New York Giants Quarter Pole Grades for the Defense

Except for the Week 1 loss to the Vikings, the New York Giants' defense has played well enough to win. However, there is still room for improvement among the various defensive units.

Jul 26, 2024; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) does a drill alongside New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (97) and New York Giants cornerback Nick McCloud (44) during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. / Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

The first month of the 2024 NFL season, and the New York Giants sit at a disappointing 1-3 mark. This analysis shows how the New York Giants' defense has fared through the first four games. (Offense, Special Teams, and Coaching are separate entries. All stats/data sourced via NFL NextGen Stats unless otherwise noted.)

Despite some early-year concerns about the new system run by new defensive coordinator Shane Bowen (a system that is the complete opposite of what former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale ran), the Giants' defense has been more than serviceable.

Through four games, Bowen, per Sports Info Solutions (SIS), has run a 3-3-5 (nickel) look on 31% (11th) of the snaps, which has brought a 50% success rating (22nd). The Giants have also run a two-high shell on 62% of their defensive plays, the 10th-highest percentage in the NFL. And as he did in Tennessee, the Giants have run way more zone coverage on defense than man, 51% zone to 29% man.

The unit currently ranks 12th in yards allowed per game (311.8), is tied with four other teams for the number of touchdowns allowed (seven), is 14th in average passing yards allowed (193.0), and improved to 15th in average rushing yards allowed per game (118.8), where they have run a light box on 69% of their plays (2nd in the league) per SIS.

The “macro stats,” as we like to call them, all point to the Giants' defense trending toward being a top-15 unit, which is a big jump now that the unit has settled down. 

This doesn’t mean that the unit has been perfect–the Giants' defense has allowed 21.0 points per game, which is 20th–but the unit has been coming together considering how the pass rush isn’t necessarily firing on all cylinders, CB1 Deonte Banks is struggling, and other than for Dexter Lawrence, there remain questions about the defensive line depth.

Let’s get into the individual units…

Sep 26, 2024; East Rutherford, NJ, US; New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II (97) rushes off the line of scrimmage at MetLife Stadium. / Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Defensive Line: A-

Other than for Lawrence and Rakeem Nunez-Roches, the Giants decided to go with youth for this group and have had mixed results.

Before getting into the youth, let’s start with Nunez-Roches. “Nacho,” as he likes to be called, came to the Giants with a reputation for being a solid run-stopper, and that’s exactly what he’s shown so far. 

Per Pro Football Focus, he leads the Giants’ defensive interior linemen with five stops, and, per official league stats, his 15 total tackles in the run game (four solo) top Lawrence’s total of nine. 

His pass rush is another story. “Nacho” has never really been known as a pass rusher, and that has been evident by his inability to take advantage of the double (and, on occasion, triple) teams Lawrence tends to draw. Nacho has been too susceptible to solo blocking and inconsistent in shedding those blocks to make a play. 

The same could be said of D.J. Davidson, who seems more adept at making plays outside of the tackles than in between. Elijah Chatman, the youngster who made the team as an undrafted free agent, has flashed occasionally but has been deployed more on passing downs than he has against the run. However, he has shown success on his passing down snaps.

Pass-rush-wise, Lawrence is the undisputed leader of this unit with a 16.4% win rate and a unit leading 18 pressures. He’s followed by Davidson (5.2% win rate, three pressures) and Chatman (10.0% win rate, four pressures, one sack). 

Overall, the Giants need a little more out of this unit’s other players besides Lawrence, as it still hasn’t come close to replacing the kind of production a double-team of Lawrence and Leonard Williams once produced.

Jul 26, 2024; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) and New York Giants linebacker Brian Burns (0) break on the sideline during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. / Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

Outside Linebackers: C+ 

Entering the Week 4 game against the Cowboys, Brian Burns, the team’s high-priced acquisition, had generated 15 pressures on 84 pass rushes this season, the highest of his career and those coming against five offensive linemen. 

Burns's win rate in true pass sets is 14.6%, second behind teammate Kayvon Thibodeaux’s 20.5%. 

Fourth-year linebacker Azeez Ojulari has been a nice surprise for the Giants, making the most of his limited snaps. Ojualri, reduced to a situational pass rusher, has appeared in 47 pass-rush snaps this season and has a pass-rush productivity rating of 7.4, the best of the three Giants outside linebackers who have played in at least 40 pass-rush snaps.  

Ojulari has blitzed on at least 90% of his pass rush snaps in the games played and has five quarterback pressures in four games, four of those coming in Week 3 against the Browns.

While the coaches might want us to believe that it’s the little things a guy does that don’t show up on the stat sheet that matters most–and in the case of Burns and Thibodeaux, they do a lot of little things well–when a team has as much invested in a duo as the Giants have invested in Burns (financial capital) and Thibodeaux (draft capital), they need a lot more out of their starting outside linebackers than what they’ve gotten so far.

East Rutherford, NJ -- August 1, 2024 -- Linebacker, Bobby Okereke after practice today at training camp for the New York Giants. / Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

Inside Linebackers: B+

As was the case last year, the inside linebackers have been a strength of this Giants' defense.

Bobby Okereke remains a rock for the Giants' defense. He’s yet to miss a defense snap, and per NextGen Stats, he’s recorded 25 tackles (second most on the team), 12 stops, made four hustle plays (those coming in his last two games), three quarterback pressures, and 1.5 sacks thus far.

However, he is also second on the team in missed tackles with five, which can probably be chalked up to his admission a few weeks back in which he said there were times where instead of focusing on his job, he was trying to do other jobs.

Micah McFadden currently shares the team lead in tackles with 27, ten of which have come against the run. Like Okereke, he also has 1.5 sacks. McFadden also has four quarterback hits, the most of the Giants’ inside linebackers. 

Last year’s team leader in missed tackles with 25, McFadden has cleaned up that part of his game, recording just three in four games. He’s having a solid season so far after rebounding from a late training camp back issue.

Safeties: B+

The strength of the Giants' defensive backfield is safeties Tyler Nubin and Jason Pinnock, who are currently tied with 21 total tackles thanks to some solid play.

Pinnock, in particular, is having a career year in his contract season. He is at his best against the intermediate passing game, and he is currently tied for the team lead in sacks with three, all of which came on the blitz. 

He has one pass breakup, no interruptions, and has not yet allowed a touchdown in coverage. Pinnock has quietly developed into a solid young safety and has been on the field for all but a couple of defensive snaps so far. 

Nubin, the rookie, has displayed a nice blend of discipline and aggression when he hits someone. He’s still mastering the art of playing the right angles on the deep, but his potential and the fact that he will only get better bodes well for that young defensive secondary.

Cornerback: C-

Even before training camp began, the Giants' cornerback unit was arguably the biggest question mark on the defense due to concerns about the CB2 spot opposite Deonte Banks.

That proved true, as neither Cor’Dale Flott nor Nick McCloud convincingly won the CB2 camp job. That and injuries led to the team bringing back veteran Adoree’ Jackson, from whom they were ready to move on, to fortify the unit. 

But the biggest disappointment by far–and the most surprising–has been the sophomore slump that Banks, last year’s first-round pick, has experienced in his first four games. 

Banks was expected to leap toward being a legitimate shut-down cornerback, a true CB1. But in four games, that has been far from the case as he has struggled against the top-shelf receivers one would expect a CB1 to be able to handle. 

• RELATED: Giants Cornerback Deonte Banks Looking for Breakout Game

Banks, who is still learning how to use his hands better, among other things, has allowed four touchdowns this season in 27 coverage targets and has finished with an NFL coverage rating of 108 or higher in three of his first four games.

A bright spot for the Giants has been the play of nickel cornerback Dru Phillips, who missed last week's game due to a calf injury. He has an overall 79.6 coverage rating that puts him 11h among slot cornerbacks league-wide, with a minimum of 20 coverage snaps from the slot.

Based on four games, cornerback remains a huge issue for the Giants and will undoubtedly be a top offseason priority barring a trade or something unexpected happening in these remaining 13 games.

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