New York Giants nose tackle Dexter Lawrence is playing like an All-Pro in 2022. He’s arguably the best all-around interior defensive lineman in the league right now, and that includes Aaron Donald.
The problem? Big Dex has taken more than 90 percent of the team’s defensive snaps over the last three weeks and that may be a bit too much.
“He’s in great shape right now. It does concern you for the 17-game schedule, so we’re going to try to find spots to spot him some reps,” defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said. “But when he’s playing as well as he is, it’s so hard to — It’s like if you had a Rolls-Royce, wouldn’t you want to drive it everywhere? It’s just, he’s playing really well. And he wants to go back in. We’re going to try to peel back on some of those reps if we can; it always depends on where we’re at in a game.”
Lawrence hasn’t shown any wear or tear, but the NFL season is a long one. And the Giants can ill-afford to lose Dex for any period of time, so with the bye week coming up, it’s imperative to keep him healthy.
“He’s the player that we thought he would be. He’s using his length. He’s using his power. He’s converting from the run game to pass rush on play-action pass. He’s being the force that we thought he would be,” Martindale said.
As much as the owner of a Rolls-Royce would love to drive it around and show it off constantly, they also try to keep the mileage down. That’s the balance the Giants have to find with Lawrence.
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