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4 free agents on defense the NY Giants can still target

The Giants' revamped roster is coming together nicely but is still far from a finished product

By Joseph Anderson

Green Bay Packers v Atlanta Falcons
Green Bay Packers v Atlanta Falcons / Todd Kirkland/GettyImages
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Despite losing some fan favorites early this offseason, the NY Giants and Joe Schoen have put together a pretty good offseason so far. They added a new offensive line coach in Carmen Bricillo, and gave him five new offensive linemen to work with. They added two playmakers in LSU star receiver Malik Nabers and Penn State tight end Theo Johnson in the draft. They also traded for one of the best young pass-rushers in the game in edge Brian Burns.

They have a great young core, but are far from being a finished product. Schoen has already added former Pro Bowl receiver Allen Robinson to the offense recently, but will Schoen give new defensive coordinator Shane Bowen another new piece on defense? Here are four current free agents on defense the Giants can still target:

4. Bud Dupree

Bud Dupree is a 31-year-old free agent edge-rusher formerly of the Titans and most recently the Atlanta Falcons. Dupree could be waiting to latch on with a playoff contending team and may come at a higher cost. Schoen may be able to get Dupree to MetLife if he can talk him into a potential reunion with his one-time defensive coordinator he knows well from his time on the Titans in coach Bowen. While he may not start, Dupree would be a huge upgrade to the rotation and see a lot of time on the field as the veteran of the group.

Dupree may not be in his prime anymore, but adding him into a rotation with Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux would be great. Dupree and Azeez Ojulari would be able to spell Burns and Thibodeaux and the Giants wouldn't see a tremendous falloff like what seemingly happened last season anytime Thibodeaux needed a break. Having the rest of the group learn from a productive veteran like Dupree could boost the respective careers of everyone else in the room.

Coach Bowen and defensive line coach Andre Patterson would have a trusted veteran who can help lead the unit on the field. Don't sleep on Dupree, though, he still had 6.5 sacks last season with the Falcons. The Giants would love to add that production out of their potentially third edge-rusher.