new york giants oshane ximines
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

The New York Giants drafted edge rusher Oshane Ximines using the 2019 third-round pick they acquired from the Odell Beckham Jr. trade.

Heading into the 2020 campaign, it’s pretty much clear the New York Giants don’t employ a big-name pass rusher. Markus Golden is productive, but he’s not exactly a star. Thus, coming off a year in which the team finished with 36 sacks (22nd in the league), Big Blue will likely be moving forward with a “pass rush by committee” approach.

And part of this committee will be Oshane Ximines, the former Old Dominion standout who the Giants chose in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. The 23-year-old developmental edge rusher showed flashes of potential last year, but ahead of his sophomore campaign, Adam Rank of NFL.com believes he’ll take it up a notch.

Recently, Rank named Ximines as the Giants’ “2020 breakout star.”

“[The Giants] drafted an offensive tackle with their top pick and paid a highly affordable price in free agency for Kyler Fackrell, a former Packer who will be reunited with new defensive coordinator [and former Green Bay linebackers coach] Patrick Graham,” he wrote. “That leads me to believe the Giants saw enough from Ximines last season to trust him as one of their top pass rushers. Ximines posted 4.5 sacks despite playing less than half the defensive snaps as a rookie. He’s poised to make a huge jump in Year 2.”

Ximines tied for second on the team in sacks, but there were matchups in which he disappeared. In the Week 7 and 8 respective losses to Arizona and Detroit, he notched zero defensive statistics.

It’ll be tough for Oshane to win a starting job among this pass-rushing unit though, as Golden and Lorenzo Carter will likely be the two favorites. Within the group will additionally be the newly acquired Fackrell and rookie Carter Coughlin, who the Giants selected in the seventh round of April’s draft.

Ryan Honey is a staff writer and host of the Wide Right Podcast.