Giants Need More of an "Edge" on Defense

When they say quality edge-rushing talent doesn't grow on trees, they're not kidding.

Just ask the New York Giants, who, after moving on from Jason Pierre-Paul after the 2017 season, had seen a long and impressive line of homegrown edge rushers dry up.

The Giants tried to fill in the gaps by going the free agent route, first with Olivier Vernon, then with Markus Golden, and they had some modest success; but when one thinks of the Giants' last two championship teams, the one thing both had in common was each had three homegrown pass rushers who routinely created havoc for opposing quarterbacks.

Obviously, the Giants haven't had that in a while, and no amount of blitzing will fix that. In 2023, the Giants blitzed on 45.4 percent of their snaps, second most in the league. Yet they managed just 133 pressures for a 20.9 percent pressure rate, 18th in the league.

The one pass rusher who, on the surface, had a solid season was second-year man Kayvon Thibodeaux, whose 11.5 sacks were more than doubled his rookie sack total (four). While this might seem like a breakout year for the former Oregon Duck, Thibodeaux's biggest issue was consistency.

Although he led the Giants' edge rushers, who had at least 300 pass-rushing snaps with a 5.7 pass-rush pressure rate in 2023, that figure was only slightly more than the 5.5 he posted as a rookie. And in terms of his pass-rush win rate (PRWR), whereas he had a 9.7 percent PRWR in 2022, he only posted a 6.4 percent rate in 2023.

The bottom line is that the Giants need more consistency out of Thibodeaux, who, to be fair, sometimes was asked to drop into coverage a little too much for our tastes, as that's not an ideal use of his talent. Thibodeaux also dealt with a late-season knee injury which likely contributed to his drop off.

Overall, though, the arrow continues to point upward for Thibodeaux. But he can't do it all alone, as we're hoping the Giants brass has no doubt realized by now.

Here's a look at the other edge rushers.

Azeez Ojulari

Ojulari continued to struggle with lower body injuries, turning him into a big question mark moving forward. Ojulari did manage to dress for 11 games (seven starts) this season, but his contributions were few and far between, finishing the season with 2.5 sacks (two of which came in Week 17) and 16 tackles. 

His biggest struggles came in flashing around the edge, where the opponent too frequently thwarted him. And when asked to drop back into coverage, he often looked like a ship sailing with no direction, his lack of awareness and instinct a problem. 

He's under contract for one more season, and the new defensive coordinator will likely look to get more out of him, but so far, this once promising young edge rusher has been nothing like the Giants likely thought they were getting.

Jihad Ward

A Wink Martindale favorite who produced a career-high five sacks (each lined up inside with his hand in the dirt), Ward was as reliable as they came. His struggles came in space, where opponents ran around his contain as his limited mobility just could not keep up with speed. Ward is a physical player and played assignment true, but at 30 years of age, the Giants will probably look to get younger at this position.

Boogie Basham

The Giants acquired Basham from the Bills on cutdown day by swapping a sixth-round pick for a seventh, but Basham barely moved the needle. Long thought of as a younger Jihad Ward, but Basham isn’t the player that Ward is. He’s similar in size to Ward, but he isn't food in space nor quite the go-getter. 

We're not sure the coaches knew what to do with Basham, who was a healthy scratch in the middle of the season. Basham is under contract for one more year, but again, unless the next defensive coordinator can figure out a way to get more out of him, Basham would seem to be a long shot to make the team.

Benton Whitley

The Giants signed Whitley off the Vikings practice squad in mid-November, another player who seemed to be in the Jihad Ward mold, only Bentley was bigger. In just three games with the team in 2023, he recovered one fumble on special teams and knocked down a pass on defense. Whitley is a pending UFA who may come cheap enough to bring back for depth purposes and for special teams this spring and summer.

Tomon Fox

After making the 53-man roster the year prior, Fox landed on the practice squad in 2023, only receiving one late-season elevation (Week 15). He played 19 snaps during that game, delivering one tackle and a handful of disciplined, power edge rushes and contain. Fox has been signed to a reserve/futures contract, so we'll see if he can regain a roster spot in 2024.