Reason #3: Azeez Ojulari will get less defensive attention than Leonard Williams
Leonard Williams went from half a sack in 2019 to 11.5 sacks in 2020. This means the NY Giants’ best pass rusher will be the main focus for opposing offensive lines in 2021.
Some of Williams’ sacks last season should be considered coverage sacks. Williams was awesome, but he doesn’t get to the QB in the blink of an eye.
Patrick Graham and the secondary did an exceptional job at times playing zone in 2020, and they confused QBs into holding the ball too long. Even without a dominant pass rusher besides Williams, Big Blue finished tied for 13th last season with a 25.6% QB pressure percentage, per NFL Next Gen Stats.
Short clip of how the Giants rattled Russell Wilson on Sunday! Look at the movement by the rushers, Carter Coughlin essentially pulls an entire line stunt, Cam Brown swings inside, Dex ends up behind Russell, he's SPOOKED.
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) December 8, 2020
Everywhere he turned there was a Giant! pic.twitter.com/D8QhUtQHQI
I expect Graham to play a lot more man-to-man in 2021, especially with CB Adoree’ Jackson aboard. This will allow Graham to turn up the heat with more blitzes, which should give Azeez some free rushes off the edge or some mismatches vs. tight ends and running backs.