5 significant questions for the NY Giants at linebacker

As the days continue to tick away until the start of training camp and the preseason for the NY Giants, the question marks surround certain positions on the roster. Some look at wide receiver and wonder if the group will perform better than what we saw in 2022.

Some are looking at the secondary and especially at cornerback and wonder if they will improve after an up and down season a year ago. And as always, many will look at the offensive line, a group that drastically needs to improve from the last few seasons.

One position that is a bit under the radar is the linebacker spot for the Giants, mostly because the main focus for the defense is their line and how much praise it gets for being a top unit in the league. At one time, the Giants were known in the league for their linebackers - having perhaps the greatest linebacker to ever play in the NFL with Lawrence Taylor will do that.

Last year, the linebacker group was a bit thin and we saw a bit of a revolving door with players getting injured and others being added in midseason because the Giants needed reinforcements at the position. Let's take a look at some of the issues surrounding the linebacker position for the Giants heading into the 2023 season:

5. Can Azeez Ojulari stay healthy?

In his rookie season, Azeez Ojulari bursted onto the season and showed that he could be a formidable pass-rusher for the Giants, as he had eight sacks during the 2021 season. Unfortunately for Ojulari and the Giants, health got in the way of his progress during his second season, as he was only available to play in just seven games due to multiple injuries throughout the season.

He did, though, record 5.5 sacks in 2022, which was the second highest amongst all Giants players. But for the Giants defense to take the next step in 2023, they will need more from him.

With a lot of the focus on the other side with Kayvon Thibodeaux, Ojulari has opportunities to take advantage of the attention Thibodeaux draws to his side and get after the quarterback. It's clear that Ojulari has the tools and the talent to be a successful pass-rusher and help the Giants.

But the issue for him is being able to stay on the field and healthy enough to produce the results everyone knows he's capable of.

4. What can Darrian Beavers bring?

When the Giants selected Darrian Beavers in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, there was a lot of hope and promise when he was on the field in the preseason. He was really looking sharp out there for Wink Martindale:

Unfortunately for Beavers and for the Giants, his rookie campaign was cut short in the preseason when he suffered a torn ACL. Before the injury, Beavers was thought of to be a potential starter at middle linebacker. Beavers will likely be penciled in behind Jarrad Davis and Bobby Okereke when the start of training camp kicks off in late July.

With an entire season missed, Beavers will be entering 2023 like it's another rookie season for him since he didn't play a single down of football in what would have been his actual rookie year. However, he'll already be ahead of the curve given he's had a full year to familiarize himself with Martindale's defense and the playbook.

The question for Beavers is if he can get himself back into the player everyone saw during last year's preseason. If he can, then he'll surely be a player to watch this fall and winter.

3. Can Jarrad Davis continue to produce?

Late in the 2022 season, the Giants made a bit of a surprise move when they signed Davis off the practice squad of the Detroit Lions. The signing brought some buzz to the Giants fanbase since they remember Davis as a former first-round pick from the 2017 NFL Draft. He went a couple of picks ahead of former Giants first-rounder Evan Engram.

Davis played in the season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles and had 11 total tackles with a half-sack. He was inserted as the starter going forward in the playoffs for the Giants in their two games during that run. Davis' strong play was good enough for the Giants to bring him back on a one-year deal early in the offseason

Davis spent most of the 2022 season on Detroit's practice squad and was only active for three games before being scooped up by the Giants. He had bounced around the league a bit the last couple of seasons, as he was on the New York Jets as well along with a second stint in Detroit before he got to the Giants.

The Giants have to hope Davis' finish to the end of 2022 will continue in 2023, as he wa given a 68.1 overall grade by Pro Football Focus and received a 71.9 grade in pass-rush and a 72.1 grade in coverage.

A full season of games like the one Davis had in Week 18 against the Eagles would not only play well into his favor as far as staying on the roster, but remaining as one of the two starters at inside linebacker for the Giants.

2. Can Bobby Okereke live up to the free agency hype?

One of the biggest moves made by the Giants in free agency was the addition of Bobby Okereke from the Indianapolis Colts, as they signed him to a four-year, $40 million deal with $21.8 million fully guaranteed.

Okereke is coming off two tremendous seasons for the Colts, as he had 132 total tackles in 2021 and a career-high 151 tackles in 2022. That kind of season earned him the contract he got from the Giants, as he is already expected to not only take over as a starter in the middle, but help transform the defense as well.

Because of the contract he received and given he's not a homegrown player, the expectations on Okereke are on him, maybe even more so given how the Giants have been burned by former players brought in from free agency. But so far, it looks like Okereke's been looking the part for the Giants.

The Giants can only hope that the player they saw in Indianapolis, especially over the last two seasons, will provide the same impact and bring some stability to the middle linebacker position that the Giants have desperately needed for several years.

1. Can Kayvon Thibodeaux be "him" in 2023?

When the Giants selected Thibodeaux with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, he was brought in to change the entire defense and help give it a complete facelift after years of struggling, especially in the pass-rush department.

While most might not look at Thibodeaux's rookie season as anything special, most know the impact he brought in 2022. If anything, Thibodeaux spent most of his rookie season getting a lot of non-calls because he got blatantly held on a consistent basis:

Then in Week 15 against the Washington Commanders in a nationally-televised game on Sunday Night Football, Thibodeaux had his coming out party. The "I'm him" game.

In that NY win, Thibodeaux posted 12 total tackles, one strip sack, one fumble forced, one fumble recovery and one touchdown in a game the Giants desperately needed to come out on top of to enhance their playoff hopes. The Giants ended up winning 20-12 and it all but helped lock their status as the NFC's No. 6 seed.

Thibodeaux finished the season with 49 total tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one touchdown. Thibodeaux also finished fourth in the 2022 NFL Rookie Defensive Player of the Year voting. While that might not seem like an amazing rookie season, those numbers don't tell the entire story.

Thibodeaux was always bringing the pressure in 2022, as he had 40 total pressures, 25 hurries and 11 hits to go with the four sacks. Thibodeaux should only get better and continue to improve as a pass-rusher with experience. Now that he is no longer an NFL rookie, maybe he will get the veteran treatment and get some more holding calls, which will force offensive linemen to stop holding him and allow Thibodeaux to pick up even more sacks.

The Giants traded down in the 2021 NFL Draft and out of a chance to land Micah Parsons, who not only has become one of the best pass-rushers in the game, but one the Giants see twice a year now. Some Giants fans are still outraged over that the Giants did so, but when they did, they got the extra draft pick the following season and it allowed them to take Thibodeaux as high as they did.

The hope is that Thibodeaux will be for the Giants as Parsons is to the Cowboys and in the NFL. If the Giants can get Thibodeaux to be that level of player on defense and as a pass-rusher, then the Giants defense will be in good shape moving forward.

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