One Thought on Every NY Giants Defensive Player Ahead of Training Camp

Although not quite as disappointing as the offense, the New York Giants defense had its share of issues last season, issues that went beyond the injuries that started to tear through the unit and expose depth concerns.

The Giants' defense finished 24th overall and 27th against the run. Although as a group they finished eighth overall against the pass, their 7.12 passing yards per play ranked 27th.

Interceptions were rare occasions, and the defense also ranked in the bottom half of the league in third-down (19th) conversion percentage.

Not all was lost, however. The Giants ranked 11th in the red zone and goal-to-go situations, and third in sacks per pass attempt. However, it all comes back to those macro statistics and situational football, which, quite frankly, left much to be desired.

That’s probably why general manager Joe Schoen did a lot of work to build up the defense this offseason, as a defense that can get off the field quickly and give the ball back to the offense with decent field position is going to go a long way toward potentially boosting the win total in the coming year.

So let’s take a look at the defensive players who will come into camp to compete. (And at the end, we’ll include the three specialists.)

Defensive Linemen

Dexter Lawrence II

When we call him an All-World d-lineman, we mean it. Lawrence at one point led the NFL in sacks, despite being double-teamed on a steady basis. Before his season ended against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving last year, Lawrence, per NFL Pro, was double-teamed 75% on three out of the four instances in which a defender with at least 20 pass-rush snaps played up until that point.

Rakeem Nunez-Roches

“Nacho” served as Lawrence’s running mate, and although he set career highs in tackles (52) and quarterback hits (6), and tied his single-season best in sacks (2.0), Nunez-Roches’s season wasn't enough to convince the Giants not to seek an upgrade there.

Chauncey Golston

Golston might just be the most underrated of the defensive acquisitions. Golston is coming off a season in which he recorded a career-high six quarterback pressures and 5.5 sacks (1.3% sack success rate).

Darius Alexander

Alexander is a versatile rookie draft pick who could emerge as Lawrence’s running mate. He didn’t practice during the spring, which raises a bit of a concern regarding how far behind he might be in his initial NFL development, especially considering he’s coming from a smaller school program.

Elijah Chatman

Good hustle player, who was productive in limited snaps. He should have a spot on the roster this season, but he’s facing a bit of an uphill battle given all the depth added to this unit.

D.J. Davidson

Davidson has a nice bull rush, but his biggest problem has been staying on the field. He’s now missed chunks of two of his last three seasons due to injury, and it’s fair to wonder if that’s stunted his growth as an NFL defender.

Cory Durden

Signed off the Rams' practice squad in early December, Durden was immediately pressed into action and totaled a productive 10 tackles in three games despite very limited playing time.

He was at his best in pursuit, which is where he got most of his tackles. He, too, might be looking at an uphill climb to hang around.

Elijah Garcia

Garcia saw limited action toward the end of last year, where he flashed at times. Given all the talent added to the defensive line this year, Garcia's path to the 53-man roster likely got that much more difficult.

Jeremiah Ledbetter

He was brought on more for his special teams. Good rotational player who, for the early part of his career, was mainly a special-teams player. Over the last two seasons, he’s been deployed more on defense (with Jacksonville), but his production has been pedestrian at best.

Jordan Riley

Riley played sparingly behind Lawrence and Davidson, seeing an increase in snaps when both went down to season-ending injuries. Riley started the last five games, shedding blocks and flashing into plays. But with Alexander having been brought in, Riley is going to need to show a lot more this summer.

Roy Robertson-Harris

This seasoned veteran brings a level of position flexibility that the Giants have been craving for their defensive front. Robertson-Harris isn’t the flashiest player out there, but he does a lot of the little things well enough that help catalyze others to make plays.

Inside Linebackers

Bobby Okereke

His game lost just a smidge of impact last season, partly due to adjusting to the new scheme and partly due to a season-ending back injury.

Okereke failed to reach 100+ tackles in a season for the first time since 2020, but he told the media that he’s recovered from his back ailment and he feels a lot more certain about what to do in this defensive scheme.

Micah McFadden

McFadden might be one of the most underrated players on the defense. He led the Giants in tackles last season (107), a team-leading 33 of those coming against the run. He also recorded eight tackles for loss last year, giving him 26 over the last three years.

While not the greatest in coverage and prone to far too many missed tackles, McFadden has been a solid piece to the defense since becoming a starter.

Darius Muasau

It took a few games early on, but soon Muasau, the Giants’ sixth-round pick last year, began to look less overmatched and more in tune with the speed of the game.

He compiled 41 of his 55 total tackles in his last five games, when he made much better and quicker reads while gaining a deeper understanding of the defense and his role within it.

Dyontae Johnson

Johnson showed promise during the summer until a high ankle sprain put him on IR, where he stayed for most of the season.

He finally got significant playing time in Week 18 as part of a rotation, and in that game, he finished with a team-leading 11 tackles.

Johnson plays the game like an old-school linebacker: tough, physical, and with good movement in space. He whiffed on a few assignments, perhaps a result of being sidelined for so long, but he showed enough to get another crack at a roster spot.

Chris Board

Board was brought in for his special-teams prowess. Expected to be a special-teams core player. He finished as the Ravens' special teams tackle leader (10 tackles, eight solo) in 2024.

With two exceptions (2019 and 2020), he finished either first or second on every team he’s played for in special teams tackles, recording double digits in that category in five of his seven seasons in the league.

Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles

Flannigan-Fowles has mainly made his NFL living on special teams, where he’s posted 24 solo special teams tackles and 21 assists to go with a forced fumble as part of his stats.

Flannigan-Fowles also finished second on the 49ers in special teams tackles three times during his career, in 2020, 2021, and 2022, and like Board, he can give a team a few snaps on defense if needed.

Ty Summers

Summers finished as the Giants’ special teams leader in tackles (7 total, five solo), but his roster spot appears to be in jeopardy thanks to the arrival of Board, who can give the team a little extra on defense if needed.

Outside Linebackers

Brian Burns

Burns was an iron man for the Giants, playing through some painful lower-body injuries that might have sidelined most men. Burns still managed to record his fifth straight season with at least 8.0 sacks, and with the additions made to the pass rush, the sky's the limit.

Kayvon Thibodeaux

Thibodeaux's sacks took a hit last year, largely due to his missing five games with a wrist injury. That said, he also needs to do a better job with beating his one-on-one opportunities if he's to reach elite pass-rushing status.

Abdul Carter

The Giants need to find ways to get him on the field as much as possible. Carter's lightning-fast first step is sure to be dizzying for offensive linemen to try to block.

Victor Dimukeje

He is recovering from an offseason pectoral injury, so he’s likely to start training camp and then the season on the PUP list, assuming he doesn’t get waived/injured and placed on IR.

Tomon Fox

The numbers don’t favor Fox’s odds of landing on the roster, let alone the practice squad, where the team might be looking at developing Trace Ford as a potential depth piece.

Trace Ford

Ford is somewhat raw as a prospect, but he has more than adequate speed, enough bend and twitchiness in his game, and good size that might be enticing enough to develop on the practice squad this year.

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Cornerbacks

Paulson Adebo

Adebo is fully recovered from last year's season-ending leg injury, which is good news for the Giants, who likely plan to deploy Adebo against the opponent's top receiver.

Adebo plays sticky coverage and is a good tackler. He's also someone who should help shore up the team's run defense.

Deonte Banks

Banks hit the dreaded sophomore slump last year after an encouraging rookie campaign. Part of that was the change to a more zone-heavy defensive scheme, which was the complete opposite of the press cover duties he was tasked with executing a year prior.

Banks struggled to show improvement, which is likely why the Giants changed defensive backs coaches. He's drawn rave reviews during the spring, but he's not officially locked in at CB2 just quite yet.

Dru Phillips

One of the fastest developing rookies on the defensive side of the ball last year, Phillips played with instinct, intelligence, toughness, physicality, and attention to detail.

A solid tackler, Phillips learned very quickly from his mistakes and didn’t repeat them, even earning a few pseudo linebacker snaps last year. The best part is he’s nowhere near having hit his ceiling.

Korie Black

One of the Giants’ seventh-round draft picks, Black will likely need to make his mark on special teams while he transitions to the NFL. Whether he does that on the practice squad or 53-man roster remains to be seen.

Cor’Dale Flott

After being unable to grab onto and hold the starting cornerback role last year, Flott once again found himself in competition this spring for a starting job, this time with Banks.

The problem with Flott is that he’s still prone to being nicked up thanks to a thin frame and a penchant for being physical. If he can stay healthy, the Giants' cornerbacks room is that much better with him.

Art Green

Green ended up doing a little bit of everything for the Giants last season, from assuming the gunner role that opened when Nick McCloud was waived to playing in the slot and on the perimeter. His best work, though, came as a gunner, where he forced several fair catches thanks to his hustle.

Tre Hawkins III

Hawkins showed some intrigue as a potential depth piece at corner until a cracked vertebrae in his back brought his season to an early halt. Is recovering from a season-ending back injury.

Hawkins is aggressive to the ball in both coverage and against the run. We’d like to see him lead less with his head, though, on his tackle attempts, so that he gives himself a better chance at staying on the field.

O’Donnell Fortune

Fortune is no stranger to putting in the work to climb the ladder. In college, he went from being a special-teams player to a backup to a starter. While not the most physical cornerback you’ll find on the field this summer, his instincts are top-notch and could give him a competitive edge.

Nic Jones

Jones has primarily been a special-teams contributor in his brief NFL career, and that will likely be his ticket to a spot on the Giants if he can overcome the scores of competition brought in just to boost the special-teams units.

T.J. Moore

Moore impressed enough during his tryout at the rookie minicamp to receive a reserve/futures deal and an invitation to training camp. Moore posted 20 pass breakups in his final season at Mercer and had seven interceptions. He will also compete on special teams, where the competition is knee-deep.

Dee Williams

Williams is listed as a cornerback, but he also has experience as a receiver and return specialist. Special teams is likely going to be his ticket to a roster spot, but the competition is pretty steep there.

Safeties

New York Giants safety Jevon Holland | John Jones-Imagn Images

Tyler Nubin

Nubin impressed more with his physicality than his coverage skills. He was consistently tough and fast to the ball and tackled hard. Before an ankle injury cut short his season, he posted three straight 12-tackle efforts.

On the negative side, Nubin recorded zero interceptions and only one pass defensed in those 13 games, his coverage work needing some improvement, especially after he was a ballhawk in college.

Dane Belton

Belton has settled into a depth role since being drafted. He had a strong showing in the spring, but unless there’s an injury to either Holland or Nubin, he’ll likely continue in a depth and subpackage role in this defense.

Jevon Holland

The uber athletic Holland was among the major free agent signings this offseason as part of a revamped defensive secondary.

He’s a fairly good blitzer whose best season in that area came in 2021, when he blitzed a career-high 10.9% of the time and generated a 25.8% quarterback pressure rating, along with a 4.0% sack rate (a career-high 2.5 sacks that season).

Anthony Johnson, Jr.

An early-season waiver-wire pickup last year, Johnson spent most of the season contributing on special teams, only getting in on the defense in Week 18.

He’s an aggressive type who gave the Giants some good snaps at gunner, which is where he’ll likely try to make his mark this summer, assuming he’s medically cleared from the shoulder issue that kept him out of the spring workouts.

Raheem Layne

Layne suffered a torn meniscus late last season, putting his availability to start training camp in question.

Makari Paige

Intriguing undrafted free agent who has a legitimate chance of sticking around this season in some capacity, given the depth at the position and his versatility.

Specialists

Graham Gano

Injuries have limited him in the last two seasons, particularly on field goal attempts of 40+ yards. However, special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial recently painted a positive picture, claiming Gano is starting to look like himself.

Jude McAtamney

The Irish-born kicker has a powerful (and younger) leg, but a small NFL sample size, which will likely be expanded on this summer if, as is expected, he shares the kicking duties with Gano.

Jamie Gillan

Gillan, who doubles as the team’s holder, dealt with an injury last year that directly contributed to a drop-off in his stats. But the coaches still like the leftie’s leg strength and his improvement in directional kicking.

Casey Kreiter

Kreiter quietly had one of his best seasons last year. His snaps were on point (and quick), and he finished fourth on the team with five special teams tackles (three solos).