New York Giants: Post-draft linebackers breakdown

The Giants followed their past path of success, drafting a big pass rusher from a small school.

Picking up a dominant pass rusher from a small school has worked out pretty well in the past for the Giants. Oshane Ximines finished his final season with Old Dominion with 11.5 sacks and was amongst the best in forcing fumbles throughout his college career. Ximines ranked in the top 10 nationally in that category in 2018, forcing four fumbles, while also finishing among the top players in the country with 18.5 tackles for loss. The first-team all-conference linebacker started in each of the team’s 12 games as a senior. The Giants are hoping they found lightning in a bottle with Ximines.

Ximines is eager to learn from the veterans already on the roster.

"“Everybody’s thirsty for knowledge,” Ximines said. “Everyone wants to learn. Whenever we have the chance to learn something, we all tune in. We all buckle down and try to learn as much as possible from someone like Markus Golden, who had that 12 sack season a couple years ago, trying to get as much information from him and working on our craft every day to take our game to that next level."

A lesser-known draft pick, Ryan Connelly, has already caught the attention of coaches. The former walk-on player stood out so much at rookie minicamp, and there is a chance he may start at inside linebacker at some point this season.  A walk on from Wisconsin currently in the league has shown anything is possible.

Connelly played in 52 games starting 26 at middle linebacker, recording 251 tackles, 6.0 sacks, with two forced fumbles and two interceptions. He was also a Butkus Award semifinalist and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.