ESPN Delivers Bold Statistical Prediction for NY Giants Pass Rush

“Word out of Giants camp is Abdul Carter is everything the team believed him to be when it made him the third pick in this year's draft,” Graziano said.

“Adding Carter to a defensive front that already features Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence II, and Kayvon Thibodeaux should give the Giants one of the more fearsome and tireless pass rushes in the entire NFL.

“There are a ton of questions on the offensive side of the ball, even beyond the one about when Russell Wilson will have to pass the starting QB job over to rookie Jaxson Dart.

“But the defense up front should be the team's strength, and it could be enough to propel the Giants to a few surprise wins against their tough-looking schedule -- especially if they can generate turnovers and give the offense some short fields. New York tied for eighth in sacks last season with 45.”

The analysis is correct that the Giants' defense was on a tear in the first several weeks of the 2024 season, particularly in terms of sacks, accumulating 36 in the first nine games and multiple games with at least four sacks of the opposing quarterback. 

The one contest that stood out from the pack and shows just how clutch an elite pass rush can be for their chances to compete with the rest of the league came in Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns. 

The Giants racked up a single-season high of eight sacks on Deshaun Watson and held them down to help the offense sneak away with a 21-15 road victory. 

It would take a bunch of injuries to put a stop to the quick onslaught off the edge, and the Giants’ unit would drop to the bottom half of the league with only nine sacks in the final stretch of their schedule, and often be less involved in their matchups.

They also struggled to create turnovers, holding just five all season, which was the fewest in the NFL. That won’t be enough to scratch the surface of contention this time around with the slate of elite offensive teams on their new schedule that starts next Sunday. 

All of that feels different with the current group set to take the stage and reignite the hunt for sacks in the backfield. 

The Giants might be boasting the same main pieces, but it’s the addition of Carter that will make it much harder for teams to focus on slowing down all the defenders at once. 

So more likely than not, one of the four aforementioned pass rushers will get to the ball nearly every play if the combination of power, speed, and finesse that they have blends quickly. 

We saw a nice glimpse of that from what they already showed in the Giants’ three preseason affairs with three sacks and 31 pressures, especially against the Jets when they got into Justin Fields’s face from the start and forced him into making hasty throws and second-guessing his route reads. 

Expect a lot more of that if the Giants' pass rush lives up to its preseason billing.

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