Defense wins championships. That’s the mantra the New York Giants are employing in 2025, and it’s the same one the franchise implemented en route to two Super Bowls in a five-year span earlier this century. For the last decade, Big Blue has sought to recapture that spark, but came up short.
But that doesn’t mean that MetLife Stadium wasn’t home to elite defenders. Beyond the legendary names like JPP, Strahan, Osi, and Tuck, the 2016 Giants saw Landon Collins, Damon Harrison, Olivier Vernon, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie lead the unit to the playoffs.
And this season, the defense looks poised to take a similar trajectory. While talking about storylines that fans shouldn’t be surprised to see in 2025, ESPN’s Dan Graziano said fans should not be surprised if the G-Men lead the NFL in sacks in 2025.
Fortified defensive front has expectations soaring for the Giants’ defensive line
New York’s defensive line looks vastly improved, to the point where the unit has been hotly debated to be among the best in football. The team selected Abdul Carter with the No. 3 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and the former Penn State star has the potential to be one of the best pass-rushers in the league if all goes right.
And even as the Defensive Rookie of the Year favorite, the 21-year-old only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to discussing Big Blue’s already formidable defensive front.
“Word out of Giants camp is Abdul Carter is everything the team believed him to be when it made him the third pick in this year's draft,” Graziano wrote. “Adding Carter to a defensive front that already features Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence II, and Kayvon Thibodeaux should give the Giants one of the more fearsome and tireless pass rushes in the entire NFL.”
He also called the defense “the team's strength” as the unit might have to carry the team amid question marks about when Jaxson Dart could take over for Russell Wilson. And he even thinks the unit could help New York pull off some surprise upsets in 2025.
That’s the kind of statement that raises both eyebrows and expectations.
There is no shortage of star power for DL coach Andre Patterson’s group, and it’ll give Jayden Daniels nightmares prior to Sept. 7. But even the depth additions like third-round rookie Darius Alexander, Roy Robertson-Harris, and Chauncey Golston are only making fans even more fired up for Week 1.
Nobody can be double-teamed, and everybody can eat. After finishing eighth in sacks a year ago, this group looks ready to revive a brand of Giants football that once terrorized the league — and may do it again in 2025.