Last season, we saw second-round sophomore safety Xavier McKinney breakout and become a Pro-Bowl level safety after a shortened rookie season. With the NY Giants defense being full of young players who have a ton of potential, it only makes sense that we see some of them take a giant leap this campaign.
While some of these players have more potential than others, the NY Giants are relying on these players breaking out to improve upon a defense that did not perform very well last season. If these players can reach the potential we think they have, the Giants defense could be in for a resurgence this year. Here’s a look at three guys in particular to keep an eye on.
Azeez Ojulari
After selecting Azeez Ojulari with the 50th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the NY Giants had high expectations for the young edge rusher out of Georgia. So far, after the way Ojulari performed in his rookie season, you can say he’s met said expectations, or at the very least, is on the way to do so.
In 17 games played last season, Ojulari tallied 49 combined tackles, eight tackles for loss, one forced fumble, and eight sacks. After breaking the rookie sack record for the team, many fans were pleased with Ojulari’s performance and became very excited for the future. Putting up eight sacks as a rookie in general is an impressive accomplishment.
However, to do so while being a speed rusher off the edge having a somewhat limited arsenal of pass rush moves makes this even more impressive. However, it seems as if Ojulari’s days of only being a speed rusher may be coming to an end, as according to Ojulari himself, he added around 10 pounds of muscle.
Azeez Ojulari said he added about 10 pounds this offseason to get up to 255. It’s a noticeable difference pic.twitter.com/FvMqIRjUxs
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) May 19, 2022
While obviously Ojulari will not all of a sudden turn into a power rusher, it is still nice to add the extra size to his abilities. This, combined with the fact that he will be playing alongside high profile rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux, makes it quite easy to pick Ojulari as one of the NY Giants breakout candidates for this season.
Ojulari already had a record-breaking season as a rookie. If he can continue to work on what he already has, Ojulari will easily eclipse 10 sacks this season and become the franchise cornerstone we believe he can be.
2. Darnay Holmes
After being selected in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Darnay Holmes somewhat struggled out of the gate his rookie season. This was also the case for parts of the 2021 season. However, Holmes had some bright moments throughout the year that made some NY Giants fans turn their heads.
Despite this, it is hard to gauge Holmes’ skill, as just as he was catching fire last season, he went down with an injury that forced him to miss the final six games. Regardless of how many games he played, Holmes improved drastically from a statistical standpoint. Dropping his completion percentage allowed by nearly 10% compared to his rookie season. While also allowing100 less yards on 10 less targets, and decreasing his passer rating allowed from 87.6, to 71.9.
While we don’t think “Broadway” Holmes will breakout into a star CB in this league, we do believe he has the potential to be a very nice CB2 or CB3 for the Giants. This is something the team desperately needs after releasing James Bradberry.
The competition amongst the young CBs on the Giants this season will be fierce, as they are all fighting for that illustrious CB2 spot alongside Adoree’ Jackson. If Holmes can step into this role and make a difference like he did at times last season, then he will go down as one of the very few “good” draft picks made by former GM Dave Gettleman.
1. Aaron Robinson
Aaron Robinson was selected in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft after Azeez Ojulari. While Robinson did not have nearly the same amount of hype as Ojulari, he still showed a ton of promise. Similar to Holmes, however, we were not able to see Robinson at full potential last season as he was limited to only nine games due to a core muscle injury.
Despite this, in the games Robinson was able to play, he looked very promising. While Robinson certainly had games in which he struggled, as most rookies do, he looked very impressive throughout most of the season, only allowing 25+ yards in five out of the seven games in which he was targeted.
Similar to “Broadway” Holmes, Robinson will be fighting for the CB2 spot on the NY Giants, and we believe he is most likely to get it. Robinson has the best skill set and abilities out of all of the other CBs on the roster not named Adoree’ Jackson. If Robinson is able to build upon what he showcased in the 2021 season, then the NY Giants may potentially have a future star on their hands.