The New York Giants Have Pieces to Survive Without Jason Pierre-Paul

When a decorated pass-rusher injures his hands in a fireworks incident during the offseason, it is normally be the lasting memory for the NFL that year. This year has been nothing close to normal, though.

Jason Pierre-Paul's injury has been overshadowed by many other storylines this offseason, but as we approach the beginning of the regular season, the ongoing story around the New York Giants  is whether or not the Giants can replace the absent pass-rusher. Hint: They can.

In 16 starts last season, Pierre-Paul accounted for 77 tackles and 12.5 sacks coming off the edge.

The Giants as a whole had 47 sacks, enough to rank fourth in the league in 2014. Pierre-Paul's individual total ranked him eighth in the league. It's clear the Giants won't be able to bring in just one player, line him up in Pierre-Paul's position and replace his production. They will need to replace him as a team.

Losing your top pass-rusher would hurt any team, but the Giants will be able to survive Pierre-Paul's absence because of the available pieces the defense has around him. Those available pieces aren't just on the defensive line either.

A key to replacing Pierre-Paul's ability as a pass-rusher will be to improve the coverage on the back end.

If Prince Amukamara and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie stay healthy, the Giants could have one of the best cornerback pairings in the league. It's the safety spot where there are reasons to be concerned. Landon Collins will start at one spot, but it's unclear who will complement him. New Jersey Advanced Media's Jordan Raanan noted the position's uncertainty:

With their cornerback pairing and Collins' versatile skill set, the Giants only need one of Cooper Taylor, Nat Berhe and Mykkele Thompson to be competent. If each individual plays close to his potential, the Giants will be able to consider their secondary a strength.

If Jon Beason stays healthy at middle linebacker, their pass coverage will take a significant jump forward.

Considering Beason's injury history and the rest of the linebacking corps, the Giants can't be coverage-reliant. They will need to create pressure upfront with just four pass-rushers, and doing that without Pierre-Paul will be difficult, but not impossible.

There is a plethora of defensive linemen vying to assume Pierre-Paul's production this season. Robert Ayers should play more than anyone, as he was the expected starter across from Pierre-Paul before the veteran was sidelined.

Ayers is 29 and his career has stuttered to this point. He has never established himself as a quality full-time starter, but he has shown flashes of his pass-rushing ability since joining the Giants last season.

The major concern with Ayers isn't his ability to play a more expansive role, but rather his health. He finished last season on injured reserve (IR) because of a torn pectoral muscle. Obviously his strength is important for his success, but especially so because Ayers is a rounded pass-rusher rather than a speed rusher.

That's not to say he doesn't have an impressive burst, but it's not exceptional.

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For this sack of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck last season, Ayers actually lined up as a defensive tackle rather than a defensive end. Even though he was the left defensive tackle within the defense's alignment, he didn't line up over the right guard.

Instead, he stretched wide and faced up the right tackle. This was important for how the play would develop.

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When the ball was snapped, Ayers was quick out of his stance. He advanced downfield, but quickly stopped to hesitate and square up to the right guard. While holding his outside position, he used his hands to battle the blocker in tight.

As a defensive end, you typically don't want to be in this position against a guard, because guards are expected to be bigger and stronger. You want to face them in space where you can use your added athleticism to expose them.

For Ayers, it didn't matter. He had the strength to pull the right guard past his inside shoulder while he exploded past him into the pocket.

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Because of his initial alignment and how he beat the right guard, the center attempting to recover couldn't prevent Ayers from getting to the quarterback. His speed closing on Andrew Luck in the pocket was very impressive.

Surpassing Ayers on the depth chart, there is much less clarity. The pecking order of defensive ends is murky, while Cullen Jenkins' potential as a defensive tackle moving outside also needs to be figured out.

Jenkins played defensive end a lot out of necessity last season, but it's not something that should continue. During his prime, he was a great interior pass-rusher, but at 34 years old, it's unfair to expect him to be effective working outside.

That pushes George Selvie, Damontre Moore, Kerry Wynn and Owamagbe Odighizuwa to the forefront.

Wynn is the least recognizable name on that list. He was an undrafted rookie last season. After beating the odds to make the Giants regular-season roster, Wynn was inactive for the season's first 11 games. Injuries forced the Giants to turn to him over the final five.

Despite that limited sample size, Wynn showed promise as a pass-rusher. He had 1.5 sacks, although both were cleanup opportunities after teammates had flushed the quarterback from the pocket.

The 24-year-old is 6'5" and 266 pounds. He is more reliant on his strength than his speed to be effective, but he shows comfort in space. The Giants think enough of Wynn to  have given him opportunities with the first-team defense during training camp, according to the Record's Art Stapleton.

While Wynn is an unknown as a full-time starter, Selvie comes with a resume.

The Giants signed Selvie in free agency from their division rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. Having gone from team to team over the first four years of his career, Selvie eventually settled in Dallas for two seasons. He started 29 of 32 regular-season games, notching 10 sacks over that period.

He isn't much of a pass-rusher, so he won't act as a direct replacement for Pierre-Paul, but he still poses some value as an early-down player. If the Giants can't get consistent play from their better pass-rushing ends, Selvie can act as a role player on early downs before giving way for teammates in passing situations.

At this point, Damontre Moore should be the favorite to act as that pass-rusher.

Moore is entering his third NFL season. He had 5.5 sacks without starting a game for the Giants last season. The Giants have invested time in developing Moore, who is only 22, before he was pushed into a prominent role.

The franchise will be hoping to reap the rewards of that investment this season, just in time to replace Pierre-Paul. General manager Jerry Reese said (via Giants Daily), "We expect him to make a big jump and play a lot more." Moore himself said, per Chris Pflum of SB Nation, that he is "bigger, faster and stronger" while being more comfortable.

If that is the case, his potential as a pass-rusher will be huge.

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Highlighted by his sack against the Dallas Cowboys when he forced his way through right tackle Doug Free, Moore is a bulldozer. He doesn't always play with great control, but his physical power is such that he doesn't always need to be the best mover.

The main obstacle facing Moore as a pass-rusher is his consistency controlling his balance. He is a Giants value piece because of Selvie's ability to cover him if he doesn't prove to be a more resilient run defender.

While Moore is trying to break out as a third-year player, Odighizuwa is trying to prove his doubters wrong as a rookie.

To be fair, Moore didn't have many doubters. He was widely considered a first-round-level talent in this year's draft, but fell down the draft board because of his durability concerns. If Odighizuwa didn't have severe hip issues, he could easily have been a top-10 pick.

Instead, he fell to the third round and became great value for the Giants.

Although his hip injuries have limited his ability to bend the edge, Odighizuwa is a phenomenal athlete. He possesses violent and powerful hands, reminiscent of James Harrison's during his prime. There's no question Odighizuwa has the talent to start as a rookie, but he needs to prove himself.

Not only does he need to earn his spot like any typical rookie, but he also has to make up for lost time as he dealt with minor injury issues during offseason workouts. Training camp is ongoing, but Odighizuwa is already standing out. Stapleton selected Odighizuwa as one of his "three stars" on Day 6 of training camp:

Those three stars aren't just from a reporter watching from the sideline. Head coach Tom Coughlin, a man who typically isn't easy to earn praise from, chose them. It's inevitable that Odighizuwa's hip injuries impact his career, but the Giants are surely hoping it merely shortens it, rather than hindering it completely.

If they have no early impact on Odighizuwa's play, then the rookie should be the favorite to fill in for Pierre-Paul before he returns. His talent level is simply too far above his teammates to keep him sidelined.

Even against the bigger, stronger, more athletic offensive linemen at the professional level, Odighizuwa will be able to set the edge against the run. His hand placement and body positioning in concentrating his strength are incredible.

On this play, he shuts down the run by forcing his blocker backward before shedding the block to make the tackle behind the line of scrimmage.

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As a pass-rusher, Odighizuwa will likely be reliant on his bull rush early in his career. His hand placement is refined enough that he should immediately be able to force his way through left tackles. This play against Stanford was one of his most impressive last season.

He couldn't get the sack because of the quick throw from the quarterback, but he put left tackle Andrus Peat on his heels. Peat, a first-round draft pick, is arguably the best left tackle in his draft class.

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It's never a positive when you lose one of your best players. It's especially difficult when your team as a whole isn't established as one of the league's very best. Yet, for the Giants, it's not irrational for them to see the positive side of losing Pierre-Paul.

Of their top players, Pierre-Paul is probably the most easily replaced. The Giants don't have a quarterback who can take over for Eli Manning, and Odell Beckham Jr. is unique. Losing a cornerback or Landon Collins would force them to turn to a less talented replacement than who they will turn to on the defensive line.

Having the ability to offer more snaps to the younger players could also create greater depth and versatility when Pierre-Paul inevitably returns.

The Giants have been at their best during the Tom Coughlin era when they've had a deep rotation on the defensive line. On paper, the defensive line may not yet be deep, but the potential for it to be is clearly evident.