Giants ILB Bobby Okereke Earns Top-10 Recognition Among His Position Group

Okereke's durability and production have made him the Giants' best free-agent acquisition to date.

East Rutherford, NJ December 31, 2023 -- Bobby Okereke of the Giants pressures Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford in the first half. | Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA

The New York Giants' addition of free agent inside linebacker Bobby Okereke last off-season was by far the best free-agent move made by general manager Joe Schoen.

The Giants, who saw Okereke up close and personal in a 38-10 victory in Week 17 of the 2022 season in which Okereke led the Colts with 17 tackles that week, made a bee-line for the former Stanford standout during the free agency period after he posted a career-best 151 tackles (99 solos) in his final season with the Colts.

Okereke, who signed a four-year contract for $40 million, immediately paid dividends to his new team. He finished with 149 tackles, just two shy of his career high, and played in every single defensive snap, a rarity in today’s game.

Because of his performance, Okereke was named Pro Football Focus’s tenth-best linebacker from 2023.

Okereke finished with the seventh-best grade among 20 linebackers who played at least 1,000 defensive snaps last season, and his coverage grade (a career-best 82.5) placed him sixth among his peers.

Grades aside, Okereke was also one of the best tacklers in his position group in the league. Among that same 20-member sample size, Okereke’s 7.7 percent missed tackle rate was the fifth lowest.

Voted a team captain by his peers, Okereke, who turns 28 on July 29, is still very much in the thick of his prime.

He was passed over for Pro Bowl and All-Pro considerations, but there is no doubt that the Giants are happy to have him and benefited as much as they could from what Okereke brought on and off the field.