Giants could dip into deep pass-rusher class in first round of draft
Ohio State defensive lineman Nick Bosa plays against Rutgers on Sept. 8, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio. Credit: AP/Jay LaPrete
INDIANAPOLIS — The team that not long ago lived by the mantra that one can never have enough pass rushers may be pushing the boundary in the other direction.
If the Giants part ways with Olivier Vernon this offseason — and all indications are they will, via trade or cutting him as a salary-cap casualty — it will leave them without a single player on the roster who has a proven ability to get to and bring down NFL quarterbacks.
In a league in which that job is quickly evolving into one of the most important on the defensive side, the Giants could find themselves staring into a huge empty hole.
Fortunately for them, this draft could provide someone to fill that void.
The Class of 2019 has edge rushers aplenty, and while a lot of the focus this past week has been on the Giants’ search for their next franchise quarterback, many believe they would be better off using their first-round pick on someone who can sack opposing quarterbacks.
It’s been nearly a decade since the Giants replenished what has been an iconic position for them throughout their history. They haven’t selected a pass rusher first in the draft since they took Jason Pierre-Paul in 2010. That streak could be about to end.
General manager Dave Gettleman has made no secret of the fact that he wants to add impact players to the defense.
“It’s not easy to win games when you don’t have playmakers,” he said. “We need to improve the defense, guys. Just like I looked you right in the eye last year and told you we’ve got to fix this offensive line, we’ve got to get better on the defensive side.”
With few pass rushers expected to be available in free agency, there may be no better way to do that than by selecting one in the draft.
In recent years, that has been the defensive role in which players came from college and made an immediate impact on a team. Whether it was Joey Bosa with the Chargers, Myles Garrett with the Browns or Bradley Chubb with the Broncos, defensive ends or outside linebackers who can disrupt and destroy quarterbacks have been able to make the jump between college and the pros more quickly than almost any other position on the field.
“Pass rushing is something where you can immediately get rolling,” said Montez Sweat, a defensive end from Mississippi State and one of the potential targets for the Giants in the first round.
Depending on how the first round plays out, the Giants could have plenty of strong options, and they are looking at many of them at the NFL Scouting Combine.
On Saturday night, they were scheduled to meet with Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa, who many believe could be the first overall pick but who could start to slide if teams make an early run on quarterbacks.
They are giving Kentucky’s Josh Allen a once-over. And it’s hard to ignore New Jersey native Rashan Gary, who brashly called himself “the best player in this draft, offensively and defensively, period.”
That’s a lot of talent and potential. But is there anyone who can be the defensive version of Saquon Barkley, a player who can show up and transform the style and scope of a unit from day one?
LSU linebacker Devin White, who knows Odell Beckham Jr. from their college connection, said yes . . . and that it’s him.
“I feel like they have a lot of talent on their offense and if they grab me for the defense, we’re on our way,” he said. “I think I put on a show for them in the formal interview.”
Of impacting not just a defense but a defensive culture for whoever picks him in the first round, Allen said: “Any team that selects me, they’re putting their faith in me. They want me to be The Guy.
“I mean, I’m here to do anything I can to make that team good again.”
Clemson edge rusher Clelin Ferrell, another potential Giants target, put that franchise-altering task in a different perspective.
“I’m not saying I’m afraid of expectations, but a lot of times it’s not fair to put all those expectations on someone who is 20, 21, 23 years old,” Ferrell said. “People think they can come in and just change the entire franchise because they were drafted high. There’s a lot that goes into being a great player, and to say they can just come in and really tear the league up, that’s a very hard thing to say.”
But not, he said, impossible.
“It can be done,” he said. “It’s been done before.”
Not for the Giants, though, Not for a while.
It may be time to change that.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
