3 underrated NY Giants rookies who can make an immediate impact

1. LB Micah McFadden

Much like the secondary, the linebacker core lacks the necessary depth that most teams want to have. Outside of six-year veteran Blake Martinez, the Giants are also fairly young at the position. The addition of two separate linebackers in the draft could be what this unit needed when considering how they looked last season.

When the Giants added Indiana linebacker Micah McFadden in the fifth round, they potentially found their middle linebacker of the future. McFadden was dominant while in college. In his four seasons at Indiana, he racked up 216 total tackles, 36 tackles for loss and 14 sacks. He also recorded four interceptions, two forced fumbles and four defended passes.

McFadden could very easily find himself in a starting spot alongside Martinez. When looking at the current state of the linebacker unit, there is a case to be made that he could be the second-best player out there. Tae Crowder and Cam Brown have both struggled at times and could lose playing time to both McFadden and fellow rookie Darrian Beavers.

Even if McFadden isn’t a starter at the start of the season, he will at least be a solid rotational player at the position. As the year progresses, and he continues to play a bigger role, a starting job could be his before the end of the fall.