New York Giants 2024 Training Camp Preview: Defensive Line

The New York Giants defensive line started as a strength of the defense in 2023 in that it featured two elite-level guys on the interior (Dexter Lawrence II and Leonard Williams) along with veterans, youth, and skilled diversity (Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Jihad Ward, A’Shawn Robinson, Jordan Riley, and D.J. Davidson)) backing them up. 

During the season, the unit dealt with injuries, and the front office decided to trade Williams to Seattle. Once that happened, the run defense suffered, and the interior pressure decreased. 

This offseason, they said goodbye to Robinson and Ward and signed former Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips. While they did not add a defensive lineman in the draft, they signed SMU lineman Elijah Chatman and Oregon defensive tackle Casey Rogers after the draft. 

The team also welcomes in new defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, who envisions a defense built on a dynamic front line. 

Ryder Anderson: He showed promise in 2022. He made two starts and collected two sacks. 2023 never materialized for him as he was one of the many calamities of last year. He hopes to pick up where he left off in 2022.

Elijah Chatman: At 5-11 and under 300 pounds, there is nothing prototypical about Chatman’s frame as a defensive lineman. He is explosive, and NFL history is peppered with short, explosive defensive linemen being a problem for offensive linemen. 

D.J. Davidson: Davidson seemed to bounce back well from his 2022 ACL tear that ended his season. He is a solid run defender and a big, strong guy who can anchor at the point of attack. 

Timmy Horne: Horne came over from Atlanta and had what looked like a promising start to his career. He played in 17 games and started five in 2022. However, in 2023, he fell out of favor in Atlanta and ended up on the Giants roster. He’s a run-sufferer and hole-plugger. 

Dexter Lawrence II: Lawrence is one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL, but his sack total dipped in 2023 from his 2022 numbers. This Shae Bowen defense should fit him perfectly as an A-gap penetrator. Look for his numbers to increase in all categories this season.

Rakeem Nunez-Roches: Nunez-Roches joined the Giants in 2023 from the Buccaneers as a high-energy, high-motor guy. He was efficient and productive with the snaps he was given. He was decent at the point of attack. 

Jordan Phillips: Phillips was signed this offseason from the Buffalo Bills. Over the past couple of years, Phillips has been a solid interior defensive lineman on a team with many penetrators. He can be the perfect complement to Dexter Lawrence. 

Jordon Riley: Riley is coming into his second season with the Giants. Although it was a small sample size, Riley flashed signs that he could be a quality backup to Lawrence. 

Casey Rogers: Rogers was signed as an undrafted free agent after spending six years in college. He has a frame for a 3-tech as a single-gap penetrator. His motor will likely determine whether he can be a regular contributor.

Which young defensive lineman will be more active on the defensive line?

The Giants have a ton of young talent on the defensive line, but they could be more proven. Seven of the nine defensive linemen reporting to training camp are 26 years old or younger, and only Dexter Lawrence is a fully realized talent. 

They have all shown flashes of promise, but nobody has been able to get that talent to emerge consistently. If he’s healthy, Jordan Riley has a great chance to see his snaps increase. He has flashed high-level run-stopping ability. 

Ryder Anderson showed potential as a one-gap penetrator in a small sample size in 2022, but in 2023, he essentially took a redshirt year as he did not appear in one game for New York. Can he truly provide value, or was it fools’ gold? 

Many believe that size kept Chatham from being drafted. At SMU, he was an All-Conference performer. He has flashed elite-level explosiveness as a one-gap penetrator who could be pesky for offensive guards to handle. 

Rakeem Nunez-Roches vs The Youth Movement 

This is an intriguing battle. Don’t expect to see three down-linemen on the field very often this season if the plan is to play Isaiah Simmons as the nickel. This defense will likely play most of their snaps in nickel, meaning there is only one spot open on that front four alongside Dexter Lawrence, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Brian Burns. 

Phillips feels like a natural fit for the position. He is your prototypical one-gap penetrator who is big enough to demand double teams in the run game but explosive enough to get after the quarterback. This means that the other seven players on the roster are fighting it out for backup snaps. 

At 31, Nunez-Roches is the veteran of the bunch and is entering his tenth season in the league. He was touted as a high-motor interior guy and definitely served that purpose in a backup role. 

However, the front office and coaching staff must ask themselves if he brings enough to the table in a defense predicated on the front four disrupting the backfield. 

On the other hand, he has more experience than Davidson, Riley, Anderson, Timy Horne, and the two rookies combined! They bring a combination of youthful vibrancy and a wealth of untapped potential. 

The coaching staff may wonder whether they feel comfortable going with the known commodity in Nunez-Roches or whether they want to gamble that two of the several other options can make a difference in this defense. 

The unknowns lower the grade on this unit. We know what to expect from Lawrence, Phillips, and even Nunez-Roches, but what will the other six look like? 

How will they perform when the lights turn on? Can they do enough to stand alone, or must they be inserted singularly to succeed next to another established player? 

Lawrence and Phillips just make sense. Phillips gives the Giants the closest thing to Leonard Williams they can get, and Lawrence gives them the best of both worlds. 

Anderson and Riley coming in as relief can provide quality depth and youthful exuberance to the defensive line. 

The one surprise might be Nunez-Roches. When you look at that interior line room, there are so many options that there is a clear path to him being cut if the young linemen step up quickly and show that they can perform at the level Nunez-Roches. If so, Nunez-Roches could be on the outside looking in.