Welcome to Pain’s Points, offseason edition, a recurring list and thought process that gives all Giants fans…well, Pain. The season might be over but there are more than enough Pain Points to share:
Pain Point #1: Leonard Williams
Those contract years can really hurt, especially when you have a GM that handcuffs himself to a player via trade. Leo Williams was the 12th ranked DT (yes he is a DT and not a DE) with 22 total pressures in 17 games. He also has the 2nd highest cap hit of any defensive lineman in the NFL! Let’s take a quick dive in to some of the stats:
- Hurries: 6
- QB Knockdowns: 8
- Sacks: 6.5
- Total Pressures: 22
- Snaps played: 888
Leonard Williams fought through a triceps injury and is one hell of a teammate, he’s a dog you want on your team but he is not THAT guy from a pass rush perspective. He is better-suited rushing on the inside against Guards and Centers when paired with an above-average pass rusher. His contract is untouchable for the upcoming season and we can only hope that he can have better production under new Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale.
Pain Point #2: Dexter Lawrence
Sexy Dexy as he is known is part of the draft capital return in the Odell Beckham trade. The 17th pick in the 1st round in 2019 is a big man that was thought to have some pass-rush ability but primarily drafted to stop the run. Here is how that looked statistically:
- Hurries: 6
- QB Knockdowns: 8
- Sacks: 2.5
- Total Pressures: 17
- Snaps played: 757
These numbers are not awful, but as the 17th pick, he isn’t even in the top 15 at his position in Tackles for Loss. His pass-rush numbers actually make Leonard Williams look worse since they produced the same number of Hurries and QB Knockdowns and Leo is supposedly a pass rusher. As the main starting DT or NT depending on the sub-packages called, Sexy Dexy was a part of the 8th worst run defense that was tied for the 5th worst yards per rush average. We will see if Wink Martindale and the new staff has a place for him, however, he has not come close to being a 1st round pick in production.
Pain Point #3: Austin Johnson/Danny Shelton
The rest of the defensive line was uninspiring. Austin Johnson and Danny Shelton combined gave us 7 Tackles for Losses and 5 missed tackles. Austin Johnson played more snaps than Shelton and showed flashes of a rush but nothing significant as he was the 3rd DT in rotation. Shelton played a career-low in snaps and was ineffective when on the field. Neither did anything to make you forget Dalvin Tomlinson and his work in prior years as DT. Both players were on a one-year deal and with a new defensive coordinator (WINK) coming in, expect personnel changes and to see these both in different uniforms.
Stay tuned for more, there are always Pain Points in life, especially if you are a Giants fan. Remember, this is our Pain and we have every right to be mad about it.