With Jason-Pierre Paul’s future in doubt with the organization, Jerry Reese and the New York Giants need to attack the defensive line.
A top-tier defensive line was a staple of the New York Giants‘ Super Bowl champion rosters in both 2008 and 2011. As the team gears up for another potential run in 2017 during free agency, putting together a strong front four should be a top priority.With starters Jason Pierre-Paul and Johnathan Hankins set to hit the open market, the future is unclear for Big Blue’s defense. New York will attempt to retain both players while looking to bring in outside role players to bolster the unit from good to elite.
Over the Cap currently predicts the Giants will have $23,689,686 in cap space for the 2017 offseason, plus an additional $1,895,546 the team will roll over from next season, per the NFLPA. Factor in the likely contract restructuring or terminations of several players and New York will likely have around $30 million of cap space.
That’s a lot of room to play with, especially for a team like New York that seems one or two moves away from becoming a serious playoff threat. Should the Giants allocate their money carefully, they’re poised for an excellent offseason.
Here’s the blueprint the Giants’ should follow to continue the defensive upswing they experienced last season:
Attempt to negotiate with Pierre-Paul, but don’t overspend
With Jason Pierre-Paul’s reported baseline for a deal in the ballpark of what teammate Olivier Vernon received (five-years $85 million) the question becomes if the Giants’ can justify meeting his demands. If New York gives Pierre-Paul the real he’s pushing for, his cap hit will take up almost have of the team’s available space.
He certainly had a 2016 campaign worthy of consideration for such a big deal. Pierre-Paul led the team in forced fumbles with three, tied for fourth in passes defended with eight, and finished second with seven sacks. He added 53 tackles to his stat line and added a 43-yard fumble return for a touchdown. This, all while playing just 12 games after suffering a core muscle injury.
Despite Pierre-Paul’s exceptional production, it may be hard to hand him so much money with more gapping holes the team will need to throw money at. The Giants will also be cautious with a player that has played just one full season since 2013. There’s no doubt the talented defensive end will find some taker to fulfill his monetary desires. However, none of those teams are likely to be in a position for a legitimate playoff run.
That is what the Giants should attempt to sell JPP on. Convincing him the team is poised for such a run, while offering him the opportunity to continue to play alongside the star-studded line of Vernon, Hankins, and Damon Harrison is key to getting Pierre-Paul to lower his price.
New York can certainly afford to dish out around $10 million per year for his services, not chunk change by any means. They win with good pass rushers and Pierre-Paul is one of the best. The team will have to hope a medium sized deal plus the chance to win and be productive can bring their star back home.
If not, the Giants will have dress his eventual replacement in the draft.
Bring back Johnathan Hankins
Try facing Ezekiel Elliot and the Dallas Cowboys twice a year without two hard-nosed run stuffers in the interior. That can go badly in a hurry, especially with a middle of the road linebacker corps.
The Giants need Hankins back and he likely won’t get a better offer to move on elsewhere. His production was down from his outstanding 2014 campaign and the torn pectoral he suffered in 2015 will make teams weary. New York can bring him back on a two-year deal, worth about five or six million dollars annually. The Giants get to bring Hankins back on a reasonable deal and by the time the deal is up Hankins will still be in his athletic prime.
At only 24 years-old and coming off a year in which he totaled 43 tackles with three sacks, Hankins will be a force for years to come. Though his statical totals in 2016 weren’t what many are accustomed to seeing from Big Hank, he’s still a youthful and talented asset more than worthy of re-signing.
Sign Nick Fairly
New Orleans Saints’ defensive tackle Nick Fairly had a career year in 2016. The former Detroit Lion had career highs in sacks (6.5) and tackles (43) while logging an impressive 22 quarterback hits.
The Giants need an interior lineman that can collapse the pocket up the middle on third downs. Hankins and Harrison, their starters at the defensive tackle spot last season, are both primarily run defenders with a lot to desire in the pass rushing abilities. Too often were opposing quarterbacks able to avoid the Giants’ rush by stepping up into the pocket to gain more time to make throws. New York will benefit from a guy like Fairly who can move quarterbacks into the waiting arms of the team’s premier edge rushers.
He won’t come pricey either, playing on a one-year $5 million deal twice in the past two seasons, both of which were heavily incentivized. His latest contract with New Orleans carried a base salary of just $765,000.
Fairly is obviously still productive, though he’ll turn 30 next season. If New York can ink him to a deal similar to the ones he’s signed as of late, it would be a great addition to a defense on the verge of being one of the top three units in the league.
Sign Jack Crawford
Adding pass rushing depth should be a point of emphasis for the Giants. Bringing aboard Dallas Cowboys’ edge rusher Jack Crawford would be a great step to make that happen.
New York found a gem in undrafted free agent Romeo Okwara, but his fellow back-up edge defenders lack the ability to get to the quarterback. Kerry Wynn is a great run defender but struggles to get pressure. Meanwhile, Owa Odighizuwa has yet to show the potential on the field the Giants saw in him when he was drafted.
Crawford notched 25 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 2016, with 21 tackles and four sacks the year before. The Giants know what they’ll be getting with him and offering him the one-year/$1 million pact he got from Dallas a season ago makes sense. If Odighizuwa still doesn’t pan out the Giants have a reliable back up plan.