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The New York Giants only had one selection at the 2025 NFL draft on Friday night but they made it count, adding a key piece to a unit that general manager Joe Schoen has been focused on improving.
The Giants' defensive front is one of the league's better groups, but that is because of one man: Dexter Lawrence II. When he is off the field or out of the lineup, the Giants' front becomes vulnerable. They needed depth.
Schoen zeroed in on Toledo interior lineman Darius Alexander with the first pick of the third round (No. 65 overall) on Friday night.
"Darius Alexander, a 3-technique that we did a lot of work on. He came in on a 30 visit as well, was down at the Senior Bowl, and just where we are, we felt we needed to add some youth to the defensive line, and this kid is just under 6'4", 315 pounds, 34-inch arms and freaky athletic," Schoen said.
"Down at the Senior Bowl and he had a really good week, and (defensive line coach) Dre Patterson, thinks the world of him and (assistant defensive line coach) Bryan Cox and getting a guy like this that can come in and develop with the depth that we have. Again, a high ceiling for this player, so we're excited to add another player to our front seven."
Schoen already has nine defense linemen under contract: Lawrence, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, D.J. Davidson, Jordon Riley, Elijah Chatman, Casey Rogers, Elijah Garcia, and two free agent signings in Ray Robertson-Harris and Jeremiah Ledbetter.
Adding a rookie to mix will spice things up and perhaps raise the level of play, especially when Lawrence leaves the field.
"There's a lot of depth there. I'm excited about the group," Schoen added. "Again, we've got to do a better job stopping the run this year, and I think we helped that with some of the depth. If we can get to 3rd down we've got a lot of options in terms of where guys can line up in terms of versatility.
"Chauncey (Golston) has got some versatility. Darius has got some versatility. Obviously with (linebacker Abdul) Carter, there's some versatile pieces in there that can move around, and that can be difficult for offenses."
Training camp just got a lot more interesting for defensive line coaches Andre Patterson and Bryan Cox. Let the games begin.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Joe Schoen excited over addition of 'freaky athletic' Darius Alexander
Continue reading...
The Giants' defensive front is one of the league's better groups, but that is because of one man: Dexter Lawrence II. When he is off the field or out of the lineup, the Giants' front becomes vulnerable. They needed depth.
Schoen zeroed in on Toledo interior lineman Darius Alexander with the first pick of the third round (No. 65 overall) on Friday night.
"Darius Alexander, a 3-technique that we did a lot of work on. He came in on a 30 visit as well, was down at the Senior Bowl, and just where we are, we felt we needed to add some youth to the defensive line, and this kid is just under 6'4", 315 pounds, 34-inch arms and freaky athletic," Schoen said.
"Down at the Senior Bowl and he had a really good week, and (defensive line coach) Dre Patterson, thinks the world of him and (assistant defensive line coach) Bryan Cox and getting a guy like this that can come in and develop with the depth that we have. Again, a high ceiling for this player, so we're excited to add another player to our front seven."
Schoen already has nine defense linemen under contract: Lawrence, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, D.J. Davidson, Jordon Riley, Elijah Chatman, Casey Rogers, Elijah Garcia, and two free agent signings in Ray Robertson-Harris and Jeremiah Ledbetter.
Adding a rookie to mix will spice things up and perhaps raise the level of play, especially when Lawrence leaves the field.
"There's a lot of depth there. I'm excited about the group," Schoen added. "Again, we've got to do a better job stopping the run this year, and I think we helped that with some of the depth. If we can get to 3rd down we've got a lot of options in terms of where guys can line up in terms of versatility.
"Chauncey (Golston) has got some versatility. Darius has got some versatility. Obviously with (linebacker Abdul) Carter, there's some versatile pieces in there that can move around, and that can be difficult for offenses."
Training camp just got a lot more interesting for defensive line coaches Andre Patterson and Bryan Cox. Let the games begin.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Joe Schoen excited over addition of 'freaky athletic' Darius Alexander
Continue reading...
