Giants Country

Three Giants Earn NFLPA Postseason Recognition

The Giants had three players voted to the top five at their respective positions by their peers at the NFLPA.
Patricia Traina|
Three Giants Earn NFLPA Postseason Recognition
Three Giants Earn NFLPA Postseason Recognition

In this story:

New York Giants

The NFLPA is out with its list of All-Pros and top players at each position, and three members of the New York Giants were among those recognized as being in the top five of their respective positions.

Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II was voted as an NFLPA's first-team All-Pro, finishing as the top interior defender among his peers. Running back Saquon Barkley was voted the fifth-best at his position, and left tackle Andrew Thomas was voted the third-best left tackle.

Lawrence had a career season starting with his availability. He has yet to miss a game due to injury, and by flipping to nose guard, he went on to set career-highs in sacks (7.5), tackles (68), tackles for a loss (7), quarterback hits (28) and Stops (42). Pro Football Focus graded the 17th overall pick in the 2019 draft as the second-best interior defender, finishing behind Chris Jones of the Chiefs.

Lawrence is under contract for 2023 after the Giants picked up the option year on his rookie contract last spring, but general manager Joe Schoen confirmed that the team is interested in extending Lawrence beyond that.

Barkley, who is up for the AP Comeback Player of the Year honors that will be announced next week at the annual NFL Honors Award Show, had a nice bounceback year after battling injuries in each of his last three seasons. Barkey finished with 1,312 rushing yards on 295 carries, the rushing yardage topping his award-winning rookie season total of 1,307, and a career-high of 62 first downs via the run.

Barkley fell one rushing touchdown shy of his career-high (11) set in his rookie season but still managed to top the eight rushing touchdowns he posted from 2019-2021 when he dealt with assorted injuries.

Thomas continued to assert himself as one of the league's best left tackles. He was Pro Football Focus's second-best pass-blocking tackle last season, just behind Houston's Laremy Tunsil. Thomas, who posted the lowest number of penalties (two) among his positional peers, pitched five pass-blocking shutouts in which he didn't allow a sniff of pressure and matched his 97.9 pass-blocking efficiency rating set in 2021.

 

Published
Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

Share on XFollow Patricia_Traina
Home/News