Tag: Leonard Williams

ESPN lists Giants’ Leonard Williams as NFL’s No. 3 free agent

ESPN has listed New York Giants defensive tackle Leonard Williams as the NFL’s No. 3 impending free agent.

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When the New York Giants traded for Leonard Williams in the middle of the 2019 season, general manager Dave Gettleman certainly faced some heavy criticism.

However, this past season the critics were quiet as Williams had his best year to date. He racked up 11.5 sacks but was much more disruptive than his sack total indicates.

Williams, of course, played last season under the franchise tag and is set to become a free agent. The Giants will make him a priority but the former New York Jets’ first-round pick will certainly get some big money offers in free agency.

ESPN listed Williams as the third-best available free agent.

The past year has been awfully good for Williams, who was traded to the Giants in 2019 and found a home in new coach Joe Judge’s defense. His 11.5 sacks were a career high and more than he had amassed in the previous three seasons combined. And now Williams has enormous leverage over the Giants, who decided not to sign him to an extension before finalizing the trade. He spent 2020 as their franchised player.

Williams was only behind quarterback Dak Prescott and offensive tackle Trent Williams as the best free agents available.

Defensive captain Dalvin Tomlinson is also set to become a free agent. While Tomlinson did not make the list of ESPN’s top 50 free agents, he was on their “bonus free agent names to watch” list. Tomlinson was another staple on the Giants’ strong defensive front.

Potential wide receiver targets for the Giants who made the list include Kenny Galloday (8), Allen Robinson (10) and Chris Godwin (13). The Giants are in desperate need of a playmaking receiver so it will be interesting to see if Big Blue targets one of the top wide outs.

While the Giants and the rest of the NFL teams wait to know what the salary cap will be, Big Blue will have some tough decisions to make this offseason. Williams  had a strong season for Big Blue and will be a priority, but with both Williams and Tomlinson entering free agency, it’s going to be a challenge to keep the defensive line together.

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Giants land zero players on PFWA All-NFL, All-NFC Teams

The New York Giants did not have a single player named to either the PFWA All-NFL or All-NFC teams.

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The New York Giants will send cornerback James Bradberry and tight end Evan Engram to the virtual Pro Bowl in 2021, but that will be extent of the honors for Joe Judge’s squad.

Despite top-quality play from defensive lineman Leonard Williams, linebacker Blake Martinez, safety Logan Ryan, kicker Graham Gano and others, the Giants had no players named to the 2020 AP All-Pro Team. And on Monday afternoon, the Pro Football Writers of America also shaded them.

The PFWA released their All-NFL, All-NFC and All-AFC teams and not a single Giants player made the cut. Not one.

Williams was beaten out by Aaron Donald (Los Angeles Rams) and Fletcher Cox (Philadelphia Eagles), Martinez by Fred Warner (San Francisco 49ers), Ryan by Jamal Adams (Seattle Seahawks) and Budda Baker (Arizona Cardinals), and Gano by Younghoe Koo (Atlanta Falcons).

Of that group, Gano certainly has the biggest overall gripe. He missed just one field goal to Koo’s two and two PATs to Koo’s three. Gano’s only miss came from well beyond 50, while Koo’s misses each came from inside 50.

We’d say that ultimately came down to team wins, but Atlanta went 4-12 to New York’s 6-10.

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4 Giants received All-Pro votes, none made the cut

Four members of the New York Giants received at least one All-Pro vote, but none of the four made the team.

The New York Giants will send two players — cornerback James Bradberry and tight end Evan Engram — to the Pro Bowl, but will have none recognized as All-Pro’s.

The Associated Press officially announced their All-Pro teams on Friday afternoon and the Giants were blanked across the board. However, four of their players did receive at least one vote.

Defensive tackle Leonard Williams, who many anticipated would be an All-Pro after a career-best season, led the team with two votes. Linebacker Blake Martinez also received two votes.

After being snubbed for the Pro Bowl, Martinez led a campaign to help sell himself as an All-Pro talent but that obviously fell on deaf ears.

Other Giants to receive votes were Pro Bowl cornerback James Bradberry (1) and kicker Graham Gano (1).

Tight end Evan Engram did not receive an All-Pro vote.

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4 Giants received All-Pro votes, none made the cut

Four members of the New York Giants received at least one All-Pro vote, but none of the four made the team.

The New York Giants will send two players — cornerback James Bradberry and tight end Evan Engram — to the Pro Bowl, but will have none recognized as All-Pro’s.

The Associated Press officially announced their All-Pro teams on Friday afternoon and the Giants were blanked across the board. However, four of their players did receive at least one vote.

Defensive tackle Leonard Williams, who many anticipated would be an All-Pro after a career-best season, led the team with two votes. Linebacker Blake Martinez also received two votes.

After being snubbed for the Pro Bowl, Martinez led a campaign to help sell himself as an All-Pro talent but that obviously fell on deaf ears.

Other Giants to receive votes were Pro Bowl cornerback James Bradberry (1) and kicker Graham Gano (1).

Tight end Evan Engram did not receive an All-Pro vote.

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Giants’ Dave Gettleman holds year-end press conference: 10 takeaways

New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman held his year-end press conference on Wednesday and here are 10 takeaways.

New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman took the podium on Wednesday morning for his year-end press conference, which came on the heels of co-owner John Mara formally announcing the GM’s return.

Mara indicated that no real consideration had been given to replacing Gettleman, which could be felt when the GM stepped up to the plate. He sounded like a man who was still very much in control.

Here are a few takeaways from Gettleman’s final presser of the season.

Giants’ Leonard Williams named NFC Defensive Player of the Week

New York Giants DT Leonard Williams has been named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after his three-sack performance against Dallas.

The season has come to the end for the New York Giants, but they will get to celebrate one last time anyway.

On Wednesday, defensive lineman Leonard Williams was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his three-sack performance in a 23-19 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

In addition to this three sacks, Williams also recorded seven tackles, five QB hits and on pass defensed. In particular, his play in the closing moments was stellar.

But that was no anomaly. Williams finished the game as impressively as he started it.

Williams finishes the season with 57 tackles, four stuffs, one pass defensed and a career-high 11.5 sacks. And after that performance, he’s in line for a potential mega contract this offseason.

“Leonard is a guy who is a tremendous player, we love him in the building, he’s a great teammate, he’s fun to coach. He makes your job a lot easier in terms of coming to work and enjoying your job, and then also making plays on the field,” head coach Joe Judge said of Williams. “Players make coaches good or not, you can’t be a good coach with bad players, that’s the reality of it. He’s a good player, so he makes all of us look better. We needed to get plays from him, he stepped up, and he’s been a blast to coach.”

This is Williams’ second NFC Defensive Player of the Week honor of the season. He is the first Giants defensive lineman to be named NFC DPOW twice in the same year since 2011.

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Giants expected to retain GM Dave Gettleman

The New York Giants have reportedly decided to keep Dave Gettleman in place as their general manager.

The New York Giants have decided to keep Dave Gettleman in place as their general manager for a fourth season, reports The New York Post.

The Post reports substantiated several other reports that have suggested the same.

After another losing season, which dropped the Giants’ record to an abysmal 15-33 during Gettleman’s tenure, there were rumors that Giants brass was thinking of letting him go or re-assigning him to an advisory role within the organization.

However, ownership believes the team showed enough progress in Gettleman’s third-year and are headed in the right direction.

While Gettleman received well-deserved heat for hiring previous failed head coach in Pat Shurmur, he also played a large role in the hiring of head coach Joe Judge, who showed promise as a leader in his rookie year.

Personnel wise, the Giants’ roster still has a lot of holes to fill, but the signings of James Bradberry, Blake Martinez, Logan Ryan and Graham Gano were home run additions.

Gettleman’s investment in Leonard Williams also paid dividends as Williams had a career season with 11.5 sacks, 57 tackles, 14 tackles for a loss, and 30 quarterback hits.

Despite constant displeasure from their fan base regarding Gettleman’s time as GM, Giants ownership felt they had seen enough in 2020 to keep the current regime in place.

Although the team went 6-10, they were in contention for the NFC East until the final evening of the regular season due to poor competition within the division.

And while ownership said they wanted to be playing meaningful games in December, being a product of a poor divisional race likely did not play a factor in bringing Gettleman back. This decision came from the improvement of the team as the season progressed and the culture that the coaching staff built on the field and in the locker room.

Judge also publicly thumped for Gettleman, telling reporters recently that he’s thoroughly enjoyed working with the GM.

“I’ve enjoyed working with Dave the entire year,” said Judge. “We’ve done a lot of good things together. I really enjoyed the process of free agency and the draft. Obviously, we went through training camp, and there was a lot of logistical work we had to do in this particular spring and summer in terms of getting the setups ready for when the team came back.

“I think everyone is doing a good job right now in terms of understanding where we want to go and pushing in the right direction. There’s been some great coordination and communication with Dave [Gettleman] and everyone in personnel in terms of the kinds of players that fit into our systems.”

Co-owner John Mara and Gettleman will speak to the media on either Tuesday or Wednesday to discuss the decision. Gettleman will turn 70-years-old in February.

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Dexter Lawrence, Sterling Shepard were highest-graded Giants in Week 17

New York Giants DL Dexter Lawrence and WR Sterling Shepard earned the team’s highest PFF grades in Week 17.

The New York Giants defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 23-19, to close out the regular season on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to steal the NFC East crown.

Because if Doug Pederson’s embarrassing tank job on Sunday night, the Washington Football Team ultimately walked away victorious and won the division title with a record of 7-9.

But back to the Giants, it was a career day for wide receiver Sterling Shepard, who led the offense with a Pro Football Focus grade of 81.1.

Trailing Shepard (20+ snaps) was fellow wide receiver Dante Pettis (78.1), quarterback Daniel Jones (77.8) and center Nick Gates (76.3). And if we’re being honest, Gates deserves a higher grade simply because he’s an animal who wants all the smoke.

Other notable offensive grades include left tackle Andrew Thomas (75.8) and running back Wayne Gallman (61.2).

On the other side of the ball, defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence earned the team’s highest overall grade (20+) snaps with an 82.8. In just two snaps, linebacker Devante Downs logged a 90.2.

Just behind that duo were defensive end Jabaal Sheard (78.4), rookie safety Xavier McKinney (74.6) and linebacker Kyler Fackrell (73.5).

Defensive lineman Leonard Williams, who had a monster game, earned a 70.4.

The lowest-graded Giants on the day were linebacker Cam Brown (44.9) and tight end Evan Engram (40.8).

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Giants ride Leonard Williams, Daniel Jones to season-ending win over Cowboys

The New York Giants defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 23-19, in Week 17 on the shoulders of DT Leonard Williams and QB Daniel Jones.

The New York Giants entered a Week 17 game against the Dallas Cowboys with an opportunity to end a seven-game skid against their NFC East rivals and potentially position themselves to win the division.

Of course, things couldn’t possibly go smoothly — especially during the 2020 season.

The Giants roared out to a 14-point lead early before an Evan Engram drop-turned-interception completely changed the momentum. Dallas then stormed back and positioned themselves to win late in the fourth quarter, but an Xavier McKinney interception sealed the deal.

Or did it?

In an end fitting of 2020, running back Wayne Gallman fumbled on a first down run that would have ended the game. A big pile-up ensued with referees each pointing in a different direction.

Ultimately, Gallman recovered his own fumble and the Giants walked away victorious. They now await the results of Sunday Night Football.

Sterling Shepard, Dalvin Tomlinson were highest-graded Giants in Week 16

WR Sterling Shepard and DT Dalvin Tomlinson earned the New York Giants’ highest Pro Football Focus grades of Week 16.

The New York Giants were blown out of the water in Week 16 against the Baltimore Ravens, falling by a score of 27-13 — and it wasn’t even really that close.

At halftime, the Giants already trailed 20-3 and while they did play better over the final two quarters, it wasn’t nearly enough to dig themselves out of the hole they had created. However, several players did stand out on each side of the ball.

Offensively, wide receiver Sterling Shepard earned our Player of the Game and that was proven just as he earned the team’s highest Pro Football Focus grade of the week, checking in at 81.2.

Just behind Shepard (25+ snaps) were tight end Evan Engram (70.7), wide receiver Dante Pettis (69.1) and right tackle Cam Fleming (63.2).

Quarterback Daniel Jones earned just a 59.7, while wide receiver Darius Slayton got slapped with a 50.6.

On the defensive side of the ball, defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson reigned supreme, earning a grade of 77.8. Right behind him were cornerback James Bradberry (72.9), defensive lineman Leonard Williams (71.3) and linebacker Blake Martinez (64.0).

Veteran safety Logan Ryan, fresh off a three-year contract extension, had one of his worst analytical games of the season, earning a grade of 42.7.

The lowest-graded Giants of Week 16 were cornerback Isaac Yiadom (38.6), linebacker David Mayo (34.8) and linebacker Tae Crowder (28.0).

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