Kyler Fackrell Seeks Giant Redemption After Disappointing 2019

New Giants linebacker Kyler Fackrell wants to prove that his 2019 lack of production was the exception rather than the norm.

New Giants linebacker Kyler Fackrell admitted that he wasn't satisfied with his performance in 2019 on the Green Bay Packers.

"I know that I didn’t produce the way I wanted to last year, but I think I have a great opportunity to do that this year and I’m looking forward to it," Fackrell told reporters Thursday during a conference call. 

Fackrell only totaled one sack in 2019, a significant decline from his breakout season in 2018 when he recorded 10.5 sacks. Fackrell insists that his one-sack production last season is the anomaly, and believes he can play closer to his 2018 stat line.

That could be what led Fackrell to sign a short-term deal with the Giants, where he will get the chance to earn a more-premium pass rusher's contract next off-season if he returns to his 2018 form.  

"I wasn’t happy with the production I had," he said. "I believe that I’m better than a one-sack guy, so that’s what I’m going to try to prove."

Fackrell's 2020 production could benefit from a reunion with the coach that helped guide him to his 2018 sack total. The Giants' new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham was Fackrell's position coach in 2018. 

"I haven’t talked specifically with [Graham], but I will do whatever the defense asks of me," Fackrell said. "I think in the 3-4 defense that we played in Green Bay, and Patrick Graham runs a similar style defense, having a versatile outside linebacker is very valuable."

Now Fackrell comes into a pass-rushing unit as one of the more accomplished of the group. If Markus Golden is not re-signed--and it doesn't appear as though he will be--the 28-year-old Fackrell will become the veteran in a still young pass-rushing group that includes 24-year-old Lorenzo Carter and 23-year-old Oshane Ximines. 

In addition to being paired with some of the Giants' younger pass-rushing talent, Fackrell will get to play alongside another former teammate from the Packers, inside linebacker Blake Martinez, his training camp roommate during his rookie season in 2016. 

Fackrell believes that the versatility he and Martinez can bring to the defense will give Graham lots of different options.

"At inside linebacker, a big part of their job is controlling everything and making calls and all that. He does a great job of that," Fackrell said of Martinez. 

"He’s very versatile as well. There are a lot of different things we can do, especially in those third-down packages, with the two of us trying to confuse quarterbacks."

Fackrell was a quieter piece on a Green Bay defense that finished in the Top 10 league-wide last season. But now he comes into a defense seeking drastic improvement from the year before--and with the combination of motivation and familiar chemistry--Fackrell could be a much louder piece on the Giants defense in 2020. 

"I’ll be a better player this upcoming year just with continuing to work and trying to perfect my craft," he said.  

The Giants are counting on him to deliver on that pledge.