Giants defense could have philosophical changes thanks to new DC Graham
The Giants will be going through a facelift this season as new head coach Joe Judge starts to fill out his coaching staff. Judge’s first big hire poached Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Patrick Graham for the same position with the Giants.
With the Graham hiring, the Giants appear to be making a philosophical shift in play style that differs from the personnel already on the roster. Just based on his time in Miami, it looks like changes are coming. Expect a sleeker, slightly more aggressive defense that will lean on hybrid defenders more than the Giants did under former DC James Bettcher.
The first thing that’s immediately apparent about Graham’s defense is the type of players rolled out on the field. Even in short yardage situations, the Dolphins relied on their nickel personnel and often walked safeties down into the box. They mitigated their size disadvantage a bit by playing single high coverages on roughly three quarters of their defensive snaps. The Giants played about two thirds of their snaps with one high safety in 2019.
Playing with a defense that prioritizes single high coverages (think Cover 1 and Cover 3 here) means there’s almost always going to be a safety in the box and near the line of scrimmage. The Giants have two players in Jabrill Peppers and Julian Love that can slide into that role and play at a high level.
On the flip side, playing more coverages with a single safety playing deep means the Giants are going to be expecting more out of their corners than they did last season. Deandre Baker, Sam Beal, and Corey Ballentine are going to be playing with
less safety help overtop than they did a season ago.
Deandre Baker and the rest of the Giants could be playing a different style of defense next season under the new defensive coordinator.
Deandre Baker and the rest of the Giants could be playing a different style of defense next season under the new defensive coordinator. (Steven Ryan/Getty)
All three of those players are going to be entering just their second season of significant playing time. Even though they’ve all had flashes of high end play, it’s smart to keep expectations in check as they switch to a system that will ask more of them in man coverage than they’re used to playing.
The biggest area of transition that the Giants defense has to make is with their defensive line and linebackers. Graham was pretty flexible with having his edge defenders either stand up on the edge or having their hand on the dirt, so it won’t be a real change for players like Oshane Ximines and Lorenzo Carter.
Figuring out how Dexter Lawrence, B.J. Hill, Dalvin Tomlinson, and potentially Leonard Williams all fit with the defense is a difficult task. The Dolphins only had three defensive tackles log
over 40% of the snaps. Lawrence, Hill, and Tomlinson were all over 40% last season and Williams played at least 52% of the snaps in each of his games with the Giants.
Graham utilized players that were closer to outside linebacker hybrids like Vince Beigel than he did heavy defensive linemen. Williams’ contract status is up in the air right now, but if the Giants do retain him, it will create a logjam of defensive tackles for Graham’s defense.
Barring a miracle, Graham won’t be able to fix the Giants defense in one offseason. What the Giants can do is add players that help them get closer to the positionless front seven that Graham was accustomed to in Miami.
That could mean going out and signing renaissance linebacker Kyle Van Noy in free agency. Van Noy would have familiarity with the system and can play inside linebacker, outside linebacker, and rush off the edge. Maybe it means taking a swing in the draft and selecting Isaiah Simmons with the fourth pick in the draft. Simmons played every spot in Clemson’s defense (except defensive tackle) and performed well wherever he was put.
How the Giants choose to upgrade their defense this offseason will show a lot about Graham’s preferred style.