When you lose a player like Dexter Lawrence, the complexion of your defensive line room is bound to change. And that's exactly what's happening with the New York Giants. The Giants are still trying to navigate the terrain that is life without the man who defined their defense for the last half-decade.
Thankfully, John Harbaugh came prepared, and the Giants were able to fix up their DT room in a way the Property Brothers would be awfully proud of. Since Sexy Dexy was traded, they've signed seven new defensive tackles, so naturally, most of them won't end up cracking the final 53-man roster.
So New York has some decisions on their hands. The DT competition is wide open for the most part, but there are some leaders in the clubhouse emerging. The Athletic's Dan Duggan reported that the Giants have three defensive tackles who's jobs are totally safe, and things get murkier from there.
The Giants' defensive tackle competition is as wide open as it gets
In Duggan's latest final roster projection, he had Big Blue rostering five of their 11 DTs on the 90-man roster, And he also dropped some important information on the state of the tackle room, revealing Darius Alexander, Shelby Harris, and D.J. Reader have been the top three interior linemen this spring.
"Alexander, Reader and Harris were the top three defensive linemen throughout the spring, with Fotu and Tupou next in the pecking order," Duggan wrote." Jamison-Travis is another sixth-round pick who figures to land a roster spot based on his draft pedigree."
It's no surprise that Alexander, Reader, and Harris are the top three on the totem pole, as the former was a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and the latter two were signed after the Lawrence trade. It takes a village to replace a guy like Dex, and the system in place at the top is actually pretty solid.
The interesting part here is that Duggan mentioned mentioned Leki Fotu and Josh Topu as next in line for snaps, yet he only had Fotu making the roster. And this means that both of them are getting on the field before sixth-round rookie Bobby Jamison-Travis, which isn't ideal for his roster chances.
But since they invested a 2026 draft pick in BJT, it would be a surprise if he doesn't make the roster as he mentioned. But that would mean that guys like Sam Roberts, Zacch Pickens, and Topu won't survive. And based on what we know now, do we really think Topu loses out over Jamison-Travis?
It's hard to project how things will play out at the bottom of the depth chart once training camp begins, but one thing is for sure: the G-Men are turning to Darius Alexander, Shelby Harris, and D.J. Reader to fill the vacancy Dexter Lawrence left behind in leading the defensive tackle room.
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