Leonard Williams

New York Giants projected to keep Tomlinson but not Williams in PFF prediction

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New York Giants, Leonard Williams

The New York Giants have some big choices up ahead when it comes to managing the cap, and the most apparent one is the selection of Dalvin Tomlinson or Leonard Williams. It’s looking like the Giants are going to have to choose between a more consistently solid defensive lineman and one who stepped up his game big time as of recent to contribute more in the sacks department. And if they handle things wrong, they may see the line take a big step back this year.

With the flashier numbers last season, however, it may be Leonard Williams that’s the most likely to leave in free agency. That’s what Pro Football Focus predicted when they ranked 100 free agents, including giving predictions on their destinations.

Williams was traded from the New York Jets to the New York Giants in 2019 and had to move his locker across Metlife Stadium. He may be moving much further than that after the 2020 season unless he can agree to a long-term extension with the Giants coming off the franchise tag. A second franchise tag for Williams would cost the Giants $19,351,200 (120% of his current tag) and isn’t out of the question. That number also provides a solid floor for Williams in negotiations in terms of an average per year amount.

Prediction: Panthers sign Williams for four years, $80 million ($20M APY): $47.5M total guaranteed, $32.5M fully guaranteed at signing.

On the other hand, the Giants are predicted to sign Tomlinson to a four year and $52.5 million dollar deal with $26.5 million guaranteed. Williams is rated as the 20th best free agent while Tomlinson is rated as the 39th best.

Williams raised his performance to complete the season with 11.5 sacks, the most from a Giants pass rusher in recent memory. Arguably, Williams turned into the best pass rusher the Giants have had since they fully started rebuilding.

Tomlinson on the other hand doesn’t bring in numbers as flashy as that, but has more consistently shown up for the Giants in four seasons with the team. After all, he’s started every game during those four seasons and his numbers haven’t jumped around wildly like Williams’ have.

At the end of the day, the Giants will want to keep both players, but it’s increasingly looking like they won’t be able to do that. If one of the two is going to leave, it would make sense that the more expensive of the two goes elsewhere to make more money.

The Giants should consider tagging and trading Leonard Williams

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New York Giants, Leonard Williams

The New York Giants have a lot of key decisions to make this offseason, and one of them is what to do with their star defensive linemen Leonard Williams.

After acquiring Williams from the Jets via trade midway through the 2019 season, which was largely seen as a controversial move amongst Giants fans, general manager Dave Gettleman ended up using the franchise tag on Williams for 1-year and $16 million dollars after failing to come to terms on a long-term contract.

Looking back on it now, the Giants probably regret not locking up Williams long-term, as he went on to have a monster year this season. Williams was a Pro Bowl snub after racking up 57 total tackles and 11.5 sacks for the Giants and is sure to command a massive contract on the open market as a free agent.

There is no doubt that the Giants want to keep Williams in blue, but it might be difficult for them to do so. As good as Williams was this season, it was the first season in his career where he’s had more than 7 sacks, and that was back in 2016. In the three seasons between his 2016 season and this season, Williams only manages to put up 7.5 sacks total.

The questions surrounding whether Williams can maintain this elite level of play going forward could and probably should cause the Giants to have some reservations about how much they would be willing to pay him. If they can sign him for around $17-$18 million dollars per year, then they should bring him back. But, even with the shortened salary cap this offseason, it’s entirely possible Williams will command $20 million dollars per year, or maybe even more.

If the number goes that high, it would make more sense for Giants to let go of Williams. However, an alternative to simply letting him walk away for nothing is to tag and trade Williams, which is something that hasn’t been talked about much but would make a lot of sense for the Giants.

It remains unclear what the franchise tag salaries are going to look like this offseason and whether or not Williams would get tagged as a defensive end or a defensive tackle. A year ago, Williams got tagged as a defensive tackle, but that could change this season. Either way, the franchise tag salary isn’t likely to increase from last season and might even decrease due to the limited salary cap. Even if does increase, it likely won’t reach $20 million, so it would be worth it for the Giants.

Another huge bonus in tagging and trading Williams is the ability to get a potentially great draft pick in return, one that’s better than the third-round compensatory pick they would receive by letting him walk, which is basically a fourth-round pick in disguise. Williams will definitely draw interest around the league after the season he had, and if a team is willing to offer a second-round pick or even a first-round pick, it’s a no-brainer for the Giants.

This is probably an unlikely scenario for the Giants, even though there’s no reason for them not to do it if the opportunity presents itself. They would likely either pay up for Williams to keep him long term or let him walk for a compensatory pick.

But, tagging and trading Williams would be a creative and smart route the Giants could potentially take in order to add another early draft pick and spread out their cap space across multiple players rather than tying most of it to one player.

Leonard Williams had a phenomenal year and has earned himself a massive payday, whether that’s from the Giants or someone else. We shall see what the Giants choose to do in the coming months, but they would be wise to consider going in the direction of tagging and trading Williams if his price tags exceed what they’re willing to pay.

Why the New York Giants need to re-sign Dalvin Tomlinson this offseason

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New York Giants, Dalvin Tomlinson

The New York Giants are entering a crucial roster-building offseason. New York has numerous key players set to hit free agency, in need of new contract extensions. The Giants’ defense exceeded all expectations this season, mainly riding off of their strong defensive line.

Unfortunately for the Giants, two of their most crucial players are impending free agents. Both of those players are defensive linemen. Dalvin Tomlinson and Leonard Williams are both set to hit free agency in March. It will be difficult for the Giants to keep both of these players and remain under the salary cap.

This has led to many fans pointing out Leonard Williams as the “must-sign” player between the two. However, both of these players are necessary to keep this defense thriving and the Giants should look to extend both of them in March.

Dalvin Tomlinson stats and highlights

Ever since he was drafted by the Giants in 2017, Dalvin Tomlinson has been one of the best, and most consistent members of the team. Dalvin has not missed a single game in his career yet.

Additionally, Tomlinson has improved as a pass-rusher every year. When he entered the league, Tomlinson was strictly a run defender and did not apply much pressure to the quarterback. He totaled one sack in his first two years in the NFL.

Since then, Dalvin Tomlinson has greatly improved as a pass-rusher. After posting zero sacks in 2018, Tomlinson turned things around in 2019 with 3.5 sacks. He matched that same total in 2020, proving that his improvements last season were not a fluke.

Seven sacks in Dalvin’s last two seasons demonstrates his value in both facets of the game. Additionally, it is no coincidence that Tomlinson’s pass-rushing productivity improved upon the arrival of Leonard Williams midway through the 2019 season. The Giants need to prioritize re-signing both of their free agent defensive linemen, not just Leonard Williams.

Leonard Williams was excellent for the Giants in 2020, racking up a career-high 11.5 sacks. But New York’s top interior defender benefits from playing alongside two other talented hog mollies, Dalvin Tomlinson and Dexter Lawrence. Lawrence is entering only his third season, so he will stick around for a while longer. But with Tomlinson set to hit the open market, the Giants need to recognize the importance of keeping this trio of defensive linemen together and re-sign both of their impending free agents.

New York Giants: What will Leonard Williams’ contract look like this offseason?

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New York Giants, Leonard Williams

If there’s anyone more deserving of a contract extension than Leonard Williams after the 2020 season, please let me know in the comments. The New York Giants will have a hard time letting go of one of their most productive players on defense, especially after a breakout campaign when he recorded 11.5 sacks and 30 quarterback hits, a career-high in both categories.

Williams had never breached 7.0 sacks before the 2020 campaign, but under defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, he realized his talents and dominated in the trenches. Because of that, Williams is in line for a massive contract that will significantly burden the Giants’ cap space but also ensure they retain one of their most efficient and valuable assets.

The trenches are one of general manager Dave Gettleman’s prized possessions, as he’s built a dominant group composed of Williams, Dexter Lawrence, and Dalvin Tomlinson. Tomlinson is also looking for a new deal after finishing his rookie contract this past season. He was very productive and represents one of the best run stoppers in the NFL. He finished the season with 49 combined tackles, 3.5 sacks, 10 quarterback hits, and eight tackles for a loss. He did finish with a career-high missed tackle rate of 12.5%, while Williams had a career-low, at 3.4%.

Ultimately, keeping the interior defense together should be a priority, but the salary cap is expected to drop this off-season significantly.

Gettleman mentioned during his annual postseason press conference that people are saying the cap could drop to $175 million, down $23.2 million from $198.2 million in 2020. The influence of Covid was significant and will limit free-agent spending this off-season.

With that being said, the Giants already know they have to upgrade their offense significantly after they finished 31st in the NFL in points per game. They were just above the Jets, who were historically bad. That poses the question, is it possible Gettleman allows Williams to walk this off-season, despite his breakout performance?

Realistically, Williams is Gettleman’s golden goose, acquired two years ago in a trade with the New York Jets, which sent a third and fifth-round pick on their way. The Giants acquired Williams, and what seemed to be a poor move at the time has rebounded nicely for the defense. There’s very little chance Good Ole Dave lets Leonard walk after giving away so much draft capital for him and experiencing ‘zero’ winning seasons post-trade.

What type of contract should we expect for Leonard Williams?

Comparably, star defensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs, Chris Jones, landed a four-year, $80 million deal this past off-season, with an average salary of $20 million. Jones is one of the best interior defenders in the NFL at 26 years old, so I believe Williams will make a bit less but still hover in that range.

Jones routinely puts up elite sack numbers and collapses the pocket efficiently despite the opponent. Since 2018, he hasn’t recorded fewer than 7.5 sacks, and that is with missing three games in 2019. He is a staple in their defense, and I would say is just a bit better than Williams when factoring in his consistency. Williams only has one elite season to his name, so I believe he will likely earn somewhere in the three-year range, worth $17 million per season. Expect high guarantees, though, since he is perennially healthy and has never missed a game.

FULL CONTRACT PROJECTION:

-3 years

-$51 million

-$17 million per season

-$40 million guaranteed at signing

-Majority dead cap in first and second season

New York Giants have no players selected to the 2020 All-Pro team

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New York Giants, Blake Martinez

The New York Giants have been shut out of the 2020 NFL All-Pro team. This is now back-to-back years where the Giants have had zero All-Pro selections. Their last All-Pro selection came in 2018, with Saquon Barkley making the second team along with Aldrick Rosas.

No Giants made the All-Pro teams this year, despite having a number of worthy candidates. The Giants’ defense in particular saw numerous players put together standout seasons in the 2020-2021 regular season. Some Giants players received votes for the All-Pro teams, but no one received enough votes to actually earn a spot.

Who received votes?

Blake Martinez, Leonard Williams, James Bradberry, and Graham Gano all received votes for the 2020 All-Pro teams. Williams and Martinez received two votes each while Bradberry and Gano each received one vote.

Arguably the most confusing snub on the list of Giants snubs is cornerback James Bradberry. The Giants’ cornerback had a career-year and even made Pro Football Focus’s All-Pro team this season. Bradberry was second-team All-Pro via PFF, behind Jaire Alexander.

James Bradberry was phenomenal this season, totaling a combined 17 interceptions and pass breakups on the year, the third-most in the NFL. Bradberry was also selected to the Pro Bowl this year for the first time in his career. So he did receive some recognition, but one could argue that James deserves far more recognition than he is getting after seeing the 2020 All-Pro teams.

Leonard Williams also had a career-year in 2020, but he did not receive any recognition. Despite totaling a career-high 11.5 sacks and racking up an insane 62 pressures, Williams missed both the Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections. Granted, there is a lot of strong competition amongst interior defensive linemen, but Big Cat had an elite season that should have seen him earn some recognition.

Graham Gano is another player that received no recognition, despite a phenomenal 2020 season. After missing all of 2019 with a hip injury, Gano came back strong with the Giants. Graham hit 30 straight field goals this year, a Giants record. He also missed just one kick (57-yards), making 31 of 32 attempts (97%). Gano was not selected to the Pro Bowl and only received one All-Pro vote, but he was truly dependable for the Giants this year.

Finally, Blake Martinez, one of the Giants’ biggest 2020 free-agent acquisitions, also received zero recognition from the league for his phenomenal season. Martinez totaled 151 combined tackles this season, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 0 touchdowns allowed in coverage. At the very least, Martinez should have made the Pro Bowl.

These Giants were snubbed but a good part of the reasoning why could be the team’s win-loss record. Finishing 6-10, the Giants were never a top team in the NFL. Many voters might have held the team’s lack of success against these individual players. Regardless, the Giants and their fans know the level of talent that these players possess. This All-Pro absence will only serve as motivation for these players as they look to build towards the 2021 season.

New York Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams named NFC Defensive Player of the Week

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New York Giants, Leonard Williams

The New York Giants came out victorious in a thrilling Week 17 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys. Both teams were fighting for a spot in the playoffs, however, neither one was able to accomplish that goal. The two teams still fought hard until the end, knowing that their playoff hopes were on the line.

In the end, the Giants’ defense prevailed and helped secure the win for the Giants. There were excellent performances across the board on New York’s defensive unit, but none greater than that of defensive lineman Leonard Williams.

Leonard Williams stats and highlights

New York Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams had a phenomenal performance to end the 2020 NFL regular season. This was a career-year for Leo, but his Week 17 performance was the icing on the cake. The Dallas Cowboys struggled to contain Williams all game as he went on to play one of the best games of his career.

In Week 17, Leonard Williams went off for a three-sack performance. He totaled a season-high seven combined tackles to go along with his career-single-game-high three sacks, five quarterback hits, and six pressures. This was Leonard’s second multi-sack performance of the season, his first being the team’s clutch win over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 13. Leonard Williams won NFC Defensive Player of the Week in Week 13, and now, he has done it again.

Leonard Williams was named the NFC’s Week 17 Defensive Player of the Week for his incredible performance against the Cowboys. This was his second time winning the award this season. Williams came up big down the stretch for the Giants, even pressuring Dallas quarterback Andy Dalton on the Cowboys’ final offensive play, leading to a game-sealing interception.

Leonard Williams was elite this season. He posted a career-high 11.5 sacks, his first time ever cracking double-digits. The Giants went into the 2020 offseason in need of a premier pass-rusher. It seems as though they already had one on their roster, they just needed to pair him with Patrick Graham and let him break out. Now, a free agent once again, Leonard Williams is in line for a huge payday as the centerpiece of the New York Giants’ defense.

New York Giants: Dalvin Tomlinson would like to stay in New York

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New York Giants, Dalvin Tomlinson

Too bad the New York Giants went home a little earlier than we all hoped, but now it’s time for the Giants to get ready for the 2021 season.

Big Blue holds the 11th overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, but the Giants will not have tons of money this offseason due to the surplus of money spent in March. The top priority this offseason for the Giants has to be re-signing defensive end Leonard Williams. If the Giants are able to get this done, what is going to happen with Dalvin Tomlinson?

The New York Giants would prefer to keep their home-grown talent:

Tomlinson has started all 64 games since the New York Giants selected him in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. This year, he was the Giants nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. They would absolutely love to keep Tomlinson long term, and Tomlinson hopes he can stay with Big Blue as well.

“The culture we’ve started to build around the Giants this past year is something special,” Tomlinson stated in a press conference.

The 2020 NFL salary cap was $198 million, but next year it could potentially about $20 million lower (projected to be about $7 million lower). The sad part about the salary cap decreasing next season is Leonard Williams, and Tomlinson might not get to play with each other ever again in Big Blue.

If the Giants can clear some cap and open up flexibility, it’s possible they could find a way to re-sign both Leonard Williams and Tomlinson. However, it’s becoming increasingly more unlikely they retain both unless they utilize the franchise tag. All we can do is just hope something can get done, and hopefully, we can keep our defensive line together long term.

New York Giants: The top three most confusing Pro Bowl snubs

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New York Giants, Blake Martinez

Right now, one of the major stories around the New York Giants is Evan Engram and James Bradberry making the Pro Bowl. It’s a good accomplishment as it marks the talent level on the roster going up compared to recent years where the Giants were less represented in the game. However, it’s safe to say the Giants should be sending more players than they actually are. Some players were confusingly left out, despite their high levels of performance all season.

Logan Ryan

One of the obvious ones is Giants defensive back Logan Ryan, who joined the team in the aftermath of Xavier McKinney’s training camp injury and immediately justified the Giants’ decision to sign him. He’s played in every game so far for the Giants and has 83 combined tackles so far.

He also has 9 passes defended, a single interception, and one fumble recovered. His play this season has largely made up for the Giants not having McKinney until late in the year.

Ryan was also the leader in fan voting for the NFC free safeties for a number of weeks. This ultimately, however, wasn’t enough to boost him into actually getting the spot. It won’t stop the large amount of offseason speculation about his contract situation that will come soon, however.

Blake Martinez

The Giants have really helped former Packers linebacker Blake Martinez turn it around after picking the free agent up to man the middle of the defense. Martinez has 128 combined tackles so far, and that ties him for the fourth spot in the overall standings.

Martinez had also led this list at one point and still has a chance to move further up it in the last two games of the season. On top of that, Martinez has assisted in multiple areas of the game with one interception, two forced fumbles, and two sacks.

Leonard Williams

Despite a dud of a first year with the Giants, Leonard Williams has turned it around under Patrick Graham to have the best pass rushing year of his career. 8.5 sacks is a career high for him and places him at the number eleven spot overall on the league charts for the statistic.

He’s also got 24 QB hits, which places him at sixth overall in the league right now. It really seems like Williams is having a Pro Bowl caliber season, especially with the inclusion of Evan Engram from the Giants, who hasn’t stepped up as much by comparison at his own position.

New York Giants lack of pass-rush doomed defense against Cleveland Browns in Week 15

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The New York Giants lost a crucial Week 15 matchup with the Cleveland Browns on Sunday night. Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield put together a dominant performance that saw him complete 27 of his 32 passing attempts for 297 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 turnovers.

For the near entirety of the game, Mayfield stood upright in a clean pocket with all day to throw. The Giants just failed to generate pressure against the Cleveland Browns’ offensive line that was dealing with the absence of stud offensive guard Wyatt Teller. New York was doomed from the start due to their lack of a pass-rush in Week 15.

Baker rarely pressured in Week 15

Baker Mayfield was able to have an elite Week 15 performance against the New York Giants. Baker won Pro Football Focus’s Week 15 Offensive Player of the Week award after earning an overall grade of 92.2 against the Giants. This was his third 90+ overall PFF-graded performance of the season.

Baker was deadly off of play-action against the Giants, as he has been all season. The Browns have run play action on 34.1% of their passing plays this season (sixth-most in the NFL). On play-action passes, Baker has had a 121.3 passer rating (PFF).

The Giants pressured Baker Mayfield only three times on Sunday night, per Next Gen Stats. Baker was kept clean and able to complete 84% of his passes against the Giants.

The Browns were able to call plenty of deep passing plays for Baker in this game because he had so much time in the pocket. Mayfield took advantage of this opportunity. On throws that traveled 10+ yards in Week 15, Baker Mayfield had a perfect 158.3 passer rating. According to Pro Football Focus, Mayfield completed 12-of-14 10-plus-yard attempts for 189 yards and two scores, with four big-time throws and zero turnover-worthy plays.

The New York Giants have another tough AFC North matchup on the schedule this week. In Week 16, the Giants will travel to play the Baltimore Ravens. If New York wants to win this game, they will need to apply pressure to reigning MVP Lamar Jackson. The Giants cannot win games with no pass-rush.

New York Giants: Who was snubbed from the Pro Bowl and how did Evan Engram make it?

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New York Giants, Leonard Williams

While the Pro Bowl won’t be played this year due to COVID-19, the meaning behind it still stands. Earning the right to be claimed a Pro Bowl level player is something most players desire, but winning games in the NFL still remains a priority. The New York Giants are currently 5-9 on the season, and making the Pro Bowl for some of their players might be a nice consolation prize.

Most thought linebacker Blake Martinez and safety Logan Ryan would be among the names chosen, but unfortunately, they were snubbed. Star corner James Bradberry made the cut, and surprisingly, so did TE Evan Engram.

Engram has 54 catches for 572 yards and two touchdowns this season but has dropped six passes and allowed multiple turnovers. This was an interesting selection, and one nobody imagined, based on the visual display of inadequacy at times and his inability to hold onto the football.

Nonetheless, is the first Pro Bowl appearance for Engram and something that holds value based on his reaction. He was extremely excited to have earned the right and the star next to his statistical output for the 2020 campaign. It seems as if team representatives and coaches from around the NFL held Engram in high regard, while he voted 4th in fan voting.

The New York Giants deserved more appearances:

One major snub for the Giants was interior defender Leonard Williams. Williams has been stellar this season, earning 8.5 sacks, 49 combined tackles, and 24 QB hits. He has been considered one of the best interior defenders in the NFL up to this point, and with two weeks left in the season, he will break almost every personal record. The last time he earned a Pro Bowl selection was in 2016, and the only statistic he actually was better in was combined tackles. This season, he has been a monstrous pass rusher and done a solid job in run defense.

Blake Martinez is another player who should’ve been considered more realistically. He is fourth in the NFL with 128 tackles, five quarterback hits, and 2.0 sacks. He also has a career-low 6.6% missed tackle rate and has been solid in coverage, not allowing a touchdown for the first time in his career.

The Giants had multiple players who could’ve made the Pro Bowl, but it is nice for them to at least see two earn the accolade. The Giants haven’t had this quality of play in quite some time at specific positions, so seeing the latest free agency pool pay off and their homegrown tight end become recognized around the NFL is undoubtedly a positive.