Cover 3: Major storylines heading into the summer

Matt Citak: Since John and Dan discussed the offense, I’ll take the other side of the football. The Giants are entering Year 1 in defensive coordinator Shane Bowen’s system. During his three seasons holding the same position for the Tennessee Titans, Bowen’s defense ranked 30th in the league in blitz percentage. Over that same three-year stretch, the Giants had the NFL’s highest blitz percentage. Obviously, this is a drastic difference in philosophy and one that will require the team’s defensive front to succeed in getting after the quarterback without the help of additional blitzers. From what we saw during spring practices (albeit with no contact allowed), the unit looks up for the challenge.

It became clear at the start of free agency that the Giants wanted to make a significant addition to the pass rush. GM Joe Schoen’s big splash came in the form of a trade for outside linebacker Brian Burns. Throughout OTAs and minicamp, Burns was consistently getting into the backfield during team drills. The 26-year-old was constantly getting pressure on the quarterback and seemed to pick up at least one sack each day he was participating in 11-on-11s. Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux should combine to form a formidable duo, as the former is just two seasons removed from a career-high 12.5-sack campaign while the latter broke out for 11.5 sacks last year. Then when you add back-to-back Pro Bowl lineman Dexter Lawrence to the mix, it’s easy to see the high potential. The three players, all of whom are below the age of 27, combined for 148 quarterback pressures in 2023.

As we have seen with successful Giants teams of the past, a strong pass rush helps alleviate the pressure on the defense as a whole. If the front four, led by Burns, Thibodeaux and Lawrence, can succeed in pressuring the quarterback without needing help from additional blitzers, then the path towards the defense becoming a strength of the 2024 Giants becomes pretty clear.

“The guys that have success in this league usually are the ones that work the hardest, that want to take every single ounce of coaching that you give them, right, and they go and they apply it,” Bowen told the media last week about the team’s defensive leaders. “And there is a reason they get to the level they’re at because of that. And having those as your leaders, guys that aren’t afraid to be vocal also where it’s not just show by example. That’s a tremendous asset to me and a tremendous asset to our coaching staff, and ultimately to the younger guys we’re trying to get ready to go.”