3. LB Jason Pierre-Paul
Up next we have one of the more underrated NY Giants players of the last decade in Jason Pierre-Paul, who was key to the Giants Super Bowl victory in 2011. In that season, Paul would tally 86 combined tackles, an absurd 16.5 sacks, 23 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and seven pass deflections. Paul would go on to make a Pro Bowl, be a First Team All-Pro and place fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
This would end up being by far the best season of JPP’s career. When healthy, Pierre-Paul was a dominate player. Paul would have 20+ tackle for loss seasons four out of the eight years he was on the team. He would also go on to have two double-digit sack seasons, all while making two Pro Bowls and that aforementioned First Team All-Pro honor.
While Cruz was arguably better in his prime, JPP lasted longer in the league and possibly had a better career. Paul would play for the Giants from 2010 to 2017. He was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a third and fourth-round pick.
These picks ended up turning into B.J Hill, who the Giants eventually traded for nothing, and Kyle Lauletta, who was only on the Giants for one season. This was a start of things to come for at the time new GM Dave Gettleman. JPP’s career with the NY Giants was full of ups and downs. However, Pierre-Paul had plenty of ups that made him worthy of being selected as the third-best NY Giant since 2010.