The New York Giants had one of the worst defenses in the league in 2019, ranking 30th out of 32 teams. However, with a year of experience under their belt for previous rookies and the additions of James Bradberry, Xavier McKinney, and Blake Martinez, the unit should take a step forward and 2020. With seven rookies earning starting playing time last season, that will not be the case moving forward, aside from McKinney, who is drafted in the second round to replace Antoine Bethea at free safety.
Bringing in players in their prime to upgrade influential positions like cornerback and linebacker was a positive step. However, The Athletic thinks the defense will actually get worse this year.
The Athletic’s Sheil Kapadia did not have kind words for the lowly Giants’ defense, whom he ranked 31st overall going into the 2020 season.
GM Dave Gettleman has invested in run-stopping defensive tackles like Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence. That’s an area where the Giants should be strong. But the pass defense is a different story. New York signed corner James Bradberry, but DeAndre Baker’s status is up in the air, and Sam Beal opted out. They got edge defender Markus Golden back but otherwise don’t have much pass rush. Xavier McKinney was a nice find at safety in the second round, but overall this defense just lacks impact players.
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I understand the premise behind lacking playmakers, but losing DeAndre Baker and Sam Beal won’t be the end-all-be-all of the defense. While it will significantly hurt their efficiency at the CB2 position, they did draft Darnay Holmes to compete and hopefully earn a starting spot.
While most analysts believe he would be a nickel corner in the NFL, he has similar size to Janoris Jenkins, the previous number one corner for the Giants. Holmes should be given the opportunity to compete in the slot and on the boundary.
The Giants also retained Markus Golden on a free agent tender, which will pay him 110% of his 2019 salary, which amounts to $4.125 million. Big Blue also hit Leonard Williams with the franchise tag, which will keep him in New York for one more season. Williams stated he wanted to stay with the Giants and thinks Patrick Graham is a “genius” when it comes to his defensive scheme. Turning over their entire coaching staff, the Giants have better pieces in place to improve each unit, so I believe the defense will improve 2020, even if it is not by much.