New York Giants: Jason Pierre-Paul Ranked as Top 25 Free Agent
By Nick Ziegler
New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is the most important free agent for them this season. However, where does he rank among other free agents?
It was a great comeback season in 2016 for New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. After coming back from his fireworks injury in 2015, it was hard to expect what type of player Pierre-Paul would be in 2016.
The Giants gave Pierre-Paul a one-year deal after 2015, and 2016 was really his year to prove what he can do. In 12 games, Pierre-Paul totaled seven sacks, three forced fumbles, and one touchdown. During the middle of the season, Pierre-Paul was really coming on. However, he was injured against the Pittsburgh Steelers, which ended up being his final game of the season.
Alongside Olivier Vernon, Pierre-Paul was key to the Giants’ pass-rush in 2016. Due to his success, he is going to be one of the top free agents this offseason.
Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus recently ranked the Top 25 NFL free agents. Pierre-Paul came in ranked 7th. Here is what Monson had to say about Pierre-Paul.
"Jason Pierre-Paul went down injured 32 snaps into his Week 13 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but despite that, still ended the season with more snaps on the edge than all but 18 other players. JPP played over 90 percent of possible snaps over the season and posted 54 total QB pressures across 12 and a half games. He is still just 28 years old and could be an impact pass-rusher for somebody."
Even though Pierre-Paul has been an excellent player in his career, he has struggled to stay on the field. Any team giving him a long-term deal would certainly worry that he will have injury issues.
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However, he has proven to be one of the best pass-rushers in the league when he is healthy. The Giants would certainly like to keep him, however, other teams might open up their wallets to sign him away from Big Blue.