Four Giants Who Deserve Serious Pro Bowl Consideration

The Giants probably won't have many, if any, representatives in the 2024 Pro Bowl. If they do, these four players are likely the most deserving based on their play and consistency.

Annual fan voting for the Pro Bowl rosters will end on Christmas Day, with player and coach voting set for December 29. The Pro Bowl will take place in Orlando, Florida, and will feature a week-long skills competition capped by a flag football game on Sunday, February 4, the game coached by Peyton (AFC) and Eli (NFC) Manning for the second straight year.

Here’s a look at four New York Giants players who should receive Pro Bowl consideration but may not because they aren’t ranked high enough in the fan voting part.

Dec 11, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II (97) looks on before the game against the Green Bay Packers at MetLife Stadium / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

IDL Dexter Lawrence

“Sexy Dexy” is currently the top-ranked interior defensive lineman among his peers who have played in at least 50 percent of their team’s defensive snaps, the top-ranked pass rusher, and the second-ranked run stuffer out of 50 interior defensive linemen.

Although Lawrence has been slowed down of late thanks to a hamstring issue that cost him his first game ever because of injury (Week 12), Lawrence has not let the Giants down after they gave him a rich payday just before the start of the season.

ESPN’s Matt Bowen recently named Lawrence as the most physical player in his look at the top skill position players. It’s not unusual for opponents to put two or three hats on Lawrence, who makes it look easy when he attempts to push the pocket.

Lawrence, who wins with bull rush and power moves and has quick, violent hands, offers a unique blend of size, power, and athleticism that enables him to do things a man of his stature probably has no business doing. He made the Pro Bowl last year and is every bit deserving of a second nod this year. However, at last check, he wasn’t even in the top 10 among fan voting.

Oct 2, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) is tackled by New York Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke (58) during the first quarter at MetLife Stadium / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

ILB Bobby Okereke

It’s been a long time since the Giants have had solid inside linebacker play, but this year, they’ve been getting it from free-agent signee Bobby Okereke, Pro Football Focus’s fifth-ranked linebacker who also ranks in the top 10 league-wide among linebackers in run defense (ninth), tackling (fifth), and coverage (sixth) among linebackers who have played at least 80 percent of their team’s defensive snaps.

Entering Week 16, Okereke is 11th among all defensive players in the league in total tackles with 122 and seventh in solo tackles with 77. He also leads the league with 54 solo run defense tackles and has done a nice job in coverage, where he’s already matched his career high in interceptions (2) set in 2021.

Want more to like about Okereke’s season? He’s logged a new career high in forced fumbles with four while also registering a new career-low NFL coverage rating (92.0), which reflects just how solid he’s been when asked to drop back into coverage.

Okereke was ranked eighth in fan voting at last check. He will probably not get a nod unless his peers push him up in the standings.

Oct 15, 2023; Orchard Park, New York, USA; New York Giants punter Jamie Gillan (6) punts the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the first half at Highmark Stadium / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

P Jamie Gillan

What a difference a year has made for outer Jamie Gillan. Not only has he benefited from consistent gunner play, but the decision to incorporate more rugby-style kicking into his game, something that he’s done since he was a child, has led to a career year for the 26-year-old “Scottish Hammer.”

Gillan is currently averaging 43.1 net yards per punt, which puts him first among nine punters who have attempted at least 64 punts. He’s also put a career-high 29 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, and his 4.9 percent touchback rate on a career-high 81 punts is his second-lowest percentage of his career (in 2021, he had a career-low 2.4 percent touchback rate.)

The Giants, entering Week 16, have the No. 2 ranked punt coverage team in the league behind the dome-based punter Lou Hedley of the New Orleans Saints. New York has allowed opponents just 5.6 yards per return, that again a combination of Gillan’s punting and his supporting cast as led by gunners Nick McCloud and Darnay Holmes, and core special teamer Carter Coughlin a big step up from last year’s disappointing performance.

Gillian is currently third in the fan voting and probably has the best chance of all his teammates to get a nod. Whether he gets it, though, remains to be seen, given the competition in front of him.

Dec 4, 2022; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants linebacker Carter Coughlin (52) warms up prior to the game against the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium / Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

ST Carter Coughlin

Coughlin has found a home on special teams. He’s currently tied for third-most total tackles on specials league-wide (9) with Ashtyn Davis of the Jets and is PFF’s ninth-best special teams player out of 29 who have played on at least 80 percent of their team’s special teams snaps.

Unfortunately for Coughlin, he doesn’t have a forced fumble, fumble recovery, or block to his name as the guys in front of him; still, that doesn’t take away from the fact that Coughlin, the Giants’ team leader in special teams tackles, has had a very good season on specials which, by the way, only includes one penalty (ineligible downfield kick back in Week 4) all season long.

Coughlin isn’t even in the discussion for a Pro Bowl nod among the fan base, making him the longest of long shots. But maybe his peers and the coaches around the league might feel otherwise.

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