The New York Giants have one of the league’s worst defenses. They went from bad to worse in the offseason. After an abysmal 2018, the Giants let their best pass rusher and their best safety go in the offseason. These moves left even more holes on the Giants’ defense.
Prior to these moves, the Giants were already weak at a number of defensive positions. One of those weak positions is at linebacker. The Giants will need to upgrade this position sooner than later, whether that be through the draft or through free agency.
Free agency started about two weeks ago, so the market has really thinned out. However, there is still at least one quality linebacker available for the Giants to consider. That linebacker is former Washington Redskin, Zach Brown.
What Zach Brown Could Bring To The Giants:
At 29 years old, Zach Brown could bring a nice veteran presence to the Giants’ locker room. The Giants already have Alec Ogletree for that, but Brown and Ogletree could be a great duo of defensive captains. Brown has also performed better than Ogletree as a player, too.
Zach Brown struggled through an injury in 2018 but still played top-notch football. He totaled 96 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, and 10 tackles for loss. Despite playing with an injury, Brown played all 16 games for the Redskins. He did only start in 12, but he played in all 16. Pro Football Focus graded Zach Brown as the 3rd best linebacker in the NFL in 2018 with an overall grade of 89.2.
.@ZachBrown_55 is a brick wall ? https://t.co/l11zbzXrvs
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) December 4, 2018
Brown has been an impact player for the past 3 seasons. He has totaled over 10 tackles for loss in each of the last 3 seasons and in 2017 and 2016 he had incredible combined tackle totals. In 2016, playing for the Buffalo Bills, Brown racked up a huge 149 tackles as he was selected to the Pro Bowl. That tackle number was 2nd highest in the league in 2016.
In 2017, Brown put up another solid season. He had 127 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks with the Washington Redskins. On top of this, Brown was solid in pass defense in 2018. According to Pro Football Focus, Brown was one of only six linebackers to play at least 350 coverage snaps and not allow a single touchdown in coverage.
If the Giants sign Zach Brown, they will be getting a highly productive and very consistent linebacker to man the middle of their defense.