The New York Giants enter the 2020 regular season with some serious questions about their pass rush — questions that will linger even if linebacker Markus Golden ends up returning.
First-year head coach Joe Judge seems content with allowing pressure to be created by scheme instead of personnel, which is a formula the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens have used to success.
However, the Giants do have several intriguing edge rush options such as Lorenzo Carter, Carter Coughlin and Kyler Fackrell. They also have second-year linebacker Oshane Ximines, who was recently named the team’s “key homegrown player” by CBS Sports.
The guy from Queens is hoping to become the next King of New York, and he has the potential to do just that if he can build on his promising rookie debut. The former third-round pick walks into 2020 having delivered nine quarterback hits, five tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in only two starts, hinting at what could be stirring below the surface. He was available for all 16 games in 2019 and new head coach Joe Judge could look to give lean on Ximines heavily if Markus Golden doesn’t return to the club, as the Giants desperately look to replace the potentially lost pass-rush production.
Ximines finds himself battling a more veteran presence in Kyler Fackrell — who had 10.5 sacks in 2018 for the Packers — but the New Yorker has the added motivation of possibly being the savior in his own hometown. Also working in his favor is the fact Fackrell is only operating under a one-year contract, giving Ximines the chance to prove he’s both the now and the later at his position.
Ximines is an intriguing player who flashed at times a season ago, but wasn’t given consistent playing time under Pat Shurmur and James Bettcher. He received just 45% of all defense snaps (31 per game), and even those came with major gaps in between.
In 2020, Ximines will find himself learning yet another new defensive scheme — his third in three years going back to college — which may limit his early production. However, there’s no denying he has the sort of talent and athleticism to make an impact.
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