NY Giants OLB may have played his way vs. Jets onto the 53-man roster

No one, and we mean no one did themselves a bigger favor against the Jets in the preseason finale than NY Giants pass-rusher Benton Whitley. Whitley isn't a name that many Big Blue supporters are too aware of, but goodness, he looked strong against Robert Saleh's men. Matter of fact, the young outside linebacker has been rock solid all summer.

After performing well against the Lions and Texans, Whitley followed that up with 1.5 sacks vs. the Jets. Throughout the preseason, he posted eight total tackles, 2.5 sacks, and five QB pressures. In the past, EDGE depth has been an issue for the Giants, but things are starting to finally look up. With how he has looked over the past month, has Whitley done enough to sneak onto the Week 1 roster?

Benton Whitley surely gave Brian Daboll a lot to think about following the Jets game

In the preseason Week 2 loss to the Texans, Whitley was the second-highest rated player per Pro Football Focus, receiving a grade of 83.0 - Brian Burns earned the No. 1 mark at 91.0. So, after looking great vs. the Texans, he followed that up by being a beast vs. the Jets? You better believe it.

Last season, Whitley started off the year with the Minnesota Vikings, but then eventually made his way to East Rutherford after being signed off their practice squad. He went on to appear in three games for NY, recording one pass deflection and one fumble recovery. Yeah, not a lot to show for his three meetings for Brian Daboll, but that fumble recovery came on special teams in the thrilling win over the Packers in primetime at MetLife Stadium.

At pass-rusher, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Burns are obviously the leaders of the unit, while Azeez Ojulari is going to be the first guy off the bench. The hope is that Ojulari can stay healthy and make a difference for the G-Men this campaign, but plenty of trade rumors have been surrounding his name of late too.

Who knows if that will happen or not, but the fact of the matter here is that Whitley has proven that he can be relied upon to enter a game for Daboll and defensive coordinator Shane Bowen and hold his own going up against opposing linemen. Entering the showdown vs. Gang Green, he was considered a fringe player. A rough showing could have easily led to him not sticking around for the Minnesota battle. However, it's now looking like he may have done enough to land himself a full-time job.