Where Giants Stand Ahead of Draft at Interior Defensive Line

The Giants' run defense finished in the bottom half of the league in 2019, and new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham was hired to change that in 2020. What will Graham and new defensive line coach Sean Spencer have to work with on the defensive front?

The Giants defensive line is not a rebuilding unit. General manager Dave Gettleman has made investments to retain a core of key players on the defensive line, and they'll boast a full year of chemistry in 2020. Two projected starters will also be playing through a contract year.

On The Roster

Leonard Williams (franchise tag; unsigned), Dalvin Tomlinson, Dexter Lawrence, BJ Hill, RJ McIntosh, Chris Slayton, Kevin Wilkins, Austin Johnson (Titans)

Off The Roster

None

The Breakdown

The Leonard Williams trade and franchise tag alone makes the Giants' defensive line a defining subject for Dave Gettleman's job performance--not to mention Gettleman has also invested three draft picks at the position in his first two drafts, including a mid-first-round pick in 2018 on Dexter Lawrence II out of Clemson.

Gettleman's also inherited one of the unit's better players from the Jerry Reese regime, in Dalvin Tomlinson, a second-round pick in 2017 out of Alabama. Tomlinson has started all 48 games for the Giants in his three NFL seasons. He's been the sturdiest player on the Giants roster and has a case for a big payday when his rookie contract expires after this year.

Tomlinson highlights the position group, leading Giants' defensive tackles in total tackles (49) and sacks (3.5) last season. Lawrence, as a rookie, was right behind Tomlinson with 38 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

Lawrence takes a promising year of starting experience under his belt, and for Tomlinson, 2020 will be a contract year after three straight years of improvement. The two high draft choices out of college football's powerhouses will be the anchor in the Giants' interior front.

Gettleman also used two lower round picks from his first draft with the Giants on the defensive line. BJ hill, a fourth-rounder in 2018, broke out as a rookie with 5.5 sacks but saw a decreased role in 2019. In contrast, RJ McIntosh, a fifth-rounder that same year, saw his role increase in 2019, tallying his first two NFL sacks in 12 games played.

Then there is the question of Williams and what he brings to the table on the defensive line? Williams has cost the Giants a third-round pick this year, a fifth-round pick next year, and a $17 million cap hit — a price that bought them 0.5 sacks in 2019.

The justification Gettleman gave for why he would retain Williams in the end-of-season press conference in January was that Williams was "disruptive inside."

RELATED: Why the Giants Need to Re-sign Leonard Williams

The vision of a 2020 core of Williams, Lawrence, and Tomlinson anchoring the Giants' defensive front is probably what motivated Gettleman to apply the tag, believing that those three, under the right coaching, can comprise an elite run-stuffing unit. Gettleman is betting that 2020 will be the year of the Hog Molly Mafia at Metlife Stadium.

Position Battles

Graham's defense will utilize defensive linemen in a similar, but not identical role that the previous defense did under James Betcher. Like Betcher, Graham will also run a 3-4 defense sometimes, but will sometimes employ a 4-3, 4-4 or 5-2 front as well, leaving competition at rotational spots.

Tomlinson, Lawrence, and (by contract value) Williams are likely to be penciled in as the top three starters, but Hill and McIntosh could battle for playing time during training camp and throughout the season. In the event of an injury, Hill and McIntosh will likely emerge as the top candidates to fill in as starters.

With the investment already made and holes at other critical positions on the roster, it's unlikely Gettleman uses a higher-round pick on a defensive tackle in this year's draft.

A third-day pick might be worthwhile on prospects like Baylor's James Lynch, LSU's Rashard Lawrence, or Penn State's Robert Windsor.

Those players might not translate into rookie starters but would bolster the unit with the more rotational competition. They would also give the Giants a potential replacement candidate for their upcoming contract expirations on the defensive line.

Gettleman probably wouldn't mind another hog molly in the family, if anything.