Can Lavonte David Give Giants Much-needed Linebacker Depth?

LB Lavonte David

Current Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 233 lbs.
NFL Experience: 11 years (all with Bucs)
Schools: Fort Scott CC (2008-2009) and Nebraska (2010-2011)
Giants Current Cap Space: $43,339,480

As the New York Giants look to upgrade their linebacker corps, one thing they should take into account is veteran leadership.

The Giants should have a healthy Darrian Beavers in 2023, assuming he's medically cleared from his season-ending ACL injury suffered last summer. They also have Micah McFadden, who, like Beavers, was a draft pick in 2022, under contract as well as Carter Coughlin, who would be entering his third season.

That's a lot of youth for a position that has struggled to make an impact on this team in recent years. And if the Giants want their young players to develop, it might behoove them to add an experienced veteran to the mix that these promising players can gravitate toward and learn from.

Fortunately, one of the best free agents available, Lavonte David, fits this bill for the Giants.

Why He’d Be A Fit

Having spent 11 seasons with the Bucs, David has been a model of consistency since entering the league. A key contributor to a Super Bowl winner, he racked up 139 total tackles (112 solos) in his rookie season in 2012 and never looked back. Collecting no fewer than 87 tackles a year, David has also played at least 12 games every year.

In 2020, when the Bucs won the Super Bowl, David played in all 16 games, racked up 117 tackles, and forced three fumbles. In 2022, his age-32 season, David continued his strong play by doing a little bit of everything. He totaled 87 solo tackles, 27 assists, two forced fumbles, and three sacks in 17 games (603 coverage snaps, 416 snaps defending the run, and 55 pass rush snaps).

According to PFF, David is fantastic in coverage, with an 88.5 coverage grade, including 80.4 in man coverage. While PFF grades are open to interpretation, they indicate that David would theoretically have no problem playing in a Wink Martindale-schemed defense.

David’s consistently strong play and ability to stay on the field are both things the Giants desperately need on defense. Let's see what else he could bring to the Giants.

Drawbacks

Although age does bring experience, it, more often than not, can indicate a steady decline in play. The 33-year-old David probably isn't as spry as he was ten years ago, but that doesn't mean he's not still someone that could contribute.

Outside of age, a more concerning weakness of David is his missed tackles. He missed 10 tackles this year and has had five seasons where his missed tackle percentage was above 10%, most recently in 2020. The Giants have been negatively impacted by missed tackles all year long, and based on David's history, that wouldn't bode well.

Final Thoughts

Despite possible concerns about age and missed tackles, David would be an excellent fit for the Giants. He checks almost every box that makes up a great linebacker, and his availability and veteran leadership would both be highly beneficial to New York’s defense.

Even better is that David is projected to come at a reasonable cost. Spotrac projects his market value at $9.7 million APY. Over the Cap (via Pro Football Focus), projects a two-year, $22 million contract with $15.25 million guaranteed and an APY of $11 million.

Ranked as the best linebacker available in free agency by both PFF and NBC Sports, David could find himself with a few suitors next month, the Giants included.

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