New York Giants Defensive Tackles Should Be Top 10 In The NFL
With the addition of Damon Harrison, abounce-back year from Johnathan Hankins and a breakout season from Jay Bromley, the New York Giants defensive tackles should be a top 10 unit.
The New York Giants finished the 2015 season allowing 419.3 yards-per-game, edging out the New Orleans Saints by about six yards to finish dead last, number 32 in the league in that category. So Jerry Reese’s offseason spending spree to improve that side of the ball was really no surprise considering his job hangs in the balance. But how much can they improve?
Obviously adding Olivier Vernon to the defensive line will improve the pass rush, hopefully significantly for how much money Reese threw his way. Adding Janoris Jenkins to the secondary should be an upgrade over Prince Amukamara and spending a first-round pick on Eli Apple will strengthen that group.
Perhaps the unit that could be one of the NFL’s best, however, will be the defensive tackles. The same day the Giants acquired Vernon, they acquired Damon “Big Snacks” Harrison, who described himself as “the best nose tackle in football.” Harrison is primarily a run-stuffer, he only has 1.5 sacks in his career. But he excels against the run, where the Giants allowed 4.4 yards-per-carry last season.
Harrison registered a career-high 39 solo tackles last season and is one of the reasons the New York Jets finished third, fifth and second in run defense over the past three seasons, respectively. Harrison can eat up multiple blockers and collapse the pocket, which is why Dan Graziano of ESPN calls him his favorite acquisition of the offseason.
Graziano believes Harrison will do even more with the Giants than he did with the Jets, where he excelled. “He’s the unquestioned best player in the league at what he does — stop the run on the interior of the defensive line. And while there has been some reasonable hand-wringing from the outside about paying $9.5 million a year for a two-down player, the Giants are convinced Harrison will help them on third downs.”
But Harrison isn’t the only reason the defensive tackle group should be near the league’s best. Johnathan Hankins had an off-year statistically. His season was greatly affected by the loss of Jason Pierre-Paul for the first eight games of the season. Hankins’ season ended abruptly when against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, consequently JPP’s first game back, tore his pectoral muscle and was placed on the IR.
Hankins in 2014 was one of the top defensive tackles in the NFL, and one of the very few to rank in the top 10 as both a pass rusher and as a run defender. He benefited greatly from playing with JPP who was re-signed this offseason. Hankins must be licking his chops to play not only next to Pierre-Paul but with Harrison on his other shoulder. Not to mention, he’s approaching his own free agency next year and wants his own big payday at the end of the season.
The first guy off the bench is also looking to make an impact as well. Jay Bromley, the Giants third-round pick in 2014, is believed by NJ.com’s Jordan Raanan to have a breakout season. He has shown flashes as a pass rusher in his first two NFL seasons but is beginning to come into his own. Raanan forecasts five sacks for Bromley as a part-time pass rusher this season which would be a huge addition to the totals of Vernon, JPP, et al.
The Giants will need a strong defensive interior this season when they face the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive line and their rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott. This group should be vastly improved and will have an effect on the rest of the defense. As Harrison and Hankins eat up blockers, the pass rush should be more effective and the linebacking corps, which lacks a superstar, will have more room to work.
It’s a stretch to call this unit the best in the NFL, but if this group can get into the upper echelon of DTs, the defense as a whole should make a significant jump upward from dead last.