Giants Now: Bobby Okereke lands in top 10 of PFF’s top linebacker rankings

Bobby Okereke lands in top 10 of PFF’s top linebacker rankings

Bobby Okereke had a big impact on the Giants defense in his first season with the team last year.

Now the veteran linebacker is being praised for his 2023 performance.

Pro Football Focus recently ranked the top 32 linebackers in the NFL heading into the 2024 season, which saw Okereke land at No. 10.

“A career-high 78.9 PFF grade highlighted the best season of Okereke’s career, his first with the Giants,” wrote PFF’s Gordon McGuinness. “The 2019 third-round draft pick ranked ninth at the position with an 82.5 PFF coverage grade, and he was one of the surest tacklers in the league, missing just 7.7% of his attempts.”

The 27-year-old registered a team-high 149 total tackles, the third-most in Giants history and the ninth-most in the league last season, while setting new career-highs with four forced fumbles, 2.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, six quarterback hits and 10 passes defensed.

Perhaps more impressive than the stats in his breakout season was his ability to stay on the field. Okereke displayed tremendous durability by playing every single one of the team’s defensive snaps, making him and former Giants safety Xavier McKinney the only two defensive players in the league to to be on the field for every defensive snap last season.

As if all of his on-field production wasn’t enough, Okereke was also voted a team captain prior to the start of his first season with the Giants, indicative of his leadership within the locker room.

“You go through and you’re always evaluating yourself and so I think our free agent process was good,” general manager Joe Schoen said following the conclusion of the 2023 campaign. “We brought in guys that fit our culture, they were good guys, they helped elevate their rooms and Bobby O’s one of those guys.”

Okereke combined with Micah McFadden to create a formidable linebacker duo last season, as the latter set numerous career-highs himself in 2023. McFadden recorded 101 total tackles (63 solo), 12 tackles for loss, six quarterback hits, four fumble recoveries, five passes defensed and an interception, all of which topped his rookie season marks.