the Giants’ back seven run support is in need of a stopper — or two. General manager Dave Gettleman said he wasn’t afraid to draft over some of his players. This is where he’ll need to do that.
B.J. Goodson can no longer be relied upon to be of those players. He played less than half the defensive snaps last year and wasn’t much of a factor when he did play. The backups were relied upon all too often. Tae Davis played 42% of the snaps and even special teamer Nate Stupar was called into action.
On the outside, they still have Kareem Martin but he is a hybrid defensive end. They’ll have to replace Olivier Vernon and hope Lorenzo Carter develops into what they hoped.
In the door comes Markus Golden, another Arizona import, and he should set up as the edge rusher in most alignments, but will asked to play in space as well. That’s the only good news coming out of this unit at the moment.
In the draft, the Giants have got to hoping that LSU’s everyman Devin White falls to them at No. 6. If he does, that will help solve a lot of their problems. They’ll have a sideline-to-sideline presence at linebacker that can also cover running backs out of the backfield. If White is already gone, they’ll have to look in another direction.
Who could that be? This draft doesn’t present much if you’re looking for inside help outside of White or Michigan’s Devin Bush. There’s also Mack Wilson of Alabama and West Virginia’s David Long.
On the edge, you’ll find a ton of possibilities come April 25 and the Giants will likely look to land one of these prime targets early on in the draft. Whoever that player is, he will have to be able play in space. They probably won’t get a shot a Kentucky’s Josh Allen, but they will have a chance to take Mississippi State’s Montez Sweat or Brian Burns of Florida State.
Some second and third round names to watch: Louisiana Tech’s Jaylon Ferguson, Chase Winovich of Michigan, DeAndre Walker of Georgia, Alabama’s Christian Miller and Oshane Ximines of Old Dominion.
Defensive front
No one is sure if the Giants are running a 3-4 or a 4-3 alignment. Bettcher mixes it up, but doesn’t really have the personnel to pull it off. In the 3-4, he needs a true nose tackle and Dalvin Tomlinson is not the right guy. He’s a good 4-3 interior defender, but he was not up to the task after the team traded Damon “Snacks” Harrison away in October. Left defensive end B.J. Hill had a solid rookie campaign and he’s the one player Gettleman probably won’t seek to draft over. On the right defensive end spot is yet another former Cardinal, Olsen Pierre, and the Giants are also hopeful that second-year defensive tackle R.J. McIntosh blossoms into a solid player.
This is one unit Gettleman will be looking at early on — and throughout — the draft. Lucky for him, he’s got a lot to choose from in Round 1. In the middle there is Alabama’s Quinnen Williams, Ed Oliver of Houston, Dexter Lawrence of Clemson, Mississippi State’s Jeffrey Simmons, Christian Wilkins of Clemson and Jerry Tillery of Notre Dame. In later rounds, they could target Central Florida’s Trysten Hill, Ohio State’s Dre’Mont Jones and Gerald Willis of Miami.
On the edge, there’s Ohio State’s Nick Bosa, Clelin Ferrell of Clemson and Michigan’s Rashan Gary. In later rounds, there’s players such as Boston College’s Zach Allen, L.J. Collier of TCU, Iowa’s Anthony Nelson and Joe Jackson of Miami.
Not all of the players mentioned will be around when the Giants are on the clock, but some of them will be and they absolutely need to cash in on this bumper crop.
