If the New York Giants are to have any chance at making a shocking playoff run in 2025, it'll be because the defense lives up to the lofty preseason expectations. More specifically, the front seven.
It's a group that has a chance to be truly elite this season, and Pro Football Focus agrees.
In a recent ranking of every defensive line entering the 2025 season, the Giants checked in at No. 3.
"Arguably no team has done more in the NFL to strengthen its defensive line and pass rush over the past couple of seasons than the Giants," PFF's Zoltan Buday wrote. "They drafted Kayvon Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter with top-five picks in 2022 and 2025, respectively, and also traded for former first-rounder Brian Burns.
"The team's edge defender trio is complemented by perhaps the best nose tackle in the league, Dexter Lawrence. Although Lawrence’s 2024 season was cut short due to an injury, his 89.9 PFF overall grade still ranked third among interior defenders."
READ: Jaxson Dart already showing signs he could challenge Giants’ QB plan
Only the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles ranked higher.
While much has been made about the Giants' signing Russell Wilson and drafting Jaxson Dart in the first round of the 2025 draft, the heartbeat of this team is Lawrence and that trio of pass rushers that can etch their names in Giants lore this fall.
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