New York Giants 2017 Roster Preview: Defensive Linemen

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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – OCTOBER 11: Owamagbe Odighizuwa (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) /

Owa Odighizuwa, Stansly Maponga, Jordan Williams, and Evan Schwan

I think the biggest name that will be cut by the New York Giants this year is Owa Odighizuwa.

Owa came to New York with plenty of hype after being drafted in the third round in 2015. Unfortunately, Odighizuwa has been a no-show since.

NFL.com’s Draft Profile on Odighizuwa in 2015 called him an “Absolute Greek God with the pads off.” With the pads on, however, Owa has disappeared.

Through two seasons, the UCLA product has appeared in 18 games with zero starts and just six total tackles. Six tackles in 18 games!

Odighizuwa also hinted at retirement this offseason before showing up to voluntary offseason workouts.

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After Romeo Okwara’s promising rookie year and the additions of Avery Moss and Devin Taylor, there just isn’t room for Owa Odighizuwa. Perhaps he could be used as a pass rushing defensive tackle, but he seems too light for that.

Stansly Maponga has spent the last two years with the New York Giants after two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. Maponga’s stats are even less impressive than Odighizuwa’s, with eight total tackles in 26 career games.

Maponga spent 2016 on the Giants practice squad and that would appear to be the best case scenario for him again this year.

Jordan Williams has played just one game in his NFL career and it came in 2015 as a member of the Miami Dolphins. He spent most of 2016 on the Giants practice squad. Williams did have a good 2017 preseason opener with three tackles and a sack against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

We’ve mentioned Big Blue’s depth at defensive end. It’s keeping Owa Odighizuwa off the roster and will assuredly do the same for Jordan Williams. Another season on the practice squad could be in Williams’ future.

Evan Schwan is an undrafted free agent out of Penn State. He has the size (6’6″ 263 lb.) that the Giants look for in their defensive ends but doesn’t have a great pass rushing track record. Schwan didn’t record a sack until his senior season but he did pick up 5.5 of them in 11 games.

Schwan is another player buried in a talented defensive end depth chart. A solid preseason could land him a spot on the Giants practice squad.

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