If you thought the New York Giants' overhaul of their defensive line was over after only keeping Darius Alexander on the roster from last season, think again. General manager Joe Schoen has already publicly admitted that the front office is still actively searching for upgrades in the trenches.
The recent Daniel Faalele trade gifted New York another sixth-round pick to use as trade bait, but head coach John Harbaugh famously loves his draft picks. Waiting out the market to see what falls from the roster-cut tree could prove to be the smarter play.
By playing the long game, the Giants can secure the high-end defensive line upgrade they want while holding onto their valuable draft capital -- you won't like Harbaugh when he's angry.
It's a chess move that could pay off nicely if a certain AFC South team *cough, the Jacksonville Jaguars, cough* decides to let some of their younger guys (Ruke Orhorhoro, perhaps) get more run by clearing out the veteran's massive contract ahead of the 2026 season.
Giants should be first in line if Arik Armstead gets cut
If the Jags do decide to let Arik Armstead go and gift-wrap the veteran defensive lineman to the open market to save $14 million in cap space, Schoen needs to be the first one to get him on the phone.
The Giants' urgency to upgrade the position has skyrocketed following Darius Alexander’s impossible-to-ignore struggles over the first two preseason games.
Alexander has looked terrible in both outings, especially against the run. He's looked routinely outmatched, and that's just simply not going to fly on a Harbaugh-led team looking to establish itself as a run-stuffing juggernaut.
Harbs has been vocal about his desire to build a bigger and more physical football team, and it's almost literally impossible to get much bigger than Armstead’s massive 6-foot-7, 290-pound frame. The 32-year-old brings 41.0 career sacks and a proven track record of disrupting things up front to a defense yearning for more size.
He's no longer the 10.0-sack, quarterback-harassing, pocket-collapser he was back in the day, but he can still push an offensive lineman back into a quarterback's lap and disrupt an offense.
Putting Armstead on a veteran-laden line next to savvy free-agent additions DJ Reader and Shelby Harris would instantly transform the Giants' defensive interior into 925 pounds of space-eating manpower. The trio could go a long way toward making up for the losses of Dexter Lawrence, Rakeem Nuñez-Roches, and Roy Robertson-Harris, who manned the line last year.
Ultimately, waiting out Jacksonville's youth movement, intertwined with a financial squeeze, could allow Big Blue to leverage its patience. If Armstead falls into their lap, Schoen can fulfill Harbaugh’s physical blueprint and solidify the run defense without parting with a single draft asset. That's what we call wins across the board.
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