In: Arvell Reese, Tremaine Edmunds
Out: Bobby Okereke
Earlier, I highlighted an NFC East team with a slow-footed veteran linebacker in need of an athletic spark. I could copy-and-paste much of that analysis here and call it a day.
The Commanders shed Bobby Wagner in favor of Leo Chenal and Sonny Styles. The Giants, meanwhile, are moving on from Okereke, whom they released before the final year of his deal. Okereke, like Wagner, simply struggled to move last season. His average speed of 9.8 mph was 13th slowest among off-ball linebackers. He had better chops in coverage but had issues securing tackles. After Okereke’s running mate Micah McFadden went down with a Week 1 injury, a rotation of alternatives (Darius Muasau, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, Zaire Barnes) did little to elevate the group.
The Giants swapped Okereke for Edmunds, who himself was a cap casualty in Chicago. Edmunds was drafted a year before Okereke but is younger, bigger and faster — he just has a larger range of influence, even if he still has mental lapses on the field. Had Edmunds been the only change, the Giants’ linebackers room wouldn’t have sniffed this list.
But he’s not. New York also adds Reese with the fifth pick, and that is exciting. Reese was discussed as an edge rusher for much of the predraft process, but I’ve always liked him best as an off-ball linebacker. He’s a particularly cool fit beside Edmunds, as both have a blend of speed, length and size not often found at off-ball linebacker. The Giants’ linebackers room certainly wins the title of “first off the bus.”
Though Reese was considered a bit of a developmental edge rusher, he’s a ready-made NFL linebacker. He has quality technique for taking on blocks, and though he’ll always be more dangerous as a blitzer than as a dropper, he’s not lost in coverage, either. Reese and Edmunds should give the Giants an infusion of team speed and stopping power at the second level of the defense. And New York’s 2.5 yards allowed before contact per carry last season — the league’s worst figure — should recover back to league average.
