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When the New York Giants traded for Leonard Williams in the middle of the 2019 season, general manager Dave Gettleman certainly faced some heavy criticism.
However, this past season the critics were quiet as Williams had his best year to date. He racked up 11.5 sacks but was much more disruptive than his sack total indicates.
Williams, of course, played last season under the franchise tag and is set to become a free agent. The Giants will make him a priority but the former New York Jets’ first-round pick will certainly get some big money offers in free agency.
ESPN listed Williams as the third-best available free agent.
The past year has been awfully good for Williams, who was traded to the Giants in 2019 and found a home in new coach Joe Judge’s defense. His 11.5 sacks were a career high and more than he had amassed in the previous three seasons combined. And now Williams has enormous leverage over the Giants, who decided not to sign him to an extension before finalizing the trade. He spent 2020 as their franchised player.
Williams was only behind quarterback Dak Prescott and offensive tackle Trent Williams as the best free agents available.
Defensive captain Dalvin Tomlinson is also set to become a free agent. While Tomlinson did not make the list of ESPN’s top 50 free agents, he was on their “bonus free agent names to watch” list. Tomlinson was another staple on the Giants’ strong defensive front.
Potential wide receiver targets for the Giants who made the list include Kenny Galloday (8), Allen Robinson (10) and Chris Godwin (13). The Giants are in desperate need of a playmaking receiver so it will be interesting to see if Big Blue targets one of the top wide outs.
While the Giants and the rest of the NFL teams wait to know what the salary cap will be, Big Blue will have some tough decisions to make this offseason. Williams had a strong season for Big Blue and will be a priority, but with both Williams and Tomlinson entering free agency, it’s going to be a challenge to keep the defensive line together.
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