Kyler Fackrell is Ready to Reunite with Blake Martinez in Patrick Graham’s Giants Defense

Kyler Fackrell has been teaming up with Blake Martinez since the two entered the NFL together in 2016, Fackrell as a third-round pick (No. 88 overall) and Martinez as a fourth-round pick (No. 131 overall) for the Packers.

The two linebackers and training camp roommates during their rookie year had their most productive seasons in 2018 under Graham. That year, Martinez recorded a career-high 5.0 sacks to go along with 144 total tackles and three passes defensed; and Fackrell recorded career highs in tackles (42) and sacks (10.5).

“He's a great coach. And the thing that I really liked the most about him is just his passion and love for football,” Fackrell said when asked about reuniting with Graham with the Giants.

“He'll, he'll get up on the table screaming and yelling when he needs to, but it all comes from him being just grateful for the life that he's living, what he gets to do, to provide for his family.

“That’s something that I always loved coming into work about Coach Graham, so that was a big thing, that he was here and the respect that I have for him.”

Fackrell isn’t quite sure what his role will be in Graham’s multiple look defense. But because Graham has familiarity with what his newest linebacker can and can’t do, it sounds as though Fackrell is going to be leaned on heavily in the eh Giants’ defense this year.

“I haven't discussed specifics with coach Graham too much, but I know that he like my versatility, being able to rush and drop (into coverage),” Fackrell said. “I really look forward to what Coach Graham is going to do with the defense. I have a lot of trust in his abilities--he's a really sharp dude. So I'll do whatever the defense asks of me.”

Oct 28, 2018; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Green Bay Packers linebacker Blake Martinez (50) gestures before the snap during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum / Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

While Martinez has already said that he anticipates he’ll be playing more of an attack role, Fackrell believes his versatility as a pass rusher and in coverage will fill some needs in Graham’s schemes.

“I think that I'm a very versatile 3-4 SAM linebacker,” Fackrell said. “I love to rush, and I think I'm good at it. I take a lot of pride in dropping (into coverage) and making plays in space as well. I think in the kind of three-four defense that we played in Green Bay and, I think Patrick Graham runs kind of a similar style defense.”

The biggest thing that Fackrell believes he and Martinez will be able to do for Graham’s Giants defense is create confusion for the opposing quarterback.

“He’s very versatile as well,” Fackrell said of Martinez. “I mean, you can do a lot of different things and, yeah, we're seeing there's a lot of different things we can do, especially in like most third-down packages with the two of us and trying to confuse quarterbacks.”

And hopefully, revive a Giants pass rush that over the last five seasons has averaged just 30.2 quarterback sacks.

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