The New York Giants had a disappointing 2019 season that ended with a 4-12 record. This record was bad enough to secure New York an excellent draft pick, 4th overall. This will be the Giants’ third year in a row picking top-six in the NFL Draft.
Last year, the Giants had a crucial draft class. They selected their franchise quarterback Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick. On top of that, the Giants had two other first-round draft selections. The Giants’ three first-round picks and eleven total players selected in the 2019 NFL Draft signify a vital draft class in the team’s rebuild.
Dave Gettleman’s 2019 rosters seriously lacked talent. The Giants had not one player selected to the Pro Bowl and not one player receiver a First or Second-Team All-Pro vote. But that is not to say there were no bright spots on this roster. There were quite a few in fact and many of them came out of the 2019 NFL Draft class.
There are plenty of rookies for the Giants to be excited about. Daniel Jones looks the part of a franchise quarterback and Darius Slayton looks to be Jones’s favorite and most promising target. But on the defensive side of the ball, the Giants had one of the league’s top rookies in Dexter Lawrence.
Dexter Lawrence Stats And Highlights
With the seventeenth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the New York Giants selected Dexter Lawrence II, a massive interior defensive lineman out of Clemson. Dexter Lawrence is the epitome of Gettleman’s phrase “hog molly.” He stands tall at 6-4 and weighs in at a hefty 340 pounds. And the young man is pretty nimble for his size.
Dexter Lawrence’s 2019 rookie campaign was nothing short of impressive. The Giants’ defensive lineman was as consistent as can be. Dexter received the honor of making Pro Football Focus’s 2019 All-Rookie Team. Here is what PFF had to say about the Giants’ first-round pick out of Clemson:
There were a handful of interior defensive linemen taken in the first round of this past year’s draft, but Lawrence was the only one to put together a season with 500 or more defensive snaps and an overall grade higher than 70.0. He’s been at his best as a run stuffer in the middle of the Giants’ defensive line. Lawrence’s 76.3 run-defense grade ranks 21st among 117 qualifying interior defenders this season. – Ben Linsey of Pro Football Focus
Dexter Lawrence was an excellent run-stuffer for the Giants in his rookie season. However, he demonstrated his ability to get after the quarterback, too. Dexter was logged with 2.5 sacks, 9 quarterback hits, and 15 pressures this season. Additionally, his massive stature commands double-team blocks, freeing up pass-rush opportunities for other Giants defenders.
Dexter Lawrence was a consistent and reliable player in his rookie season. He was able to play and start in all 16 games for Big Blue this year. There are holes all over the Giants’ defense, but any hole that might have been open on the defensive line has been quickly and ferociously plugged by Dexter Lawrence.