The New York Giants have been weak at the linebacker position for roughly a decade, and in an effort to combat that, general manager Dave Gettleman went out and signed Blake Martinez and Kyler Fackrell in free agency, while adding Carter Coughlin, Cam Brown, T.J. Brunson and Tae Crowder through the 2020 NFL Draft.
Is that enough to bolster the unit and prevent it from being a weak point on defense? Time will tell, but at least on paper, things seem improved.
That line of thinking was recently shared by Pro Football Focus, who ranked the Giants’ linebackers 23rd in the NFL — not great, but certainly better-ish.
23. NEW YORK GIANTS
Blake Martinez is the biggest offseason addition after he racked up the tackles over the last few years with the Packers. Martinez has had a quirky career, both at Stanford and in the NFL, as he has a top-10 season against the run (2016) and in coverage (2018), though he has just one year with an overall grade above 70.0 (74.0 overall in 2018). Martinez is a solid player — though the tackle stats are misleading — and he’s yet to put together a high-end season in all facets.
David Mayo was a bright spot last season, ranking second in the league with a 90.1 grade against the run, though he struggled to a 48.8 coverage grade. It was Mayo’s first time playing more than 150 snaps in a season, and he made the most of it. Former fifth-rounder Ryan Connelly also returns after grading at 57.1 across 187 snaps as a rookie.
The Giants added a pair of linebackers in the seventh round in Tae Crowder and T.J. Brunson to round out the depth chart. This group’s success will be determined by which Martinez shows up in his first year as a Giant as well as Mayo’s development in his second year of extended action.
PFF focused more heavily on the inside linebackers than the outside linebackers, which are also a concern for the Giants from a pass rush perspective.
Lorenzo Carter and Oshane Ximines each have untapped potential, while the return of Markus Golden certainly gives the unit more of an edge. Kyler Fackrell should also boost the linebacker production, but there are no guarantees across the board.
The Giants have a lot of questions at the linebacker position and without a preseason, it may be difficult to find answers for quite some time.
[lawrence-related id=652482,652093,652056]