The New York Giants made some big acquisitions to massively upgrade their defense this offseason. They addressed their biggest weaknesses, signing LB Bobby Okereke in free agency and drafting CB Deonte Banks in the first round. Despite this, Pro Football Network still views the unit as one of the league’s worst. In their recent ranking of NFL defenses, PFN ranked the Giants 29th in the NFL.
Giants rank 29th in PFN’s defense rankings
The New York Giants ranked 29th in PFN’s latest rankings of NFL defenses, ahead of just the Los Angeles Rams, Las Vegas Raiders, and Chicago Bears. Despite making it to the Divisional Round of the 2022-2022 postseason, New York’s defense is one of the league’s worst in the eyes of PFN’s Arif Hasan.
“The Giants had a glaring hole at cornerback that they fixed with Deonte Banks, but they still have work to do at that position and safety,” Hasan writes. “Without a strong projected unit at linebacker and only a modest pass rush despite the excellent names there, there’s reason to believe the Giants will stay about the same defensively.”
If the Giants did “stay about the same defensively,” they would rank much higher than 29th in the league. Last season, New York allowed 21.8 points per game, ranking 18th in the NFL. However, they did rank 25th in the NFL in yards allowed per game (358.2).
New York may not have the most formidable defense in the league, but ranking them near the very bottom seems like a miscalculation. Bobby Okereke should massively improve the defense’s linebacker unit and Kayvon Thibodeaux could take a big step forward in his second season, making the Giants’ pass rush more than “modest.”
Wink Martindale is widely regarded as one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL. Last season, Martindale had to deal with a slew of injuries throughout his unit, but in 2023, a healthier defense with added talent should yield greater results for the New York Giants.