The New York Giants have been overhauling their interior defensive line all offseason, and it didn’t end with D.J. Reader.
The Athletic’s Dan Duggan reported on Tuesday that New York claimed defensive tackle Zacch Pickens off waivers from the Kansas City Chiefs, adding a former third-round pick to their depth.
Duggan noted that it’s the seventh defensive tackle the Giants have added to their ranks since Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft, continuing their remodeling of the position after trading away Dexter Lawrence.
What was once a major weakness for New York has quietly turned into a deep and experienced unit, and the competition this summer should be interesting to watch.
Zacch Pickens’ NFL Career So Far
The New York Giants could have something on their hands with the addition of Pickens, considering he was once considered talented enough to be made a third-round pick by the Chicago Bears.
As a rookie in 2023, Pickens appeared in all 17 games for Chicago, racking up 20 combined tackles and half a sack. He played 25% of his team’s defensive snaps.
In 2024, the former South Carolina standout only played in nine games, but started three. Pickens managed to record a full sack and 19 tackles for the Bears.
He was waived by Chicago as part of final roster cuts in August 2025, and latched on with the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad for the remainder of the season.
Pickens appeared in three games for Kansas City at the end of the year and made five tackles in the losing efforts.
He now joins a fairly crowded interior defensive line group in New York, and will have to fight if he wants to make the final 53-man roster.
Giants Deep Defensive Line Room
At the top of the New York Giants’ defensive line rotation will likely be the newest addition, Reader, who the team signed to a two-year, $12.5 million contract.
Behind him, it’ll likely be veterans Shelby Harris and Leki Fotu near the top of the rotation. The two have the most experience outside of New York’s in-house options, Darius Alexander and Roy Robertson-Harris.
2026 sixth-round pick Bobby Jamison-Travis, the recently added Pickens, and undrafted free agents Ben Barten and Anquin Barnes figure to compete for reps in training camp.
Overall, it’s really not all that bad of a group considering where it was in the aftermath of the Lawrence trade.
Reader isn’t the All-Pro that Lawrence was in New York, but he’s still a solid pass-rushing defensive tackle.
The former Detroit Lions nose tackle’s Pro Football Focus pass-rush grade of 72.6 ranked 21st out of 134 qualified defensive tackles in 2025, and in his age-31 season nonetheless.
Despite not recording a sack, Reader still had 17 hurries and three QB hits according to PFF.
Harris was another solid addition on the interior for New York. The 11-year veteran figures to play a key role in turning around the Giants’ horrendous run defense.
The 2014 seventh-round pick should play a key role in turning around Big Blue’s horrendous run defense. He graded out as PFF’s 28th-best run defender at age 34.
After giving up 145.3 rushing yards per game in 2025, the Giants needed to make changes to their defensive line, and the new additions should help in that department.
Giants Add Former Chiefs Defensive Tackle Immediately After Signing D.J. Reader