The New York Giants‘ defense is something that used to be feared. It helped New York win four super bowls and has been something the Giants have always been predicated on. A big part of these defenses was the linebacker cores. They were often elite, featuring guys like Pepper Johnson, Harry Carson, and Carl Banks. The Giants of the past also had a player named Lawrence Taylor, who many know as the greatest linebacker of all time. 

As of recent, New York has been drifting away from what they were once built on. Over the past three seasons, they have been among the league’s worst in nearly every defensive stat. This makes defense a big priority coming into this season as the Giants spent seven draft picks on defenders. The team also went out and signed defensive free agents such as Logan Ryan, Blake Martinez, James Bradberry, and Kyler Fackrell. Big Blue is clearly looking to get back to their once defensive greatness, and for this to happen, it needs to start with the linebacker core, which has been some of the best parts of Giants’ super bowl winning teams. 

How do the New York Giants look now at the position?

The linebacker group right now for the Giants is one that is flying under the radar due to inexperience and youth but could easily impress many people this season. The core is one of the Giants’ deepest positional groups as they have many players that are vying for playing time. Whether it is inside or outside, the Giants will have a lot of competition in the linebacker department all season long.

For the inside linebackers, there is one set starter (Blake Martinez) and a lot of competition following him. Martinez is coming off of three straight seasons in Green Bay, where he posted over 140 tackles and started all 16 games. During this span, he also accounted for 25 tackles for loss and nine sacks. This ability and durability from Martinez should make him the cornerstone of the Giants’ linebacker core. 

After Martinez, the Giants have a lot of inexperience amongst the rest of the inside linebackers. The remaining four (Ryan Connelly, Josiah Tauaefa, T.J. Brunson, and Tae Crowder) have appeared in a combined 16 NFL games. However, this may not be as bad as it seems. Ryan Connelly, a rookie last year, appeared in four games (three starts) before tearing his ACL. During this time, he recorded 20 tackles, missing zero, two interceptions, two tackles for loss, and one sack. He was the Giants’ best defensive player in the time he played and was even part of Pro Football Focus’ week three Team of the Week. While Tauaefa has not had a similar start to his career, he and the pair of rookies have proven to be useful reserves during training camp. Tae Crowder, the last pick in the draft, even earned first-team reps in the Giants’ first scrimmage. This is a young and developing group that should be complemented well with talent and experience outside.

When it comes to the edge rushers, they have much more experience and hype coming into this season. It has been a while since the Giants have been able to get after the quarterback efficiently, and the organization is trying to bring this back this season. This started with re-signing arguably the Giants’ best defensive player last year, Markus Golden. Golden had 10 sacks last year along with 72 tackles, 13 of them behind the line of scrimmage. Last year, he was the only true pass rusher for the Giants and was still able to be productive. This year with more help from the rest of the edge rushers, he should look to be even better.

Some of this help Golden will be receiving will come from newly signed Kyler Fackrell. Fackrell is a talented young player who only had one sack last season as the Smith Bros in Green Bay overshadowed him. However, the year prior, Fackrell led Green Bay with 10.5 sacks. Joe Judge and Patrick Graham will try to touch into this ability that Fackrell clearly possesses as they attempt to improve their pass rush. 

Golden and Fackrell will also be in rotation with a pair of third-round picks still on their rookie deals (Lorenzo Carter and Oshane Ximines). Carter has currently had a quiet start to his career, 8.5 sacks, and 13 tackles for loss in 14 starts, but he is a breakout candidate heading into this season. His 6-foot-5, 250-pound frame combined with his 4.46 40-yard-dash and 36-inch vertical are intangibles few other edge rushers possess. Carter has finally been tapping into this ability this offseason as he recorded 4.5 sacks, the same amount that he had all of last season, in the Giants’ first scrimmage. Ximines, another player who recorded 4.5 sacks last season, was drafted as a project out of Old Dominion last season by the Giants. It was a bumpy road for him last season, but he was very successful at times, and this year he is planning on being more consistent and effective. The combination of these two young talents with the two proven veterans should make a solid man rotation off the edge.

This rotation may also get a little added fuel from another pair of Giants draftees. The Giants drafted both Cam Brown and Carter Coughlin late in the 2020 draft as potential pieces to help a developing pass rush game. While it is yet to be determined if both will make the roster, the two B1G alums have been practicing behind these four at the edge. Both Brown and Carter possess prototypical size, 6-foot-5, and 6-foot-3, respectively, and if either makes the 53-man roster, they could be used strategically in the pass rush game. 

This creates a very talented and young linebacker room for New York that is hungry to get reps and get better. This competition should breed success amongst these players and will be something to watch this season.