NY Giants ILB Micah McFadden Getting Back to Basics

New York Giants inside linebacker Micah McFadden might not necessarily be a household name among Big Blue fans, but he’s quietly developed into a solid contributor on the team’s defense.

McFadden, who plays the game with a quiet hunger, is the Giants defense’s reigning leader in both total tackles (107) and solo tackles (60), the total tackles representing his second straight season with 100+ tackles.

He also boosted his number of STOPS, which is defined as a failure for the offense (zero to negative yardage), to a career-high 41 in 2024. He finished tied for second on the team with defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence and outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux in tackles for loss (8).

A big reason for McFadden’s quiet success has been the change in defensive systems. While he thrived in former Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s system, which’s where he became a starter, current defensive coordinator Shane Bowen’s system has brought a sense of familiarity to McFadden.

“Yeah, I think the system is similar to what I've done earlier in my career as far as college,” he told New York Giants On SI after the team’s second training camp practice. 

“But you know, I think overall it's just the experience that I got. I was lucky enough to get reps as a rookie in the league. Just trying to build off that and find ways to improve and get better.”

McFadden has made his living beating blockers to the punch, aggressively attacks gaps, and always being around the ball. 

Although his role slightly changed last year when fellow inside linebacker Bobby Okereke went down with a season-ending back issue, McFadden still thrived in more of the contain role he was asked to play. 

One of the things McFadden has quietly done well, dating back to his college years at Indiana, has been blitzing. In three NFL seasons, he’s blitzed 106 times and has generated 19 pressures, six of which have been sacks.

Although he had his blitz opportunities cut back last year, going from a career high 53 in 2023 under Martindale to just 24 under Bowen, so far it looks as though Bowen might be planning to tap a little bit more into that skillset from his fourth-year linebacker.  

“Possibly,” McFadden said with a sly smile when asked if he might blitz a bit more this coming season. “I think this scheme has times where it can be aggressive, and you know, whenever I'm in that situation where I have that opportunity, that's something I can thrive in. 

“It’s something I did in college a lot of, and obviously in the scheme before this one, there was a lot of pressuring throughout our defense and just finding new ways to to do it and finding new ways to be better at how I can get to the quarterback or how I can get in the backfield and stop a run. Just trying to focus on those things and make those plays beyond the line of scrimmage.”

McFadden, who is in the final year of his rookie deal, admits to still having a lot more to show ahead of his next contract. One specific area where he’s had his hiccups has been in missed tackles, a stat in which he’s led the Giants defense the last two seasons.

While last year saw him cut back on that stat–he went from 25 missed tackles in 2023 to 16 in 2024–McFadden, who said that not every missed tackle is the same, admitted that cleaning up that stat has been a big part of his offseason focus.

Similarly, his work in coverage has also been notable, particularly when he is asked to play zone coverage. 

Last year, McFadden fared the worst among the Giants inside linebackers (Okereke and Darius Muasau) in zone coverage, allowing an 84% catch conversion rate, while also registering six of his missed tackles and making just four stops when asked to play that coverage scheme.

But even there, McFadden believes that having gotten his feet wet in Bowen’s zone-heavy coverage scheme last year will lend itself to an improved showing this year.

“It's very detailed, so, you know, on every play you should know exactly where you gotta be, what you gotta do,” he said of the scheme. 

“I think communication helps now that me and Bobby are going into year two in the system. We've got some new players in the defense, but the guys who have been here have a lot of familiarity with what we're doing and can communicate more confidently as coverage," he said.

"I just have to be more focused on my job. Not trying to make a play, but just doing my job and just being more detailed. This game is technique and fundamentals at the very base of it, and I gotta just keep building on those things.”

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