The New York Giants have asked a lot of their starting linebacker tandem this season. Tremaine Edmunds and Arvell Reese have been one of the better LB duos in football, and frankly, those two have been the beating heart of a Giants defense that has finally taken a step forward this season.
Unfortunately for Big Blue, disaster struck, as Edmunds suffered a chest injury in the Week 6 loss to the New Orleans Saints. It ultimately came out that he suffered a torn chest muscle and would be placed on season-ending IR, and none of the options to replace him are worth getting excited about.
His injury meant the Giants needed one of Micah McFadden, Malik Harrison, Zaire Barnes, and sixth-round rookie Jack Kelly to step up. In a next-man-up business, they were banking on it--and thankfully, McFadden, who got the start against the Houston Texans in Week 7, answered the call.
In the 27-21 overtime win, McFadden amassed a team-high 10 tackles (all solo), two TFLs, and three pressures--including a QB hit. The guy was a straight-up disruptor out there, and if you look closely, he wasn't much worse than Edmunds at middle linebacker, if at all, which is incredibly impressive.
Micah McFadden shined for the Giants while replacing Tremaine Edmunds
I wouldn't say that Tremaine Edmunds is the easiest player to replace for this Giants' defense, but the 26-year-old took over the green dot and called the defense in his absence. And while his performance wasn't perfect, as there were still some major issues in coverage, it was promising.
Micah McFadden isn't the biggest or most athletic guy on the field, but he reads the play well and gives maximum effort, which is why John Harbaugh seems to be a fan of his. Even last spring, when he was supposedly a guarantee to leave in free agency, Harbs got him back on a team-friendly deal.
Despite allowing the late touchdown in regulation, McFadden more than made up for it in overtime. He had a beautiful stop of Woody Marks on first down that set up a Houston three-and-out, and not only did he exceed expectations, he proved he's more than capable of being a starter going forward.
Even Reese was floored by what he saw from the former Indiana standout. While talking to reporters, the rookie standout revealed he thought "Micah played great" and spoke about the communication they had pre-snap during the week and how that translated for this defense on game day.
“Micah played great, Micah flew around," Reese told NYDN's Pat Leonard. "Me and Micah communicated. That’s what we did all week, every presnap we were talking about seeing something. I tip my hat to Micah. It was his moment, he showed up and showed out.”
That's a lot of praise from a rookie who is near the top of most Defensive Rookie of the Year leaderboards. But it's very warranted. The 2022 fifth-round pick stepped up when the G-Men needed him most, and he's a junkyard dog who knows how to stuff the run and make plays in the backfield.
A lot of Giants fans were worried when Tremaine Edmunds went down, but Micah McFadden proved they don't need to be, and the green dot is in good hands.
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