Best New York Giants Free Agent Options at Defensive Line

When opposing teams’ offenses line up against the New York Giants defensive line on Sundays, they are often staring straight into the belly of a perennial All-Pro in nose tackle Dexter Lawrence II, who last season was ravaging the league until he stumbled into a season-ending elbow injury late in the year.

Beyond the gap-stuffing talents of the former first-round selection, the Giants’ interior line was pretty bereft of true difference-making talent in 2024. The Giants finished as one of the NFL’s worst units when it came to stopping the run, a factor that only intensified once Lawrence was lost for the remainder of the season.

Lawrence, who played in 12 games and finished with the second-highest PFF run defense grade in his position of 83.8, had a record-setting campaign in which he led the Giants with nine sacks while creating 15 stops near the line of scrimmage.

With his 217 run-defense snaps aside, the rest of the team’s defensive front ended the season with grades mostly below 57.7 and couldn’t fully mimic his brute force in getting to the quarterback. Only one player, Rakeem Nuñez-Roches, finished with over 50 combined tackles and two sacks, and the whole party only produced two turnovers.

Besides Lawrence, the Giants also lost two other interior members to season-ending injuries, notably Timmy Horne, who had some pre-season potential, and D.J. Davison, who appeared in 12 games. This led to New York relying on rookie and practice squad replacements and changing the defensive alignment to compensate for Lawrence's loss, with mixed results.

As the Giants prepare for the 2025 season, recruiting a few more efficient defensive linemen to partner with Lawrence for a fearsome bunch will positively impact their defensive operation.

Some of the Giants' younger pieces need more time to grow on the practice squad ranks before becoming full-time contributors. As they learned from watching the success of other teams’ defenses in their division, primarily the Eagles, who rode the wage of their defensive front to the Super Bowl, that unit sets the tone. It can incentivize better production at the other levels.

Fortifying the defensive line is one significant step for the Giants this offseason if they want to close the gap between themselves and their rivals.

Best Options

Milton Williams, Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams in the Super Bowl — Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams (93) celebrates a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter in Super Bowl LIX at Ceasars Superdome. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Giants might still have a bad taste in their mouths from letting running back Saquon Barkley go to the Eagles to help them win a Super Bowl, but the next best thing to that could be returning the favor and stealing one of their own rising stars for next season.

Milton Williams was just one name in a collection of players that helped the Eagles’ championship-winning defense ascend to one of the NFL’s best pressure delivery units this past season.

The Eagles finished the journey ranked first in the league in passing yards allowed, sixth in touchdowns, and eighth in team pass rush win rate (43%). This was partly due to Williams' growing ability to get after the quarterback.

A fourth-year player who Philadelphia drafted in the third round of the 2021 draft, Williams finished third in the position group with 24 total tackles (11 solos), a career-high five sacks, and a forced fumble.

He ranked sixth among defensive tackles in pass rush win rate with a 13% ratio and even excelled by winning half of the double team blocks thrown at him.

Along with his sacks, Williams was one of the best players on the Eagles in forcing opposing quarterbacks to rush their throws into traffic for potential turnovers, and batting passes at the line of scrimmage. He was instrumental in helping the team win the title with two sacks and a forced fumble that put the game on ice against the Chiefs.

With his first chance to test the free agent waters, Williams’ recent performance is set to earn him a more lucrative contract than the Eagles may be able to afford.

They have the front office leadership to navigate the cap, which stands at around $24.5 million for 2025, and many other critical defensive pieces they’ll want to try to lock down for the future.

The Super Bowl effort showed us that they are loaded up front with pass-rushing playmakers, and perhaps letting Williams be the lone sacrifice to the free agent market is something they can live with.

What a sweet twist it would be if the Giants, who have nearly double the cap space and could better afford his $12 million AAV projection, could lure Williams across the division to bulk up their interior with a budding talent whom they got a bird's-eye view of twice this season.

Javon Kinlaw. Jets

Nov 17, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw (54) reacts during the third quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Jets are another organization that is much more cap-strapped than the Giants. They have almost 30 players on their roster set to hit the open market in March and are only projected by Over the Cap to have around $16.858 million in cap space before contract adjustments or cuts are made.

One of those soon-to-be free agents is fifth-year defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, whom the Jets brought over from San Francisco on a one-year deal last offseason and became another of the top interior defenders in the league for their modest unit.

After two of his last three years in the Bay Area were cut short by injuries, Kinlaw moved to the East Coast and gave the Jets defensive front the second best-statline of his position. He finished with 40 total tackles (27 solo), 4.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles with one recovery, the entire workload only bested by fellow defensive tackle Quinen William,s who had six sacks, and eight tackles for loss on his resume.

The Jets will likely want to bring Kinlaw back to maintain a tandem with Williams, but maybe the former doesn’t want to spend another season in the latter’s shadow. The Jets are trying to discern their defensive identity as they usher in a new regime. In contrast, the Giants have theirs established with Shane Bowen and could offer a more impressive duo with Dexter Lawrence II.

If they brought Kinlaw over to their side, the Giants would have the game’s 15th highest-ranked player in pass rush win rate (10%) and a 57% success rate against double teams.

His tackling could use some work, but he does a good job playing with power like Lawrence to force turnovers and assert himself quickly to tally 73 stops in five seasons at the line of scrimmage.

Kinlaw is also only 27 years old, meaning he should still have some quality seasons under his belt. The Giants can acquire him for a relatively short team-friendly deal similar to the one-year, $7.25 million agreement the Jets gave him last spring, as his market value hasn’t skyrocketed despite the improved campaign.

New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II needs a strong running mate alongside him in the Giants' defensive front. — New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II needs a strong running mate alongside him in the Giants' defensive front, something he hasn't had since the team traded away Leonard Williams. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Draft Factors

Given the depth of the defensive line draft class, the Giants should draft inexpensive yet ascending talent to fill this critical need.

The Giants will likely want to focus their first-round pick on a quarterback or if both top prospects are gone, a cornerback (Travis Hunter, Colorado). But again, the draft class is so deep that guys who might be available on Days 2 and 3 might have higher draft grades on most teams' boards than their eventual drafted round indicates.

The top prospects, like Michigan’s Mason Graham, will likely be gone by the end of the first round, but there are a couple of prospects that the Giants could certainly look at if they wanted to address the position on Day 2 and as early as the second round.

Nov 23, 2024; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines defensive lineman Kenneth Grant (78) celebrates after sacking Northwestern Wildcats quarterback Jack Lausch (not pictured) in the first half at Michigan Stadium. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Kenneth Grant, Michigan

Imagine an opposing offensive line having to block Dexter Lawrence II and the 6-3 339-pound Kenneth Grant on any given play.

Yeah, good luck with that. Grant is mostly unmoveable once he anchors in, and, oh, by the way, don’t even think about solo blocking him because chances are that will be a losing proposition.

He’s also not as easy to push back by double-team blocks. And if you’re looking for a guy who can shed blocks and make plays, Grant can give you just that with his swim move, which helps him get around obstacles and, at the very least, get his hands up into the passing lanes to knock down balls.

The Giants need more guys like that who don't get regularly caught up in the wash at the point of attack. Grant might just be one of those guys who gets a first-round grade but could fall to Day 2, given the depth of this class and the anticipated rush at some of the other positions expected to see a run on them in the first round.

The New York Giants defensive line will likely be among the top three positions that general manager Joe Schoen will address. — The New York Giants defensive line will likely be among the top three positions that general manager Joe Schoen will address this offseason. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Final Thoughts

If one were to think back on the Giants’ two most recent Super Bowl-winning rosters, one of the main weapons they had to stunt the New England Patriots was the strength of their defensive line and the bevy of gap stuffers and quarterback chasers they boasted up front.

History has shown that when the Giants have a solid defensive unit, they tend to go farther than in the seasons when their defense was about as porous as a sponge, and they got daggered by both phases of the opposing offense every Sunday.

The Giants didn’t have a fearsome offensive attack in their postseason runs. Still, they did have an elite core of disruptors that made life difficult for the other team and allowed the offense extra chances to make winning plays in closely matched affairs.

While that is not the same league as today’s scoring-heavy environment demands, the Giants still have the ability to help put their offense in good positions if they can shore up their defensive interior and stop being a doormat for opposing ball carriers. They finished with some of the worst metrics on the ground in 2024, and it gave the offense less time to operate and get points on the board to stick with their competition.

Whichever way they can do it, the Giants need to get back to establishing that tough, aggressive mentality and performance on the defensive line that characterized their success in small spurts over the last decade and a half. If they can, it will serve as a ripple effect for the rest of the group and lead to more wins instead of the constant fourth-quarter collapses that typically follow the franchise.