As they approach free agency, the New York Giants spent a good portion of their cap space retaining Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley on Tuesday.
But those moves will still allow the Giants to be active in free agency with plenty of holes to fill. Among the positions that need to be addressed this offseason, linebacker is considered a top priority. Others include wide receiver, cornerback, and interior offensive linemen.
ESPN released a list of one player every team must sign and for the Giants, they named linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
Now that the Giants have taken care of Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley, they need to address the huge hole at the linebacker position. The veterans the Giants used at the position last year were not good enough, and they are free agents anyway. How about getting serious with strength in the middle of the field with Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds?
Edmunds had a 74% success rate in coverage with just 3.9 yards allowed per pass last season. His run defense was not quite that good, but it was functional, with his average tackle coming after a gain of 3.8 yards, about average for NFL linebackers. As a bonus, Edmunds is only 24 years old; he doesn’t turn 25 until May, so the Giants would be getting his prime years.
Edmunds, a familiar face to Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen, would fill a need at linebacker and his ties to the Giants regime could draw interest. Edmunds is not the first Bills player to be linked to the Giants this offseason as they were recently linked to Jordan Poyer.
The list also connected a bunch of ex-Giants to new teams: James Bradberry (Cardinals), Dalvin Tomlinson (Eagles), Eli Apple (Buccaneers), Will Hernandez (Commanders) and, of course, Odell Beckham Jr. (Cowboys).
While Edmunds is good in pass coverage, he may not be a fit for a Giants team that struggled against the run last season. Even so, Edmunds (25) would fit the mold of a premier linebacker the fan base has been craving for years.
[lawrence-related id=707104,707096,707080]
[mm-video type=video id=01gv1hkz1eqt14v6cwg6 playlist_id=none player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gv1hkz1eqt14v6cwg6/01gv1hkz1eqt14v6cwg6-7e665db6c1a9c6277dd549167b321dad.jpg]