2022 Giants Position Review: Defensive Line

The Giants defensive line saw its role change under defensive coordinator Wink Martindale. How did the talent respond?

Author:
Gene Clemons
Publish date:
Jan 26, 2023 4:45 PM EST

In this story:

When you speak about the New York Giants defensive linemen, the focus is primarily on the interior defensive line. The Giants' defensive game plan flanked outside linebacker/edge rushers on each side of one or two defensive tackles.

Because there were fewer defensive linemen on the field, it made certain players less valuable than originally thought. However, this group proved valuable to the defensive success this season.

As a group, they accounted for 174 tackles, 13 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, 45 quarterback hits, and two forced fumbles. Those are good numbers when you consider that their main purpose is to eat up blocks inside to provide the linebackers with one-on-one matchups or open lanes to run through.

Overall their performance was more than acceptable. Even though the depth was not ideal, the interior versatility held the entire defense together in its first season under defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.

In his fourth year, Dexter Lawrence II finally had the type of season that had many excited about his potential when the Giants selected him with the 17th overall pick in the 2019 draft.

After spending his first three seasons playing a four-tech defensive end in a 30-front, he was moved to his more natural position inside as a nose guard. His speed and power made him a problem for interior offensive linemen across the NFL.

He ascended from a quality defensive lineman to one of the most dominant defensive linemen in the league. He finished the season with 7.5 sacks and 68 tackles, with 28 quarterback hits over 16 games.

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Although under contract in 2023 on the option year of his rookie deal, he has set himself up for a big payday and proved that he should be a cornerstone of the Giants' defensive future.

The future of Leonard Williams with the Giants is not as clear. Injuries limited Williams to 12 games this season. He still collected 45 tackles and 2.5 sacks, and his versatility has always made him a valuable piece of a defensive line.

This season he played more 3-technique than in any other season in the league. His veteran leadership was great among the younger players on the defensive front. He will only be 29, but his $32 million cap hit probably isn't a number the Giants want to carry moving forward.

If they were to cut him, it would cost them more than $20 million in dead money. The likely scenario is that the Giants will look to add a couple of years to Williams' deal to lower that cap hit while also ensuring that he continues to pair with Lawrence to form one of the best interior defensive line duos in the NFL.

The Giants added one-time Raven Justin Ellis to provide depth to the run defense. His familiarity with Martindale's defense presumably gave him a leg up on his new teammates, who had to learn the system.

In the end, his value was one of a rotational piece. He filled in well when called upon, but his lack of pass-rushing prowess made him more one-dimensional than what we believe this defense was after.

Of the Giants defensive linemen who played a minimum of 200 snaps this season, Ellis had the second-highest missed tackle percentage (15.5 percent) behind Henry Mondeaux and only managed nine stops in 377 snaps. His other production (22 tackles, one sack, two tackles for a loss, and one quarterback hit) should not be difficult to replace.

The other interior linemen like Mondeaux, Nick Williams, Ryder Anderson, Vernon Butler, and DJ Davidson played smaller roles as spot duty guys. Williams, the veteran, and Davidson, the rookie, both suffered season-ending injuries. Anderson showed some potential as a pass rusher, recording nine pressures in 81 pass-rush snaps.

That said, it would not be a stretch for the Giants to reinforce their depth at this position by seeking more dynamic interior linemen like Lawrence and Williams.

Depth is the key to high production on a defensive line. The Giants' top two guys needed to play a lot of snaps, and there was a noticeable drop-off when the backups came in. If the Giants can add additional depth on the defensive line to elevate that second unit, it will improve the entire group.

For now, general manager Joe Schoen's first order of business is to decide what to do about Williams, who sounded agreeable to reworking his contract. As for Lawrence, he's under contract for another year after the Giants picked up his option year, so theoretically, there is no rush to get an extension done with him, especially given the other Giants' priorities.

If Williams is back, the priority will be finding more suitable backups in the interior. If they move on from Williams, that will leave a gaping hole in their defensive interior that needs to be filled with legitimate talent, not some journeyman or bargain-basement rookie.