Big Blue View
The New York Giants have struggled to defend the run for years now. Before Shane Bowen was fired as defensive coordinator late in the season, the 2025 Giants were the worst run-defending team in the NFL.
The need for solid run defense is a core belief for new head coach John Harbaugh.
“It’s a must thing. I can tell you that,” Harbaugh said at the NFL Combine. “There’s a lot to it. There’s three levels and layers to your defense. And all three layers and levels have got to be committed to and incorporated in stopping the run, no doubt.
I mean, every single one of the 11 guys has got to be committed to stopping the run. You can’t let people run all over you. There’s no doubt about it. It’s been important. It’s been important. It’s been important in football since football started.“
The Giants will try to do so with a completely rebuilt defensive line. Dexter Lawrence was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals. Rakeem Nunez-Roches and D.J. Davidson were not re-signed. Elijah Chatman was waived. Roy Robertson-Harris tore an Achilles tendon this spring.
Second-year player Darius Alexander and veteran Chauncey Golston are the only players left from 2025 who might be part of the defensive line group. Did the Giants do enough to supplement the line? We will begin to find out in training camp.
Below is a look at the new Giants competing to earn spots along the defensive line.
How acquired: Signed as a free agent (April 29)
Experience: 6
Age: 28
Draft status: Fourth-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2020
Teams played for: Cardinals, New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders, Houston Texans
Fotu played four seasons for the Cardinals. He spent the last two years bouncing from the Jets to the Raiders to the Texans. Fotu, 6-foot-5, 317 pounds, has played in 66 regular-season games, with 26 starts.
Fotu has never played more than 45% of his team’s defensive snaps. In 2024, he played just 46 defensive snaps for the Jets. Last season, he played 193 snaps for the Raiders and Texans.
When he signed with the Texans late last season, this is what Fotu told reporter Aaron Wilson:
“With my game, with my size and my abilities, I think it speaks for itself. I try to provide that anchor in the run game, obviously, and also contribute my part in the passing game when those moments come. Just doing everything that I can to the best of my abilities.”
In body type, Fotu might be the closest thing the Giants have to a replacement for the 6-5, 300-pound Roy Robertson-Harris, who tore an Achilles tendon this spring.
In his six seasons, Fotu has never posted a Pro Football Focus grade better than 46.1. In only two of those seasons has Fotu’s run defense grade even gotten into the 40s. That’s not good.
** Graphic via The Daily Norseman
Fotu has generally had grades in the low 70s using the...
