New York Giants: Full Position Breakdown and Depth-Chart Analysis at Linebacker
NFL.com writer Chris Wesseling recently penned an article in which he named the New York Giants’ linebackers as the NFL's worst group.
In his justification of the selection, Wesseling wrote:
"This year's unit is heavily reliant upon middle linebacker Jon Beason, who simply can't stay healthy for 16 games. J.T. Thomas, a former special teamer in Jacksonville and Chicago, is penciled in on the weak side. Strong-side linebacker Devon Kennard, a fifth-round pick last year, showed intriguing pass-rushing potential once he hit the starting lineup in November.
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While it’s true that the Giants haven’t had a solid linebacker unit in years—a case could be made for the 2009 unit which had Antonio Pierce in the middle and Michael Boley as one of the outside linebackers—to label the 2015 Giants linebackers as the NFL's worst based on past history is probably not the best way to go.
Or is it?
According to their position coach, Jim Herrmann, the current Giants linebacker unit is one of the most talented groups he’s coached during his seven-year tenure with the Giants.
“That is a true statement,” Herrmann told reporters. “Nothing against those other guys. I don’t want them to feel bad, [but] talent-wise, yes. They are versatile guys, and what is really nice is they are veteran guys. They have played NFL snaps. You have a lot of guys who have played a lot of snaps in football, in real games. That is good to have.”
Just how talented is this group?
Read on.
Jon Beason, 6'0", 232 lbs, Miami, 9th Season
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Once upon a time, middle linebacker Jon Beason was, as his nickname suggested, a “beast” on the field.
That was four seasons and three significant lower-body injuries ago, the injuries being to his Achilles, knee and, most recently, foot.
With each lower-body injury, Beason, once a terror in both run and pass support, has seen some of the speed that was a staple of his three Pro Bowl seasons slowly slip away.
With all that said, the injuries and the desire to leave the game as a world champion drives the 30-year-old leader to come back and do it all over again.
While some might argue that his best days are behind him, when he came over to the Giants in a trade with the Carolina Panthers in 2013, Beason actually made a notable difference.
The first thing he did was provide direction to a rudderless defense that couldn’t get out of its own way and which allowed 36.4 points per game.
Beason, still very much a force against the run—77 percent of his run-game tackles in 2013 came within five yards of the line of scrimmage—was a big factor in the Giants run defense finishing 13th that season, just as his absence last year was instrumental in the unit falling to 30th in the league.
With all that said, Beason is just 30 years old and does have that injury history that would make him a huge gamble if you’re looking for a guy to play 16 games this season.
The Giants are doing everything they can to lessen the risk of another injury because they need Beason’s football IQ and leadership to help launch the new Steve Spagnuolo defense in the right direction.
If they can get 16 games out of Beason, that alone will make the Giants linebacker unit much better than what Wesseling has projected.
Devon Kennard, 6'3", 251 lbs, USC, 2nd Season
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Devon Kennard, a fifth-round draft pick from last year, has looked like a steal so far.
Settling in at the strong-side linebacker spot, where last year former defensive coordinator Perry Fewell took advantage of Kennard’s experience in a 3-4 college defense to blitz off the edge, Kennard finished his rookie season with 43 tackles (35 solo) and 4.5 sacks.
In fact, the son of former offensive lineman Derek Kennard might just be one of the most talented linebackers the Giants currently have, and one whom Jim Herrmann said has improved dramatically.
“I think No. 1, he is more confident in himself as a player,” Herrmann said. “He knows now he can play in the league. That takes you a long way. Just refining his technique and his footwork and trying to get the best of both worlds.”
Kennard doesn’t come without his warts. Specifically, he has been nagged by little injuries that have caused him to temporarily shut things down, thereby costing him valuable reps.
Last year, he missed four games, including three early in the season because of a hamstring issue. This spring, he missed some team drills due to ankle and hamstring concerns.
While it’s too soon to label Kennard “injury-prone,” he is a player who, like Beason, the Giants need on the field for every down. If that can’t happen, this unit could be staring at some bumpy roads ahead.
J.T. Thomas, 6'1", 236 lbs, West Virginia, 5th Season
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The Giants decided to move on from Jacquian Williams, their weak-side starting linebacker from last year, and to replace him with a guy who played against them last season and who turned in a decent performance at that.
That guy is J.T. Thomas, who last year, as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, earned a 1.3 pass-rushing grade from Pro Football Focus, his best mark of last season, and who recorded a season-high 10 tackles against the Giants.
Thomas, an outside linebacker by trade, can also play the middle, as he did last year when the Jaguars met the Giants.
As a Giant, Thomas has shown instincts in his role as the weak-side linebacker and deciding sideline-to-sideline speed and range.
“He is very athletic. That is what I like about him,” said linebackers coach Jim Herrmann. “Special teams and athletically as a linebacker he can cover. He is tough. He is going to fill that role, both in base and in sub. We can do a lot of different things with him.”
Herrmann confirmed that Thomas is athletic enough to see some time as a middle linebacker in certain sub-packages. “It is a very fluid deal in sub defense, so he can play in or out.”
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Jameel McClain, 6'1", 245 lbs, Syracuse, 8th Season
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Although it looks like veteran Jameel McClain, originally signed by the Giants last year to be the team’s starting strong-side linebacker, doesn’t appear to be a part of the starting linebacker unit this year, he will still play a valuable role in the Giants defense.
McClain, who is coming off his first 100-plus tackle season—he posted 116 tackles in 16 games last season—is the next man up at middle linebacker should the Giants find themselves without starter Jon Beason.
To that end, the coaches had McClain working most at middle linebacker this spring, taking snaps with both the first and second teams.
Linebackers coach Jim Herrmann said that McClain’s versatility in being able to play all three positions is vital to the defense’s success.
“He is a tough guy, which is good, so you want him in there in the run game. He is athletic enough to play in subs,” he said.
McClain is also a leader, a vocal presence who last year during Beason’s absence introduced energy into a previously subdued huddle, and a durable type who last year fought through a late-season knee ailment.
Jonathan Casillas, 6'1", 227 lbs, Wisconsin, 7th Season
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Jonathan Casillas, the New Brunswick, New Jersey native, is the second of two free agents to make the jump from the New England Patriots to the Giants.
Casillas, primarily a special teams force, had a whirlwind year last year. After five games Tampa Bay traded him to the Patriots, who, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rappaport, gave up their 2015 fifth-round pick and a sixth-round pick (h/t Chris Wesseling of NFL.com).
Casillas is primarily a weak-side linebacker who also has shown nice sideline-to-sideline range and who is a fundamentally sound tackler.
His size and speed makes him an intriguing option as a pseudo “safety” in coverage should the Giants plan to roll out the three-safety look that worked so well for them over the years.
Casillas is quick off the snap and looks to be an interesting prospect as a blitzer, but his listed weight makes him the lightest of the Giants linebackers.
If the Giants do plan to blitz him, it will likely be behind a defensive lineman on a play designed to take up multiple blockers, as that way they can take advantage of Casillas’ speed and quickness while minimizing any concerns about his shortcomings.
Mark Herzlich, 6'4", 246 lbs, Boston College, 5th Season
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Without question, last season was Mark Herzlich’s best as a pro.
Finding his niche as an outside linebacker, the cancer survivor racked up career highs in tackles (52), sacks (1.0) and passes defensed (two).
Not surprisingly, his 11.4 run-defense grade from Pro Football Focus was the best of his career, and the third-best on the Giants, behind defensive linemen Johnathan Hankins (12.1) and Jason Pierre-Paul (11.9).
The problem with Herzlich, as has been the case since Day 1 of his career, is that he is not as effective in coverage because he simply doesn’t have the foot speed necessary to cover.
That could be a big reason why this spring he worked almost exclusively at outside linebacker, only taking a handful of snaps in the middle with the third-team defense which was without a middle linebacker.
The other thing to note about Herzlich is that he has an extremely high football IQ, which means he is always going to know what to do. However, knowing what to do and having the ability to carry it out are two different things, the latter of which has seen Herzlich been made to look foolish at times, particularly in coverage.
The last thing to note about Herzlich is his style of play. At times he recklessly throws his body around in piles and almost always, he ends up with some sort of ailment that further affects his play. Last year, for instance, he had some early-season issues with a shoulder problem.
While you can’t fault a guy for playing hard, he also has to know how to play smart, and Herzlich, who signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2011, is still trying to find his way in that regard.
The Other Prospects
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Cole Farrand, 6'2", 229 lbs, Maryland, Rookie
Cole Farrand is one of the premium undrafted rookie free agents signed this year, a player who received a $5,000 signing bonus, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ Advance Media.
Farrand, a three-year starter for the Terps at inside linebacker, earned All-Big Ten and ACC honors over the course of his career, while also excelling in the classroom.
According to a chart found on his website that compares Farrand’s stats to those of the top 10 inside linebackers in the 2015 draft class, Farrand placed third or higher in five of the nine listed statistical categories.
Victor Butler, 6'2", 245 lbs, Oregon State, 6th Season
Victor Butler, 27 years old, is a 2009 fourth-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys, with whom he spent the first four seasons of his career and for whom he showed some promise as a pass-rushing specialist.
As a member of the Cowboys, he played in 63 games with two starts. During his Cowboys tenure, he recorded 65 tackles, 11 sacks, five passes defended, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and 40 tackles on special teams.
In 2013, Butler, who had moved onto the New Orleans Saints, suffered a torn ACL, an injury that landed him on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.
After a short stint with Arizona Cardinals in 2014, he was claimed by the Indianapolis Colts, for whom he appeared in two games.
Butler, who signed a reserve/futures contract with the Giants in January, was handed a four-game suspension by the NFL for having violated the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.
Uani' Unga, 6'1", 233 lbs, BYU, 1st Season
Uani’ “Devin” Unga suffered a knee injury late in his college career, an occurrence that cost him a chance to be drafted in 2014.
He was added to the Giants’ practice squad in late December and then signed to a reserve/futures contract the following month. Unga has seen snaps this spring at middle linebacker and had at least one interception in the team drills.
Unga comes from an athletic family; according to his college bio, his cousin, Harvey Unga, played one season (2012) at running back for Chicago, and his uncle, Tim Manoa, was a running back for Cleveland (1987-1989) and Indianapolis (1991).
Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes, observations and information were obtained firsthand. Follow me on Twitter.
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