Scheme switch impacted linebacker play for New York Giants

The New York Giants ended the 2023 season with a disappointing 6-11 record. However, one position group that was significantly upgraded was linebacker. Adding Bobby Okereke helped to stabilize one of the worst position groups from the playoff-winning 2022 season.

In 2024, the Giants went 3-14. Let’s see how in the inside linebackers performed with Shane Bowen taking over for Wink Martindale as defensive coordinator as we begin out post-season position reviews.

2024 in review

The roster

Bobby Okereke, Micah McFadden, Isaiah Simmons, Darius Muasau, Ty Summers, Dyontae Johnson, Matthew Adams, Carter Coughlin

The linebackers had much more on their plate in 2024 than they did under Martindale. In Martindale’s scheme, the linebackers frequently played behind a five-man front with Dexter Lawrence at nose-tackle and two other interior defensive linemen inside of the tackle box. Two edge rushers were on the outside, allowing the linebackers to maneuver cleanly to their run fits or to the football.

The Giants’ line had natural bubbles in 2024 with Bowen in charge, meaning offensive linemen received cleaner looks up to the linebackers. This reality made playing linebacker much more complex than in the previous season.

Partly as a result, Okereke took a step back from his 2023 season. In 2023, Okereke missed just 7.7% of his tackles, the lowest of his career. He played every defensive snap for the Giants, and recorded 149 tackles (92 solo, 11 for a loss), 2.5 sacks, 10 passes defended, two interceptions, and four forced fumbles. It was a career year for Okereke, with highs in TFLs, passes defended, forced fumbles, and interceptions.

Okereke’s 2024 season ended after Week 13 when he herniated a disc in his back, but his play wasn’t as impactful. He ended the season with 93 tackles, six for a loss, 35 STOPs, and 2.5 sacks. There were a few more mistakes on tape, and he missed 10.7% of his tackles.

The most impactful positive development in the linebacker group was certainly third-year player Micah McFadden, who built on his solid sophomore season and assumed the leadership role of the defense after Okereke’s injury. McFadden set a career-high in tackles (107), STOPs (41), with eight tackles for a loss, a forced fumble, and also added 11 pressures. He lowered his missed tackle rate from 20.7% to 13.7%, albeit he can still improve as a tackler.

Considering his absence in training camp, McFadden’s improvement during the 2024 season is even more encouraging. McFadden missed Week 1 and was limited through much of the offseason. He missed the final two games with a neck injury, opening snaps for sixth-round pick Darius Muasau and Dyontae Johnson.

Muasau played 435 defensive snaps through seven games started. He recorded 55 tackles and three for a loss with a Week 1 interception that was the Giants’ only interception until Week 14. He recorded 25 STOPs and had a 13.1% missed tackle rate. Johnson turned heads at training camp but suffered an ankle injury that held him to just 37 snaps in Week 18. He did have five STOPs in that game.

For the second consecutive season, Isaiah Simmons was underutilized due to the lackluster nature of the Giants team. Simmons isn’t a full-time linebacker but an excellent sub-package option with versatility. To consistently employ sub-packages, a defense must maintain a lead and force teams to throw in the second half — the Giants could rarely achieve this feat.

Simmons played 181 defensive and 149 special teams snaps in 2024 for the Giants. He played 31 snaps against Baltimore, which was by far the most snaps he earned in a game. He finished the season with 21 tackles, two passes defended, one forced fumble, and a QB hit, with only four pressures. Carter Coughlin spent most of training camp injured and played 10 special teams snaps in Week 1 before tearing a pectoral muscle, effectively ending his season.

Both Ty Summers and Matthew Adams were mostly special teams players. The latter was a core special teamer, while Summers played special teams the entire year before earning snaps after the Okereke injury. Adams played just two defensive snaps the entire season; Summers played 113.

2025 outlook

The Giants have several impending free agents at the linebacker position: Isaiah Simmons, Matthew Adams, and Ty Summers are all unrestricted free agents. Dyontae Johnson is an exclusive-rights-free agent who I expect to return, and Coughlin is an unrestricted free agent.

The combination of Okereke and McFadden is solid, regardless of the defensive coordinator. Still, Okereke is entering his age 30 season, and it’s the final year of his contract; it’s also the final year of McFadden’s rookie contract — time flies! Irrespective of the Giants’ long-term plans for McFadden, investing in the position group would be wise.

Here are the Giants’ run defense grades over the last three seasons (yardage):

2022: 28th (146.3)
2023: 29th (132.4)
2024: 27th (136.2)

The linebackers aren’t the only reason for the struggles — the 2024 Giants were devoid of defensive line talent beyond Dexter Lawrence. Still, the depth can be improved, and future talent must be identified for the position. Retaining Johnson and bringing in someone to challenge Muasau while bolstering the special teams unit should be a peripheral focus for Joe Schoen and the Giants. I’m open to retaining either Summers or Adams for special teams purposes. I also like Simmons, but want a better plan for his skill set.