Surprising Giants Weakness Listed in Pre-Combine Analysis

The end of the New York Giants' 2025 season, with a 4-13 record and another last-place finish in the NFC East, brought major gloom to the organization, but how quickly that changed with an exciting start to the offseason so far.

The Giants' hiring of John Harbaugh as the team's next head coach was, and will remain, the obvious headliner as the franchise shifts gears toward building a much better product in the 2026 season.

With the calendar inching towards March, the team is now analyzing the biggest needs on their roster and devising a concise plan to address their talent acquisition objectives through evaluations at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, free agency, and the upcoming draft in Pittsburgh.

For the Giants, most of the conversations have likely been circulating around the three most glaring issues at wide receiver, offensive line, and the secondary, where the team could lose key starters to free agency or simply see how lacking in quality depth those positions were during this past season.

CBS Sports, however, published a new analysis on each NFL team's biggest need as the first day of the combine approaches on Thursday, and sees a totally different area flying completely under the radar for Big Blue.

That is the inside linebacker position, which the outlet dubbed the "most talent-deficient spot" on the Giants' roster and believes should receive much more attention as the evaluation process unfolds.

How Much in Dire Straits is the Giants' Linebackers Room?

New York Giants inside linebacker Micah McFadden — Dec 25, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Giants linebacker Micah McFadden (41) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

When John Harbaugh took the Giants' head coaching job just over a month ago, he set immediate expectations for the team to return to postseason contention.

The most important player in that equation figures to be quarterback Jaxson Dart, who will now get to continue developing in his second year under one of the most accomplished leaders in the sport.

The Giants realized how much Dart's arsenal was lacking in quality playmakers last season, and it has become their top priority to rejuvenate his options with a big-time receiver on the outside who can complement Malik Nabers once he returns from injury rehab, and an even stronger party of blockers up front.

On the defensive side of the ball, folks on the outside were constantly talking about the revamped defensive line, which largely failed to live up to expectations, and the porous secondary that was torched repeatedly in coverage and arguably cost the Giants a handful of games.

Josh Edwards, the author of the CBS analysis, makes an excellent point by shining a light on the concerns that linger with the inside linebacker position, which deserves equal attention if the franchise hopes to really get back to playing relevant football in December and January.

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At full health, the unit was set to be headlined by a highly productive duo in veterans Bobby Okereke and Micah McFadden, who both led the team in tackles over the past two seasons and have been ironmen during their pro careers.

McFadden was lost for the remainder of the 2025 season after suffering a foot injury in Week 1 against the Washington Commanders, leaving the Giants with a hole alongside Okereke, which turned into a carousel of six different players trying to fill his workload.

The success rate was pretty minimal, as Darius Muasau would cover admirably as the new No. 2 linebacker, but only for 12 games, missing the remaining five games due to an ankle injury.

The other options in the locker room came up from the practice squad and struggled to help slow down the onslaught the defense was taking in the middle against the run.

As the offseason begins, the Giants face critical decisions regarding their aforementioned starters for different reasons.

McFadden has reached the end of his rookie contract and will enter the free-agent market for the first time, where, despite his recent ailment, he could draw interest from several teams looking to upgrade their middle tier.

Okereke is under contract for the upcoming campaign, but his future is hanging in the balance as well.

The Giants are looking for ways to expand their cap space, which currently ranks third-lowest in the league, and a move to release the seventh-year veteran is on the table, sparing the organization $9 million in cap savings if the transaction goes through.

It would be wise for general manager Joe Schoen to work on keeping one of those two players in East Rutherford for the long haul.

Okereke has risen into a leader on the field and in the locker room, while McFadden's presence would help improve the Giants' massive weakness against the run.

The Giants will still have to add another player or two to create some depth they can trust down the stretch of the season if and when injuries take their toll.

With the free agent market being relatively cheap for a proven option, it wouldn't be a surprise to see New York tackle the need there while adding a developmental prospect in the late rounds of the draft.

Either way, the position is certainly not in a good place heading into the talent-acquisition period of the offseason.

The Giants must work on improving it, or they might remain behind the eight ball in building a true championship-caliber defense that has been missing for a while.