New York Giants: Top five free agent pass rusher targets
By Ed Stein
The New York Giants had a hard time getting to the opposing quarterback in 2019. There are a few good prospects in the draft, but their best bet for an upgrade is through free agency.
It was a bad combination. In 2019, not only did the New York Giants defense do a poor job covering receivers, they couldn’t get pressure on the quarterback either. They had a total of 36 sacks which placed the G-Men 22nd in the NFL. Their failure to get to the quarterback was a huge factor in why they only had 16 takeaways. Opponents were rarely forced into making mistakes.
Big Blue was led by Markus Golden‘s 10 sacks, the second-best single-season total of his career. Lorenzo Carter and rookie Oshane Ximines tied for second place with 4.5. The three leaders tallied just over half the team’s sacks, no one else on the team had more than 3.5. To add insult to injury Golden is an unrestricted free agent.
There are a few good edge rushers in the draft. Of course Chase Young from Ohio State is the big prize in that area but he should be gone by the time Big Blue is on the clock with the fourth overall pick. The next best pass rusher AJ Epenesa from Iowa isn’t worthy of such a high pick. That leaves the free-agent market for New York Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman to upgrade the team’s pass rush.
Some of the top pass rushers in the league will be available when their contracts expire this spring. Of course, they will be paid at a premium, but the G-Men have an estimated $58-$61M available according to Sportrac, which is approximately 30 percent of the projected cap. Here are the top five pass rushers the G-Men should consider signing when free agency opens.