Film Review: What the Giants are Getting in LB Reggie Ragland?

Nick Falato cranks up the tape to uncover what newly signed inside linebacker Reggie Ragland brings to the table.

The New York Giants added a veteran presence to their linebacking corps. 2016 second round pick Reggie Ragland joins a group that currently consists of Blake Martinez, Tae Crowder, TJ Brunson, and, to a lesser extent, because they’re EDGEs as well, Cam Brown and Carter Coughlin. 

Ragland signed a one year deal to play for Joe Judge, a coach that has ties with the University of Alabama, Ragland’s alma mater.

The Ragland signing comes at the heels of the Giants not extending a tender on Devonte Downs, who is now a free agent. Before hte start of free agency, the Giants also released David Mayo which left two voids from the previous year at the linebacker position. 

There’s a reason why Ragland signed a cheap one-year deal, but he is an upgrade over both Downs and Mayo.

Ragland won a Super Bowl title with the Kansas City Chiefs; he had two sacks, 30 tackles, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown in that season. He has 212 total career tackles, 14 for a loss, 3.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 42 pressures. 

He played his 2020 season with the Detroit Lions where they used him a bit more as an EDGE rusher; he’s very stiff and doesn’t have that much athletic ability, but his hands have some pop and he can hold the point of attack adequately.

Patrick Graham likes to mix and match his personnel, so linebackers would play on the edge every now and again, and Ragland can do that on running downs (but it wouldn’t be wise on passing downs). Ragland is more of a two-down type of linebacker, more fit for 1990s football. He’s 6’1, 258 pounds, his weight up from the 247 pounds he registered at the combine.

He’s never been a great mover in space and he’s a linebacker that ideally isn’t on the field in passing situations. He’s good on early run downs because he’s physical and puts himself into advantageous positions to tackle ball carriers.

In our tape review, Reggie Ragland is No. 59.

(left LB)

Ragland’s run key here is the back-side guard and he reacts well once he sees the double teams forming in front of him. Ragland waits to see if the running back can get through the traffic in the interior gaps, but then flows to the natural hole to make an easy tackle on the running back.

(MIKE backer)

Here we see Ragland in a short yardage high leverage situation in the red zone and Ragland puts himself into a good position to make this tackle. 

Watch how the snap happens and Ragland just scrapes over the top of the blocks in front of him to locate the hole and make the stop. He embodies physicality and plays with solid processing. He’s instinctive with his keys.

(left inside linebacker)

The blockers don’t get a hand on him in this play, but he’s putting himself right where he needs to be; there’s a miscommunication of sorts on the offensive line and someone doesn’t take him. 

Amid that miscommunication, No. 61 can’t get to him and No. 64 overpursues. If Ragland had been a step slower mentally, then No. 61 would have been able to block him out of the play.

(MIKE)

Ragland moves with the flow of the play initially and then takes his outside arm and tosses the center to the ground; he then sees the cutback lane and dives at the running back making a hard physical tackle alongside some of his teammates.

Hard hitter

Reggie Ragland can lay the boom, as these next clips illustrate.

(left inside linebacker)

Ragland is an adequate overall athlete, but he shows a suddenness to explode downhill in this clip. His burst on moving vertically is actually solid and it allows him to close width in a quick manner and deliver hits like the one we see above.

(right inside linebacker)

(right EDGE)

The top video is just Ragland cleaning up a smaller receiver who was getting cute from the backside of the play. The next clip just shows Ragland’s functional strength as he benches a tackle backwards on the edge.

Against the Pass

The Lions coaching staff used him on the EDGE a decent amount - it’s not ideal. Ragland is strong and he can generate some push through his lower body, but not a consistent amount to affect NFL tackles. The twitch is just not there from an explosive standpoint.

(left EDGE)

He attempts a stutter step to keep the tackle guessing and then he engages the tackle to try and push him backwards--it doesn’t really affect him much. 

He’s an off ball linebacker that’s pigeon-holed into an EDGE here and we, as Giants’ observers, saw enough of that with David Mayo last year.

(Right EDGE)

His first three steps lack burst, but I do like to see that violent inside arm chop move he uses on the outside arm of the tackle. He then goes to spin, but the is not there for Ragland.

(Left EDGE)

Ragland makes a very heady play here from the left edge spot; he uses a quick arm over to try and press the inside shoulder of the blocker. 

Then Ragland reads the quarterback’s eyes and catches a glimpse of his intentions. He puts his hands up and knocks the pass down to stop the play and earn a pass defended.

(Right linebacker)

This is a quick arrow route and there’s not much to glean from the play itself. However, you can see how unnatural it is for Ragland to maneuver in space, especially in man coverage. 

He’s not fluid and he lacks the acceleration and speed to consistently play on passing downs. He can spot drop to zones and use his processing to see the field, but it may be best if he’s not being used at a high rate on passing downs.

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Falato’s Free Agency Film Room

• What the Giants are Getting in QB Mike Glennon
• What the New York Giants are Getting in Edge Ifeadi Odenigbo
• What the New York Giants Are Getting in WR John Ross
• What the New York Giants Are Getting in RB Devontae Booker
• What the New York Giants Are Getting in TE Kyle Rudolph

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Final Thoughts

Ragland is a good wrap up tackler who brings toughness and a physical nature to the middle of defenses. He does a good job reading his keys and putting himself into a good position within the box while also being capable of flowing laterally and shooting gaps to an adequate level against zone stretch plays. 

His athletic ability is a detriment and he lacks the sideline to sideline speed we see with a lot of modern day linebackers.

I believe he’ll compete with Tae Crowder for the starting spot next to Blake Martinez. His ability to burst vertically will bring power to the interior blitz package, but ultimately I think Crowder could still win this job. 

This is an upgrade over Mayo and Downs who brings instinctive traits to the linebacker room. Still, it’s probably best only if we see him on early downs and on special teams. 

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