When the New York Giants beat the Washington Redskins late in the 2019 season, they all but ruled themselves out of the Chase Young sweepstakes, despite attempting to blow the game against a lackluster Washington team. Fast forward several months, and the team is without their best pass rusher, Markus Golden, who sits idly on the free-agent market.
General manager Dave Gettleman has done little to address one of the weaker spots on the team, signing only Kyler Fackrell to supplement the supposed loss of Golden. However, there are still moves to be made and time to evaluate players. With the minimal cap space available for the Giants, however, signing a big-name free agent doesn’t seem to be the most likely course of action.
Who do the New York Giants currently have to work with?
On the roster, Big Blue has Fackrell, who logged 10.5 sacks and 12 QB hits in 2018, Lorenzo Carter, who hasn’t been able to live up to his potential, yet, and Oshane Ximines, an exciting, young prospect who posted 4.5 sacks on just 45% of defensive snaps last season.
I imagine they’re high on Ximines, who showed off some quality pass rusher moves in his rookie season. Where the Old Dominion product improved the most was against the run. His 0.0% missed tackle rate was impressive, tallying 25 combined tackles and 14 assists. He also logged five tackles for a loss.
Ximines did a good job beating offensive tackles on speed rushes around the edge, using his left arm to attack the outside left shoulder of said tackles. If he can develop a more refined bull rush and work stunts into his arsenal, Oshane can develop into one of the Giants’ premier pass-rush specialists. However, there’s development needed, and I believe we will see an improvement in year two.
Despite our optimism regarding Ximines’, the Giants could still be in the market for another pass rusher, especially if the football gods grace the Giants with Chase Young at the 4th overall pick. Of course, that would be an easy decision to make if he manages to slip; alternatively, they could find a mid-round pick to contribute, but they’ve invested plenty of draft picks into high-ceiling pass rushers already.
If Gettleman stays put, the Giants could be looking at a scheme-based pass-rush, utilizing their interior defensive line to produce internal pressure and utilize their OLBs to come over the top. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how they develop a pass rush moving forward. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham will have to be creative with his schemes.