Giants Preseason Report Card: Grading Every Linebacker, Defensive Back and Key Special Teamer vs. Vikings

Although we weren’t expecting to see much in terms of how New York Giants defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson planned to deploy his bounty of linebackers, we still got a quick look at a few things that were, shall we say, intriguing.

One such thing was a NASCAR-style package. Kayvon Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter were the edges, and Chauncey Golston was the inside guy while Darius Alexander was the lone defensive lineman.

Obviously, when the regular season begins, factor in Brian Burns into that lineup–Burns got the night off. But it was a glimpse into how creative Wilson is at getting as many weapons onto the field at once.

With that said, here are our grades for the linebackers, defensive secondary, and special teams.

Outside Linebackers

Chauncey Golston

The star of the front seven, Golston made some early noise as an inside pass rusher in his 18 snaps.

Golston is such a slippery inside rusher who always gets his hands up while working his way or his man into the quarterback’s face. He laid out two big hits on the quarterback with inside rushes, while he executed the day’s best edge contain with a textbook control of his man, then a perfectly-timed shed, and finally a picture-perfect tackle for a loss of 4 yards.

It was something you might draw up on the blackboard; it was such a dominant play. Golston finished with two tackles in his versatile game, contributing in numerous ways.

We expect him to get more playing time up and down the line as the season progresses. After last year’s injury-addled washout of a season, the hope is for Golston to be less brittle and be more of that sneaky factor that his talent suggests he can be.

Abdul Carter

Getting the start, Carter played 12 snaps total and got in on one edge tackle. His ankle issue from late spring clearly isn’t an issue as he moved very well out there.

Kayvon Thibodeaux

Starting opposite Carter and in place of Brian Burns, who was given the day off, Thibodeaux played a total of nine snaps and delivered solid edge contain in his two series. He also managed to close down on several inside runs, recording his lone tackle.

Caleb Murphy

Getting some early playing time (27 snaps) on the edge, Murphy seemed slow to get going, but his motor began to burn later on, especially in goal-line situations where he made several heavy and heady plays.

Murphy’s pass rush was invisible, but his toughness in the pit won some fans.

Trace Ford

As was the case last summer, Ford flashed on the edge with several positive plays. He actually made several plays in dropback coverage, knocking away a ball; coverage is apparently something he’s worked on, as he looked natural and agile in space.

Ford lacks the physical skills to rush the passer on the edge—he lacks length, long arms, and a real power game—which is why we’d like to see him tried inside, where his physical attributes seem to fit better.

Ford isn’t going to make this 53-man roster, but as a practice squadder, we would like to see him transition to the inside, where his game seems to match up better. He’s only 25 years old, and he’s got a legit defensive temperament plus positive speed and agility, and he sure finds the ball well.

We like his movement skills, and he seems to play with his eyes wide open. As an edge, he’s too easily blocked, but as an inside linebacker, we think he’s got a chance.

Khalid Kareem

Getting plenty of snaps with the second- and third-teams (30 snaps), this jumbo-sized edge is a six-year journeyman who plays with legit physicality.

He laid one hit on the quarterback with a solid edge weakside rush, while also contributing by throwing his big body around down near the goal line to positive effect.

Kareem finished with three total tackles on the day and provides solid depth as a possible veteran practice squad candidate.

Inside Linebackers

Arvell Reese

Getting the start inside, this first-round rookie draft pick laid a very heavy early run-game tackle and just missed on several wide closes.

His inside fills are as physical as we’ve seen, and should provide a consistent power presence to the middle of the defense.

Micah McFadden

Getting the start inside with Tremaine Edmunds not dressed, McFadden made the good early read but then fell off the tackle at the line of scrimmage that led to an early 18-yard gain.

It wasn’t the first tackle that McFadden missed out there this week. Bottom line: this player lacks the arm length and the athleticism to be a finisher, and since he’s hardly a thumper, that leaves him as a quick thinker and mover who is consistently able to finish things off.

McFadden needs to make more of an impact on special teams, which he hasn't done in his four-year career.

Jack Kelly

Much bigger and more physical a player than McFadden, Kelly is exactly the type of player this staff is looking for at inside linebacker. Kelly packs a punch when he arrives at the scene.

Two of his inside blitzes literally blew up the pocket, leading to a sack and an incompletion. Kelly will have to work on his quickness, as the game was too fast for him in a couple of instances, but his size is a legit weapon, as are his straight-line speed and overall mobility, both of which are top-notch for his position.

Kelly has legit wingspan to his credit, and he’s already playing proper angles in space in coverage. He’s got future starting potential. He led the defense with 5 tackles despite not playing much. This kid’s a legit keeper.

Darius Muasau

Getting 10 third-team snaps today, Muasau did not flash and is very much in danger of not making the final 53.

Zach Barnes

If it comes down to Muasau and Barnes, we think Barnes is the better player. Barnes is more physical; he finds the ball and delivers hits, and his speed is underrated (though he’s not particularly agile in space).

Barnes is also a much more accomplished special teams player. He finished with just one special-teams tackle today, but on defense he was active and feisty.

Anfernee Orji

This late-camp signing got onto the field late in today’s game and proceeded to find the ball twice from the inside linebacker position with a lightning-fast, close, and physical finish on both occasions.

Orji looks smallish and lean, but he can run and hit, which makes him someone to watch. There’s a lot more to playing inside linebacker than shooting gaps and making splash plays, but if you can perform the basics—see, run, hit, wrap, finish—then maybe you can play specials while you learn. Orji has a chance.

Cornerbacks

Colton Hood

There was a lot of good to find in this rookie’s work, which included tons of tight, sticky coverage.

Yes, he was flagged for illegal contact on a very iffy call, but Hood did not back off and continued to blanket receivers in the few series he was on the field, notably with the starters.

The rookie finished with 3 total tackles while acquitting himself quite well.

Deonte Banks

Today’s opening run was right at Banks and his criminally soft edge for 18 easy yards, but Banks was far from the guiltiest party on this play.

He followed that up by drawing two coverage penalties that were as questionable as the flag thrown at Hood.

Banks had provided some solid coverage on these and other plays, and ended up finishing his day with the starters with two tackles and a plus performance, despite the flags that were as much reputation flags as anything.

Banks has a lot of work to do to erase that well-earned reputation of his, but we think he was off to a good start with this week’s otherwise decent performance.

Art Green

Getting 19 second-half snaps at corner, Green just missed knocking a deep out away with pretty good coverage, but when he went for the ball and missed, he gave up a big play.

Kudos to Green for trying to make a play rather than sitting back and giving up something easy.

Green was also flagged for tight but legit pass interference in the end zone that set up the Vikings’ lone touchdown.

We love Green’s size and physicality, and he’s got very good straight-line speed. He does lack the stop-and-go that good corners need, however.

Nic Jones

Making several nice plays in alert coverage, we’ve always liked Jones as more of a slot corner than an edge one.

His size fits better inside as well. He finished with three total tackles today in a productive performance despite not playing very many snaps.

Korie Black

Getting the chance to play lots of border corner today, Black got credit for knocking away two balls with solid, sticky coverage on the edges and in the end zone.

Alas, Black was also flagged for interference in the end zone as the parade of flags against the Giants' secondary never seemed to stop.

Black also got credit for an edge-run game tackle and was overall a solid contributor.

Sam Webb

Getting 14 sporadic snaps throughout the game, Webb got picked on a bit late in the game, giving up short completions and finishing with two tackles.

Webb has good size to handle the physical demands of the job. He’s a 28-year-old, four-year veteran with five total starts, and is here to provide depth.

J.T. Woods

Also a depth signing this summer, Woods is a former third-round pick and two-year veteran listed as a safety but who played some corner today.

He’s got great size at 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, so look for the coaches to try to work with this talented underachiever.

Safeties

Tyler Nubin

Getting a start, Nubin made a play on a ball to knock it away early on. Nubin getting his hands on a ball is big news as he’s gone two full seasons now without a sniff of an interception.

He did record a tackle in his brief stint with the starters.

Ar’Darius Washington

Making an impact seemingly on every possession, Washington provided tight coverage on several receivers, was very active all over the place, and finished his early day with two tackles with the starters, which is seemingly where he belongs.

Washington plays more like a slot than a safety; we’re not sure what he is, other than that he looks and plays like a football player.

Jason Pinnock

Given 22 snaps with the starters, Pinnock was aggressive to the ball on several occasions and finished with three total tackles.

Elijah Campbell

Campbell received 19 snaps and was the guilty party on coverage in which he made a mental error that allowed a wide-open big gain in his deep edge quadrant. He also missed a tackle.

Beau Brade

This backup safety came up well late to finish off a wide completion. Brade’s only snaps came late in the game, and he finished with two tackles.

Raheem Layne

Though he made a physical solo tackle early on, Layne also badly missed on an all-out blitz late in the game that allowed the Vikings the first down that ran out the clock.

The physical and aggressive Layne finished with two tackles, but the miss in the open field was a bad one.

Ugo Amadi

This recent signing got only five late-game snaps and missed a tackle on one.

Special Teams

Jordan Stout

Stout started slowly with two mediocre punts, but once he loosened up, he nailed punts of 55, 58, 60, and 65 yards, finishing with a 48.7 average on six punts.

Even Stout’s short punts didn’t hurt his team, as they were unreturnable, including one that forced a fair catch.

Stout and his coverage teams allowed a mere 35 return yards despite him having to turn over the field with his big boomers that are usually considered “out-kicking the coverage.”

Kudos to the coverage teams for supporting the head coach’s stated commitment to special teams. The days of sub-par punting for this team seem to be over.

Ben Sauls

Getting all the kicking action, Sauls converted one extra point and a 46-yarder at the first half gun. His two kickoffs were accurately dropped at the 1- and 3-yard lines, respectively. That’s a light but good day’s work.

Dominic Zvada was scheduled to perform all the second-half kicking duties, but not a single opportunity arose.

Ben Mann

The rookie did well to be in the vicinity on several punt coverages, showing a good feel for field coverage and not overrunning his gap.

It looks like he’s going to be a factor on these coverages with his mobility and size (6-foot-5, 230 pounds).

Mann’s snaps weren’t particularly sharp, as we were expecting more velocity on them.

Braxton Berrios

Berrios was the first man up at punt returner, and he immediately contributed with a sharp, north-south, 15-yard return.

He followed that up with another 15-yarder, showing good vision and feet. Berrios also recorded one fair catch and showed a lot of savvy with his decision-making back there.

If Berrios is not the team’s starting punt returner on opening day, we’d be shocked.

Deonte Banks

Banks came right out of the chute with an aggressive opening kickoff return to the 29-yard line, attacking the middle of the coverage while looking for a lane.

We like to see all that straight-line speed putting some fear into the coverage, and Banks looks like a weapon back there.

Xavier Gipson

This veteran got some looks on kickoff return but didn’t see the ball. He did return one punt for 10 yards and made two fair catches, including one at his own 8-yard line and another at his own 5-yard line.

This 3-year vet is just 25 years old, but he already has a reputation for ball security, while his decision-making is not always the best. He remains a depth longshot.

Dante Miller

On the opening second-half kickoff, Miller took the ball out of Gipson’s hands and produced a mediocre return to the 26-yard line.

Miller’s lack of vision and lackluster change-of-direction skills contributed to the disappointing return.

Miller, by the way, suffered an abdominal injury and was clearly in a lot of discomfort when he left the locker room after the game.

Dalen Cambre

Getting some snaps at gunner, Cambre did well to cover one of Stout’s boomers, break down, double-back, take a good angle, and make the solid wrap-up tackle for a short return. Cambre’s special teams play is what’s going to give him a good chance to stick around.

Art Green

Getting snaps as the team’s top punt gunner, Green finished off one coverage with a solo tackle and did well on several others.

Zaire Barnes

Barnes made the team’s opening kickoff tackle with a solid middle physical hit and finish.

Every coverage team needs a big thumper inside, which is something that Barnes eagerly provides, as he’s as physical as it gets.

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