New York Giants rookie defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence has been among Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded rookies since just about Week 1 this season and that has not changed.
Through 15 weeks, Lawrence remains among PFF’s highest-graded and has even cracked the top five.
5. DI DEXTER LAWRENCE, NEW YORK GIANTS
Lawrence has been a handful in the running game all season for the Giants, producing 18 stops and a 77.5 run-defense grade. What gets us at PFF going, though, is his 29 total quarterback pressures. That’s rare from a big fella, especially for one who only turned 22 years old a month ago. When we compare him to recent first-round defensive tackles (in the table below), you can see just how special he looks.
| Year | Player | Pressures |
| 2019 | Dexter Lawrence | 29 |
| 2019 | Christian Wilkins | 26 |
| 2019 | Ed Oliver | 25 |
| 2018 | Vita Vea | 26 |
| 2018 | Daron Payne | 27 |
| 2017 | Jonathan Allen | 16 |
This time around however, Lawrence wasn’t alone. Another Giants rookie has finally joined him among the highest-graded in football and it’s exactly who you might think — wide receiver Darius Slayton.
9. WR DARIUS SLAYTON, NEW YORK GIANTS
The lone Day 3 pick to make our top-10 ranking, Slayton’s making a lot of draft analysts (myself included) look dumb. After dropping eight of his 43 catchable targets last season at Auburn — and four on 33 the season prior — Slayton’s hands have looked drastically improved this season. He’s dropped just three of his 47 catchable targets and has been excellent in contested situations where he’s hauled in 11 of his 22 attempts.
The knock on Slayton coming out of Auburn were his suspect hands, but even with those three drops, he’s more than made up for it by hauling in — as PFF points out — 11 contested receptions, which had made him one of the Giants’ most-trusted targets.
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