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With zero playoff wins over the past decade, it shouldn’t come as much surprise that the New York Giants have more than a handful of areas for improvement across their roster. Fresh off their fifth-consecutive losing season, the G-Men finished ranked within both the bottom-10 in scoring offense and scoring defense. Offensively, the hope is that new head coach Brian Daboll can work his magic with quarterback Daniel Jones in a similar fashion as to how he helped develop Josh Allen in Buffalo.
Defensively, the team recently brought on Wink Martindale as the successor to Patrick Graham as coordinator. Boasting a reputation as one of football’s most aggressive defensive coaches, Martindale could certainly benefit from some added firepower off the edge if he truly wants to unleash his defensive scheme in its totality.
Aside from Azeez Ojulari, no Giants edge defender collected more than 5.0 sacks last season. And if Lorenzo Carter walks in free agency, that number suddenly dips to just 2.5. Of course, a blue-chip prospect such as Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux slipping to the Giants on draft day would be ideal. Still, there’s likely work to be done in free agency to address the lack of depth.
With that in mind, the question becomes how big will general manager Joe Schoen be willing to swing in order to boost the team’s pass rush? Well, how does a former Super Bowl MVP sound?
Giants a Sleeper Team to Land Von Miller?
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Matt Bowen recently came together to peg the best fits for the top-50 impending NFL free agents. Von Miller, who checks in at No. 8 in their rankings, is seen as a logical candidate to re-sign with the Los Angeles Rams. However, if for whatever reason Miller was to walk in free agency, the insiders highlighted the Giants as a seamless fit.
“The Rams traded for Miller with the intent of re-signing him. Maybe the Super Bowl win allows both sides to comfortably part ways, though, and we considered the Giants here as defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale tries to ignite a defense that needs a boost,” wrote Fowler.
At 32 years old, Miller is beginning to get up there in age. Yet, that didn’t appear to impair his production this past season. Through 19 games (postseason included), the eight-time Pro Bowler recorded 13.5 sacks.
“Miller’s snap count could begin to decline a bit at this stage of his career, but we still see high-level pass rush traits on his tape. He can win one-on-ones and disrupt the pocket off the schemed stunts in Raheem Morris’ defense,” noted Bowen.
Don’t Count on It
In theory, such a signing would make sense from a Giants perspective. Adding a veteran presence — at a responsible price — who continues to be a menace off the edge could be great for New York’s sack production and the long-term development of Ojulari. With that said, it’s tough to envision Miller walking away from a Super Bowl-winning roster to join a Giants team that has just one postseason appearance since 2012.
On top of that, Rams superstar Aaron Donald has made it abundantly clear that he wants Miller back in Los Angeles next season. And what Donald wants, he should get. Especially if it’ll put those retirement talks to rest for another year.
“If we bring everybody back, I’m back,” Donald told TMZ.com on February 17 (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk). “Odell Beckham, Von Miller, we bring them guys back, let’s make it happen.”
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