It’s official: Dexter Lawrence is the best player to ever be drafted at No. 17 overall in the past decade. That’s not just New York Giants bias talking—Max Chadwick from Pro Football Focus stamped it himself. And if you’ve watched Lawrence over the last six seasons, you know the tape backs it up.
Here’s what makes this moment especially important: The 2025 NFL Draft class is loaded with interior defensive line talent, and the Giants just so happen to have five picks in the top 105. They’ve already got the league’s most dominant nose tackles in Sexy Dex. But imagine what this defense could become if Big Blue found him a true interior running mate.
The case for building a terrifying duo with Lawrence and one of the 2025 draft’s top DTs isn’t just compelling—it might be essential. They brought in Roy Robertson-Harris and Jeremiah Ledbetter as depth pieces, but they are start-in-case-of-emergency options. Getting a viable running mate (with upside) in the interior is still a pressing need.
A golden opportunity to complete the Giants’ defensive identity
Chadwick laid out Lawrence's strictly statistical case for why he earned the title of best 17th overall pick of the last decade:
“Lawrence has lived in opposing backfields over the last three seasons. His 93.4 PFF grade since 2022 is the best among all defensive tackles and he’s the only interior defender with 90.0-plus grades as a pass rusher and as a run defender.”
That’s borderline Aaron Donald territory. That's without a legitimate running mate. The Giants can change that in April.
This is the deepest interior defensive line class we’ve seen in a while. Mason Graham from Michigan is the headliner—explosive, violent, high-motor. He might be too much of a reach at No. 3, but if the Giants trade back a few spots, he could be their Chris Jones-type.
Kenneth Grant, also from Michigan, is a dancing bear at nose tackle with 340-pound power and surprising burst. Think young Linval Joseph. He’d allow Lawrence to shift to more of a 3-tech role (between the guard and tackle) in certain packages, creating mismatches across the front.
Walter Nolen out of Ole Miss is another name to watch. He’s still raw, but the ceiling is absurd. His size-strength-speed combo doesn’t come around often, and if the Giants want to gamble on traits, this is the guy.
Even further down the board, names like Derrick Harmon (Oregon), Deone Walker (Kentucky), and Darius Alexander (Toledo) offer legit Day 2 upside. Harmon has the IQ and quickness to be a disruptor on passing downs. Walker is the mammoth. Alexander is a mauler with grown-man strength and scheme versatility.
That kind of versatility matters—especially when you’ve already got Brian Burns and Chauncey Golston coming off one edge, and Kayvon Thibodeaux looking to cash in on the other. Drop a real interior disruptor next to Dexter Lawrence, and suddenly this front four has real bite.
Dexter’s been carrying this front. Give him an accomplice before it’s too late.
Because if you’re lucky enough to have the best DT in the league, the only mistake bigger than wasting him… is making him do it alone.