Turning the tide: how investments have changed the New York Giants’ defense

Valuable lessons must be extracted from the debacle of a season that the 2024 New York Giants endured. New York finished with three wins, half the win total from the previous disastrous 2023 season. Murphy’s Law plagued and persisted through the 2024 season; still, the magnanimous John Mara abstained from change, resulting in the retention of general manager Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll, albeit on metal seats left in the sun.

The roster was devoid of depth at critical positions, with no signal caller other than exclusive rights free agent Tommy DeVito. Several top-100 Schoen draft picks have not scratched their perceived potential, and only Dexter Lawrence, Andrew Thomas, and Brian Burns had non-rookie contracts past the 2026 season. Proven, competent talent proved difficult to develop and even retain, furthering animosity toward the regime.

One surefire way to bolster the roster was to fix the defense. The quarterback situation is obviously the most important pillar to reinforce, but Shane Bowen’s 2024 defensive unit required fortification.

The Giants spent two top-70 picks on their secondary in 2024, and they traded up in the first round of the 2023 draft to select Tae Banks, yet the 2024 passing defense had sieve-like moments; this, after allowing former team captain Xavier McKinney to walk in free agency, did not reflect well on the Giants’ decision making.

The Giants recorded just five interceptions in 2024, four of which were from the secondary. The team went nine weeks without recording an interception. Only the Cleveland Browns finished with less interceptions than the Giants. New York also ranked 30th in QB rating against (103.2) and completion percentage against (69.4%).

Bowen’s coverage EPA (Expected Points Added) also ranked 27th and New York had the sixth lowest Pro Football Focus coverage grade. After Dexter Lawrence’s injury, the lack of depth on the defensive line forced Bowen to change his defensive structure and strategy to focus on plugging the run with bodies.

This, coupled with the offense’s inability to sustain drives and score points, resulted in ostensibly respectable defensive totals but was more a product of teams bleeding the clock against an ineffective opponent (other than Week 17).

Nevertheless, Schoen and company identified and addressed an issue in free agency with their cap flexibility.

The secondary

Schoen wasted little time signing one of the younger, more promising cornerbacks on the market, Paulson Adebo. The 25-year-old signed a three-year, $54-million contract, including a $15-million signing bonus and $38.5-million guaranteed. Adebo is now the 14th-highest-paid cornerback in the league.

Adebo has good eyes and the necessary man-coverage skills to be an above-average starter in the NFL. But he finds his way to the football, which is his hallmark. Adebo has 10 career interceptions and 29 passes defended in four seasons (1,922 coverage snaps / 294 targets). He sports a 62.6% completion rate and hasn’t allowed more than a 60% rate in the last two seasons.

Presuming Banks was the cornerback one in 2024, the Giants’ cornerback two was a mixture of Adoree’ Jackson and Cor’Dale Flott; the former is now a Philadelphia Eagle, and the latter is entering the final year of his rookie contract.

Adebo will likely be the Giants’ number-one cornerback, giving a reprieve to Banks and lessening the responsibility of the volatile third-year player. Banks took a step back in 2024. Flott, however, did take a slight step forward in his development, and he’ll provide insurance behind Adebo and Banks, with Dru Phillips presumably focusing on the nickel role.

The impact of the Adebo addition was amplified early on the second day of free agency when former Miami Dolphin Jevon Holland agreed to a three-year, $45.3-million contract. Kayvon Thibodeaux put on his recruiting cap and helped convince the former Oregon Duck to take his talents to East Rutherford.

Holland, who many believed was the top safety on the market, replaces Jason Pinnock next to Tyler Nubin, giving the Giants a secondary nickel package of Holland, Nubin, Adebo, Banks, and Phillips — all 25 years old or younger. Flott is also just 23-years-old.

As usual with many recent draft selections by the organization, the development of a player—like Banks—did not go as planned. Banks, entering his third season, regressed on the field and his level of maturity was called into question. Suffice it to say that the Giants could not rely on Banks to assume a leadership role.

New York’s defensive structure and organization felt the sting of McKinney’s departure. Bowen runs plenty of two-read concepts predicated on the safeties responding to the release of the No. 2 receiver that will dictate the coverage. It’s pattern matching. McKinney would have thrived in that environment.

However, the Giants put their safety chips in the basket of Nubin, a rookie who missed most of training camp, and Jason Pinnock. Bowen had two-star safeties in Tennessee: Kevin Byard and Amani Hooker. Securing Brian Burns was a vital move to get Bowen the necessary pieces to run his system, but the back end was talent-deficient and too young to overcome adversity.

New York struggled to fit the run from the two-high shells that Bowen often employed. The even front used in the first half of the season was adequate when Lawrence was on the field, but offensive coordinators would run directly into the A and B-Gaps whenever Lawrence was spelled.

Essentially, the defensive structure was predicated on Lawrence playing, for his backups were often liabilities and placed WAY TOO MUCH on the plate of the linebackers and the alley-defending safeties. The integrity of the defense was rarely held intact if Lawrence was on the sidelines. After his injury, Bowen changed his defensive structure to aggressively focus on stopping the run (post Dallas 2.0).

Now, New York improves in the alley with Holland and can be trusted to defend one-on-one on the outside, with Adebo assuming the No. 1 duties. Holland’s veteran nature should also lead to a more comprehensive approach from a responsibility stand point. Holland has operated in three separate systems over four years.

Holland can execute any role assigned to him, but buzzing him down or dropping him into single-high when Bowen employs Cover-3 or Man Cover-1 also fits his skill set; he executed that role well early in his career with Josh Boyer. Much like Adebo, Holland gets his hands on the football. He has recorded 16 passes defended and six interceptions in his career.

What was a massive issue in the secondary last season was seemingly rectified in early in free agency with these two signings. It will allow Bowen to be more flexible and aligned with his philosophy. Still, I want to see more additions to the secondary, specifically a third safety and cornerback depth.

Beef up the front

Parting ways with Azeez Ojualri is unfortunate. I was always a big fan of Ojulari, but his health issues plagued him throughout his time in New York. Ojulari had 42 pressures and set the Giants’ rookie sack record in 2021 but failed to play more than 500 snaps over the next three seasons.

New York opted to get stronger in the trenches to replace Ojualri; they signed former Dallas Cowboy Chauncey Golston to a reasonable three-year, $19.5-million contract ($6.5-million AAV). Golston is larger, longer, and more physical than Ojulari:

Most notable is Golston’s size and the trajectory of his production. The 27-year-old is a shade under 6-foot-5, 270 pounds. Golston is a taller, much better version of what the Giants wanted Boogie Basham to be. Golston is quick enough to play edge and be a commanding presence in the run game from five-technique outside and big enough to kick inside during passing situations.

Golston had 37 pressures and 5.5 sacks in 2024 with the Cowboys. He offers effort and energy while toughening the trenches and offering a larger — more physical — body type that is more resistant to bullying. Golston as the third edge behind Thibodeaux and Brian Burns forms a solid and diverse trio of pass rushers.

The Giants also added Roy Robertson-Harris and Jeremiah Ledbetter for depth on the defensive line. Robertson-Harris (6-5, 290-pounds) is an older, slight upgrade over D.J. Davidson and Jordon Riley. He signed to a two-year, $9-million contract. He is one season removed from three consecutive 30-plus pressure seasons, but he’s 31 years old. He recorded 16 pressures for two teams (Jaguars and Seahawks). Andre Patterson also coached him at UTEP.

Robertson-Harris could compete with Rakeem Nunez-Roches for the third, perhaps even the fourth, defensive line spot, but the Giants should not be done adding big physical bodies to their trenches. They cannot enter the season as a complete liability if something befalls Dexter Lawrence. Ledbetter (6-3, 300 pounds) is a depth option who will compete for a roster spot in the summer.

Special teams and linebackers

New York invested in their special teams and linebacker rooms with Chris Board and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles signings. Both players have defense experience and are slightly more than just special teams assets. Board, 29, has played more than 1,000 snaps on defense and is a good athlete with coverage ability. However, he’s played less than 500 defensive snaps over the last three seasons. He spent 2024 with the Ravens and the previous two seasons with the Patriots and Lions; the first four years of his career were also spent in Baltimore.

Flannigan-Fowles is 28 years old and has played 628 defensive snaps over five seasons with the 49ers. He missed 33% of his tackles in 2024 but is more of a fixture on special teams despite starting three games for the 49ers last season.

I appreciate the additions for Michael Ghobrial, and Flannigan-Fowles will have to earn his roster spot against Darius Muasau and Dyontae Johnson, who was also retained this off-season. Board signed a two-year $5.7-million with $3.5-million guaranteed, with incentives so he likely has more of a path to the roster. Either way, more competition at linebacker is welcomed.

Final thoughts

The Giants still need to strengthen the spine of their defense, specifically next to Dexter Lawrence, but the addition of Golston is a solid start to gaining toughness in the trenches. The 2025 NFL Draft is deep at defensive line, and the Giants currently possess four selections in the top 100 and five in the top 105.

New York should not stop investing in its defensive trenches. When they are stronger up front, Bowen will maximize the two main additions that Schoen signed to the roster: Holland and Adebo. Suppose the Giants can fortify their run defense and ability to rush the passer with four. In that case, New York can more confidently drop seven into coverage with a quarters/palms approach to defending the pass, meaning fewer players in the box to defend the run immediately.

Holland and Adebo are both massive upgrades over the Giants’ 2024 personnel. They both understand how to create turnovers; couple them with Nubin’s college experience intercepting passes, and maybe the Giants can record more than five interceptions next season. I would argue each position in the secondary needs more depth and competition, but Holland is much better than Pinnock, and Adebo is, unfortunately, better than Banks (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it).

For this all to be actualized close to its potential, the Giants offense must find a competent signal caller who can keep the offense on script and the defense off the field. That’s a tall task at this point in free agency; Schoen should swing away at quarterback in hopes of finding someone who can make the Giants competitive again. Their defense is primed to compete, albeit still not quite there, but they must figure out their quarterback situation.