Tag: Dexter Lawrence

Giants select Gardner Minshew in CBS Sports’ 2019 re-draft

The New York Giants select QB Gardner Minshew instead of Daniel Jones in the CBS Sports 2019 NFL re-draft.

If they re-ran the 2019 NFL Draft, who would the New York Giants take knowing what they know now?

CBS Sports recently pondered exactly that, recreating the first round of last year’s draft without the draft day trades.

They believe the Giants would still have taken a quarterback at No. 6 overall and a defensive lineman at No. 17. Just not the ones you think.

The first two selections in the draft (Kyler Murray to Arizona, Nick Boas to San Francisco) were unchanged. At No. 3, the New York Jets selected wide receiver A.J. Brown instead of Quinnen Williams. Oakland took Josh Allen at No. 4 instead of Clelin Ferrell. At No. 5, Tampa Bay selected offensive lineman instead of linebacker Devin White.

At No. 6, they have the Giants selecting quarterback Garnder Minshew over Daniel Jones, but more curiously over Devin White, who isn’t even selected in this redraft.

Minshew was better than Daniel Jones as a rookie. There’s really no way around that. Neither were in fantastic situations, either. Jones was far from absolutely brutal and made a handful of impressive throws downfield but too often put the ball in harm’s way in the air and by way of the fumble.

Minshew was selected in the 6th round of the draft out of Washington State and he and his mustache burst onto the scene in Jacksonville when Nick Foles was injured. He returned to the bench once Foles was reactivated from IR.

Minshew was a better bargain than Jones, though. Is he a better player? Time will tell. He started 12 games, completing 285 of 470 passes (60.6%) for 3,271 yards with 21 TD and just 6 INT. Minshew also rushed 67 times for 344 yards.

Jones threw for 3,027 on 284 for 459 passing (61.9%) with 24 TD and 12 INT. Jones rushed 45 times for 279 yards and 2 TD.

Both quarterbacks fumbled. Minshew fumbled 13 times, losing seven. Jones fumbled 18 times losing 11.

At No. 17, the Giants did not have the luxury of taking Dexter Lawrence again in this redraft as he was snatched up by Carolina at No. 16.

Instead, they grabbed Mississippi State’s Jeffrey Simmons, who is just as good, if not better.

With Lawrence poached right in front of them, the Giants fortify the interior of their defensive line with Simmons, who was a game-wrecker for the Titans once he was fully healthy as a rookie.

The Giants also had the 30th pick in the first round, a result of a draft day trade with Seattle that resulted in cornerback DeAndre Baker. That trade is not accounted for in this redraft.

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See it: Dexter Lawrence surprises cancer survivor with Super Bowl tickets

New York Giants DT Dexter Lawrence surprised a cancer survivor and former Parkland student with Super Bowl tickets.

New York Giants defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence is known for his immense size, but many are finding out that he has a big heart to match.

This week, Lawrence made 18-year-old cancer survivor Joshua Rhodes’ day when he surprised him with a pair of Super Bowl tickets.

Rhodes is not only a cancer survivor, he also lost his coach and fellow classmates in the 2018 Parkland school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. He had to quit football to undergo treatment for a brain tumor.

The gift is more than special to Rhodes. Not only has he never been to a Super Bowl, he’s never been to a football game period.

From WFAN:

“I’m overwhelmed,” Rhodes said through tears. “I’ve always wanted to go to a football game.”

Rhodes, who plans to join the Coast Guard one day, was aboard one of their ships docked in Miami Beach to conduct an interview about his journey and what he’s been through over the last three years. What he did not expect to see was Giants rookie defensive tackle and 2019 first-round draft pick Dexter Lawrence suddenly appear.

Lawrence and the Giants teamed up with the NFL to surprise the young Giants fan with the tickets in what was an emotional moment for the cancer survivor.

It is not the first time Rhodes has received a gift from the Giants. Last year, the Make-A-Wish Foundation remodeled Rhodes’ 2006 H3 Hummer delivered by defensive lineman Jonathan Jenkins.

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Giants’ 2019 draft class ranked fourth overall by PFF

The New York Giants’ 2019 draft class has been ranked fourth overall despite a full year of relentless media criticism.

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The critics were not kind to the New York Giants and general manager Dave Gettleman during and after the 2019 NFL Draft. The general consensus was that they blew it again by over-drafting, specifically when the selected Duke quarterback No. 6 overall, bypassing several much-needed defensive studs still on the board.

But the game is played out on the field and when the Giants’ rookies hit the gridiron, they panned out fairly well. In fact, Pro Football Focus recently ranked their 2019 draft class fourth out of 32 teams.

4. NEW YORK GIANTS

Why they’re ranked here: We graded Daniel Jones as our 24th-ranked quarterback overall, but he had more success than many expected, throwing 24 touchdown passes. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, the Giants’ second first-round pick, had the highest PFF grade of any rookie interior defensive lineman, and the team saw promising starts to the careers of late-round picks Darius Slayton and Julian Love.

How their top pick fared: Jones (No. 6 overall) showed flashes of high-level play, but carelessness with the football is something to work on moving forward. His 31 turnover-worthy plays — the plays our grading deem as riskiest, even if they didn’t always result in a turnover — were fourth-most in the NFL.

Best value pick: Wide receiver Slayton (No. 171 overall) was part of the year of the rookie wide receiver, significantly outperforming his fifth-round pedigree. His 18 receptions of 15-plus yards were fifth among rookie wideouts.

The class had its ups and downs. Cornerback DeAndre Baker, taken 30th overall, was downright awful for most of the season only to turn things around late in the year to somewhat salvage things. Inside linebacker Ryan Connelly was lost early on to a knee injury after showing poise and promise.

Third rounder Oshane Ximines was underused, as was forth-round pick Julian Love. Both have bright futures in this league. they just need to get coached up by the right people, who the Giants believe they finally may have.

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Giants’ Dexter Lawrence named to 2019 PFWA All-Rookie Team

New York Giants defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence has been named to the 2019 PFWA All-Rookie Team.

The Pro Football Writers of America have been releasing their 2019 award winners in recent days, and while the New York Giants were blanked on the All-NFL and All-NFC teams, they did land one representative on the 2019 PFWA All-Rookie Team.

While quarterback Daniel Jones and wide receiver Darius Slayton failed to earn honors, defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence did make the cut alongside Josh Allen (Jacksonville Jaguars), Nick Bosa (San Francisco 49ers) and Ed Oliver (Buffalo Bills).

Lawrence, who also made the 2019 PFF All-Rookie Team, finished the season with 38 tackles, two stuffs, one forced fumble and 2.5 sacks. He also proved general manager Dave Gettleman correct in that he was more than a two-down run stuffer, consistently improving in all areas throughout the season.

The sky appears to be the limit for the soft-spoken Lawrence, who is an absolutely athletic freak of nature on the field.

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4 Giants among PFF’s top 50 rookies in 2019

Four New York Giants were named among Pro Football Focus’ Top 50 Rookies of 2019.

The New York Giants had a grand total of zero All-Pro’s and zero Pro Bowlers in 2019, but they did have four rookies land on Pro Football Focus’ list of the Top 50 Rookies of 2019.

Checking in with the highest Giants rookie grade was defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence (76.1), who had a stellar debut campaign.

9. DI DEXTER LAWRENCE, NEW YORK GIANTS

Lawrence slowed down the stretch, but his hot start lands him at No. 9 in PFF’s rookie rankings, as he still ranks 20th in PFF overall grade among all at his position. His pass-rushing could still use some work — he managed just 30 total pressures on 412 pass-rushing snaps and finished the year tied for 43rd among interior defenders in pass-rush win rate (9.6%) — but the return on investment has still been higher than anticipated for the 17th overall pick.

Next up may come as a bit of a surprise based on order, but not necessarily the appearance itself. That’s because for anyone watching, safety Julian Love (70.5) played some legitimate quality football once his defensive snap count increased.

13. S JULIAN LOVE, NEW YORK GIANTS

After playing mostly out wide at Notre Dame, the Giants had Love move into the box and in the slot, and over the last six weeks, Love earned the ninth-best PFF grade in the box and allowed just 19 yards on his 80 coverage snaps at that alignment.

Wide receiver Darius Slayton (70.3) checked in slightly after Love. And again, this came as no surprise to Giants fans, who watched the rookie establish himself as a legitimate offensive weapon for Big Blue.

22. WR DARIUS SLAYTON, NEW YORK GIANTS

Former Auburn Tiger Darius Slayton produced numerous highlight-reel plays in 2019 and picked up seven receptions that resulted in a gain of at least 30 yards — tied for the 16th-most in the league. Slayton ended the year with a 70.5 receiving grade that currently ranks sixth among rookie players at the position.

And finally… Quarterback Danny Dimes himself, Mr. Daniel Jones (65.7), checking in pretty far down the list.

34. QB DANIEL JONES, NEW YORK GIANTS

Daniel Jones has pretty much been as expected at the NFL level — he produced an average rate of positive plays but put the ball in harm’s way at an alarming rate. The sixth overall pick’s turnover worthy-play rate on the year ranks second to last among all quarterbacks, one spot worse than the perennially turnover-prone Jameis Winston. Most of those turnover-worthy plays stemmed from his recurring fumbling issue, though, as he fumbled in 10 of his 13 game appearances this season. His 17 fumbles on the year is the most in the NFL.

Jones, who set countless rookie records on both the franchise and NFL level, was just “average,” says PFF. That was, of course, hardly expected or anticipated as most assumed Jones would completely bomb out and not be in the running for the Offensive Rookies of the Year Award.

PFF was better in 2019, but their take on Jones continues to prove how flawed their analytics are.

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Giants’ Dexter Lawrence makes Pro Football Focus’ All-Rookie Team

New York Giants defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence has been named to the Pro Football Focus All-Rookie Team.

On Thursday, Pro Football Focus named their All-Rookie Team for the 2019-2020 season. With the New York Giants being one of the most youthful teams in the league, there were multiple players who likely received consideration.

In the end, defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence was the lone Giant who made the list. Lawrence was impressive all year long and certainly deserves a spot on the list.

Lawrence was selected by Big Blue 17th overall in last year’s draft and may be the one Giants’ rookie with the most promise. PPF graded Lawrence a 76.1 overall on his rookie season.

There were a handful of interior defensive linemen taken in the first round of this past year’s draft, but Lawrence was the only one to put together a season with 500 or more defensive snaps and an overall grade higher than 70.0. He’s been at his best as a run stuffer in the middle of the Giants’ defensive line. Lawrence’s 76.3 run-defense grade ranks 21st among 117 qualifying interior defenders this season.

Lawrence being the lone Giant on the list isn’t surprising. But it is a little surprising to see the quarterback selected over Daniel Jones was Gardner Minshew and not Kyler Murray. Minshew was the highest-rated quarterback according to PFF and interestingly enough, earlier this week Minshew made a point to make sure everyone knew he had a better year than Jones.

Darius Slayton had a really nice year for Big Blue, but the wide receivers who made PFF’s all-rookie team had better stats than Slayton.

Lawrence showed he was worth the 17th overall pick with his performance in his rookie year. Big Blue has plenty of work to do in acquiring more talent on defense. However, it looks like Lawrence can be a piece for the Giants to build around for the future.

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2 Giants named among NFL.com’s Top 25 Rookies of 2019

Two New York Giants were named among NFL.com’s Top 25 Rookies of 2019, but there was one glaring omission.

When the New York Giants made the change from Eli Manning to Daniel Jones going into Week 3, they knew they would get to see what they had in the quarterback they took sixth overall. What they did not know is that they may have found a gem in the fifth round when they selected wide receiver Darius Slayton.

Slayton emerged as a nice option for Jones throughout the season and it may be a duo we see for years to come. Because of their rookie campaigns, both Jones (7th) and Slayton (25th) were named to NFL.com’s list of Top 25 Rookies in 2019.

“Jones showed the ability to make every throw and create plays with his legs. He needs to clean up his fumbling issue (11 lost), but overall, it was a very promising campaign,” Daniel Jeremiah wrote.

“Slayton was known as a speed guy coming out of Auburn, but he’s proven he’s also a very adept route runner. He has outstanding chemistry with Daniel Jones, from whom he caught 41 passes for 561 yards and five touchdowns.”

Jones, of course, was selected to be the Giants quarterback of the future when Big Blue took him 6th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft. Although Jones had problems with ball security, he showed promise in his rookies year both through the air and in the rushing game as well.

Slayton took advantage of his time on the field in a season where the Giants’ receiving core was decimated by injuries. Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard and receiving tight end Evan Engram all missed time due to injury. In quite possibly his most impressive game of the year, Slayton notched 154 yards and two touchdowns on Eli Manning’s first game back in Week 14.

The Giants were one of seven teams to have multiple players make NFL.com’s list. NFC East rivals, the Washington Redskins, led the list with three players on the list.

The Giants are one of the youngest teams in the league so it’s fitting to see two of their players on the list. The success of Jones and Slayton is something many Giants fans hope to see continue in years to come. But let’s not ignore the fact that Dexter Lawrence was severely overlooked here.

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Eagles’ RB Miles Sanders omitted from PFF’s list of the top-50 NFL rookies through Week 17

Miles Sanders omitted from PFF list of the top-50 NFL rookies through Week 17

Miles Sanders is one of the most dynamic players in the NFL, he’s helped carry the Philadelphia Eagles to a division title and he should win the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

Without all of those accolades and accomplishments this season, Sanders was somehow omitted from Pro Football Focus’s list of the top-50 NFL rookies through Week 17.

That’s correct, even as Sanders shatters Eagles rookie records and cements his status in Philadelphia for years to come, 50 other rookies, some not as dynamic or as impressive, earned a spot on the list according to PFF.

The running backs on the list included, the Raiders Josh Jacobs, who was No. 4 on the list. Other running backs included David Montgomery (No. 37) and the Bills Devin Singletary, who was No. 45 on the list.

Giants’ Dexter Lawrence, Darius Slayton among PFF’s highest-graded rookies

New York Giants DL Dexter Lawrence and WR Darius Slayton are among PFF’s highest-graded rookies entering Week 16.

New York Giants rookie defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence has been among Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded rookies since just about Week 1 this season and that has not changed.

Through 15 weeks, Lawrence remains among PFF’s highest-graded and has even cracked the top five.

5. DI DEXTER LAWRENCE, NEW YORK GIANTS

Lawrence has been a handful in the running game all season for the Giants, producing 18 stops and a 77.5 run-defense grade. What gets us at PFF going, though, is his 29 total quarterback pressures. That’s rare from a big fella, especially for one who only turned 22 years old a month ago. When we compare him to recent first-round defensive tackles (in the table below), you can see just how special he looks.

Year Player Pressures
2019 Dexter Lawrence 29
2019 Christian Wilkins 26
2019 Ed Oliver 25
2018 Vita Vea 26
2018 Daron Payne 27
2017 Jonathan Allen 16

This time around however, Lawrence wasn’t alone. Another Giants rookie has finally joined him among the highest-graded in football and it’s exactly who you might think — wide receiver Darius Slayton.

9. WR DARIUS SLAYTON, NEW YORK GIANTS

The lone Day 3 pick to make our top-10 ranking, Slayton’s making a lot of draft analysts (myself included) look dumb. After dropping eight of his 43 catchable targets last season at Auburn — and four on 33 the season prior — Slayton’s hands have looked drastically improved this season. He’s dropped just three of his 47 catchable targets and has been excellent in contested situations where he’s hauled in 11 of his 22 attempts.

The knock on Slayton coming out of Auburn were his suspect hands, but even with those three drops, he’s more than made up for it by hauling in — as PFF points out — 11 contested receptions, which had made him one of the Giants’ most-trusted targets.

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4 Giants worthy of Pro Bowl consideration

2020 Pro Bowl rosters will be revealed on Tuesday, and here are four New York Giants worthy of consideration.

The New York Giants are not having a great season. In fact, they’re not really having a great decade, having gone through four head coaches (if you count Steve Spagnuolo), two general managers, multiple different offensive and defensive systems, and once again appear poised for major change.

Currently, they are 3-11 on the season and even those three wins are surprising. They are slated to select second overall in the 2020 NFL Draft and could soon embark on a head coaching and general manager search.

Despite all of that, there are a few bright spots. And with the 2020 Pro Bowl rosters scheduled to be revealed on Tuesday night, we here at Giants Wire wanted to take a look at a few players worth of consideration.

Enjoy.

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Dalvin Tomlinson

Because the Giants defense has been so poor this season, quality players such as Tomlinson are likely to be overlooked. And while that’s understandable, it’s also unfortunate because the third-year defensive lineman is actually playing quite well this year.

Tomlinson has become a force along the Giants’ defensive line and currently sports a 77.7 Pro Football Focus grade on the heels of a game against the Miami Dolphins in which he graded out with an 82.

In 14 games this season, Tomlinson has recorded 45 tackles, four stuffs, one forced fumble and 3.5 sacks.

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