Big Blue View
New York Giants fans are rightly concerned about whether or not the team has enough quality on the interior of the defensive line. That’s why newly-released rankings from ESPN of the top 10 defensive tackles in the NFL have to be painful.
Two former Giants stars, Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence are on that list. Williams, in fact, was named No. 1 on a list compiled using input from NFL executive, coaches, and scouts. Lawrence, coming off a down season, still checked in at No. 7.
ESPN said this about Williams:
… he’s an absolute nightmare to block. Several offensive coaches did not hesitate to say Williams was the toughest player to guard last season.
“He was the most important player on that Super Bowl team,” an NFL coordinator said. “He’s the total package.”
Williams recorded 7.0 sacks and a 38.0% run stop win rate on his way to second-team All-Pro honors.
“You can line him up in front of the right tackle, the right guard, the center, the left guard, the left tackle — he can beat them all,” a veteran NFC defensive coach said. “He’s always had game-changing ability, and he’s putting it all together now. And those around him are making plays because of it too.”
About Lawrence:
Lawrence fell six spots, but the drop in his play isn’t that steep. The voting between the third and seventh spots was close. That said, Lawrence’s 0.5 sacks in 2025 were a career low, and he failed to make the Pro Bowl for the first time since 2021.
But no defensive tackle gets more attention from offensive lines. Lawrence faced a double-team 71.3% of the time in 2025, a league high for players with at least 300 pass-rush opportunities.
“I think he’ll be rejuvenated there,” an NFC scout said. “He wasn’t happy in New York. He’s got to keep his conditioning in check, but when he’s at his best, he’s next to impossible to block.”
I already made my feelings known in the video above, but I will reiterate them here. The Giants were right to trade both players.
In 2023, Williams was in the final year of a three-year, $63 million contract he got from then-GM Dave Gettleman after the Giants acquired Williams from the New York Jets at the 2021 NFL Trade Deadline.
He was a 29-year-old player who had always been good but rarely great. He also looked like a player who had begun to decline. After starting 114 straight games since being drafted in Round 1 by the Jets in 2015, he suffered, knee, elbow, and neck injuries in 2022 and missed five games. Those were the first missed games of his career.
In 2023, he had 1.5 sacks in eight games with New York. He was still good, but he was looked like his best days were behind him and was headed toward an offseason where he...
