Leonard Williams

Leonard Williams New York Giants’ highest-graded player, according to PFF

by
New York Giants, Leonard Williams

The New York Giants‘ defense has far outplayed the offense so far this season. The Giants are a putrid 1-7, but they have lost their last four games by a total of 7 points. New York is keeping games close, but their offense has not been getting the job done in crunch time.

Patrick Graham’s defense is allowing only 24.9 points per game and 354.8 yards per game. New additions Blake Martinez and James Bradberry have been big difference-makers in the Giants’ new defensive scheme. But so far, the best player on the Giants’ defense, according to Pro Football Focus, has been a familiar and controversial face: Leonard Williams.

The New York Giants acquired Leonard Williams via trade last October for a third-round and a fifth-round draft picks. This move was heavily criticized as the Giants made this trade while out of the playoff race. Williams was also an impending free agent, making this trade feel like a win-now move when most fans felt the Giants should be rebuilding.

To make matters worse, the Giants and Williams were unable to come to an agreement on a long-term contract in the offseason. New York placed the franchise tag on Leonard Williams. This gave Leonard, essentially, one year to prove that he deserves a lucrative contract extension. So far, he has proven that he does indeed deserve to be locked up long-term.

Leonard Williams Stats and Highlights

Leonard Williams has performed as one of the NFL’s best interior defensive linemen in 2020. Williams has earned an 80.3 overall Pro Football Focus grade at the midpoint of this season, the highest grade on the Giants. Through 8 weeks, Williams has racked up 24 total pressures, tied for the seventh-most of all interior defensive linemen. But Williams has also been stout against the run, posting an 80.8 run defense grade, the fourth-best in the NFL at his position.

Leonard Williams has definitely improved his pass-rushing this season. Last year, Williams received plenty of criticism for totaling just 0.5 sack in 2019. Through 8 games, Williams has already blown that number out of the water, gaining 4 quarterback sacks so far this season. “Big Cat” also has 29 combined tackles and 9 quarterback hits this year.

Fans were highly critical of Dave Gettleman for making this trade last season. While fans will continue to criticize the general manager (whose seat is flaming hot at the moment), they are unlikely to criticize Leonard Williams anymore. Leonard has been excellent for the New York Giants and seems to slowly be turning into a fan favorite. The Giants should make a it a top priority to extend Leonard Williams this offseason.

The New York Giants need to be sellers at the trade deadline and nothing else

by
New York Giants, Dave Gettleman

The Nov. 3 NFL trade deadline is quickly approaching, and the New York Giants find themselves in an interesting dilemma.

They aren’t a playoff-caliber team, not by a long shot, and yet they are still firmly in the race for the NFC East division title despite sitting at 1-5 on the season. Coming off a close win against the Washington Football Team last week, if the Giants win their second divisional game in a row Thursday night against the Eagles, they would be tied for first place in the division.

Getting a win on Thursday, however, could be potentially dangerous for the Giants. Not to say winning is bad, but the Giants being right in the thick of the NFC East race might prompt general manager Dave Gettleman to try and make a move to acquire a player at the trade deadline in an effort to win the division. That is the opposite of what the Giants should be doing, as they are a rebuilding team who needs to acquire more draft capital by giving away players, not the other way around.

Gettleman is widely expected to be let go after the season, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, and this could force him to go into desperation mode at the deadline. But, the reality is this team is nowhere near in position to be giving up more draft picks and future assets because they aren’t a win-now team, no matter where they are in the divisional standings.

The Giants only have five picks in the 2021 NFL Draft as is, after giving up a 5th in the Leonard Williams trade last year and a 7th for cornerback Isaac Yiadom right before the season started. The last thing they can afford is having even less draft picks to work with for this draft and potentially beyond, especially if there’s going to be a new general manager calling the shots.

There have been some players around the league rumored to be potential trade targets who could help the Giants, such as Cincinnati Bengals speedy wide receiver John Ross. The former first-round pick could provide a much-needed boost for the Giants lackluster passing game and give Jason Garrett an intriguing down-field threat to work with.

But, no matter who may be available via trade, the Giants need to resist the temptation and look at the big picture. Making a move at the deadline that would possibly help the team in the short-term would handicap them in the long-term, and that’s what this team should be focusing on. Is it really worth it for the Giants bring in a player who gets them to maybe 6-7 wins at best and buys them a first-round exit in the playoffs? Not only that but by winning the division, the Giants would have a late first-round pick and miss out on a lot of the top draft prospects, which would be a nightmare scenario.

The Giants need to be looking at players on their roster who they can potentially move for any semblance of value. Some possible options include wide receivers Golden Tate and Sterling Shepard, and outside linebacker Markus Golden. If they can draft picks for any one of those players, they need to pull the trigger and stock up for the future.

With Gettleman seemingly on his way out, Joe Judge and the Giants need to stop Gettleman from giving in and making another Leonard Williams-type trade in a last-ditch effort to try and save his job. This team needs to be focusing on building for the future, getting any value they can for expendable players who aren’t part of the long-term plan, and developing the young players they have on the roster currently.

Therefore, the Giants need to be sellers this trade deadline rather than buyers because the only thing they would be buying themselves is another ticket on the same carousel they’ve been riding since 2011.

New York Giants still confident that team is ‘right there’ after blowout loss

by
New York Giants, Leonard Williams

If there’s one loss that puts Dave Gettleman’s job in doubt, it’s this one. The New York Giants took on the 49ers who were missing plenty of players due to injury, and they were still dealt a blowout defeat. The Giants had their own injuries, sure. Saquon Barkley is out for the season and Daniel Jones had more rushing yards than his replacement. But few expected the final score to be as lopsided as it was.

Nor did they expect the Giants to have as bad a second half as they did. They only scored 3 points in the second half and none of the Giants’ running backs had more than 10 rushing yards. A performance like this gives something for detractors of Gettleman to point to. It’s an example of the team at its worst, during a year where Gettleman appears to be on his last chance.

But it’s still the same narratives from the players. Specifically, the idea that the Giants are close to fixing their problems and they just need a little more time. That they’re one step away from getting better.

Leonard Williams claims Giants are right on the edge of success

“I do think we do have a really good team and a tough team, and I never see any quit in this team. I believe that we’re right there and we just need to fix a few pieces and a few little gaps here and there and stop beating ourselves,” Leonard Williams spoke after the game. “It’s already hard to beat a team and it’s going to be harder when we’re making mistakes on ourselves as well, so I just think that we need to overcome a few of those mistakes that we’ve been making and just keep playing hard.”

The Giants have been trying to stop beating themselves for years. That narrative can only stick around for so long before no one believes it anymore. The team is in their first year under a new head coach, but perhaps more change is needed. If only because changing the head coach wasn’t enough.

It might be too late to bounce back much this season, but a loss like this and an 0-3 start may show that it’s time for the team to clean house in the entire organization… Not just within the coaching staff.

The optimism of the players on the field probably doesn’t come from an intentionally misleading place. All players in the NFL are confident in their skills, after all. But there’s a point when only the most diehard optimists can believe the team is really one step away from improving. This might be that point for the Giants.

Joe Judge and the New York Giants respond to embarrassing loss to the 49ers

by
New York Giants, Leonard Williams

The New York Giants suffered an embarrassing loss today to the San Fransisco 49ers. The 49ers, starting backup and reserve players all over, blew the Giants out 36-9 as New York’s offense never ran a single play in the red zone.

Head coach Joe Judge met with the media forty-five minutes after the game concluded. Presumably, Judge was chewing into his players after a pathetic Week Three performance that saw the team drop to 0-3, once again.

Joe Judge On The Plan Going Forward

The Giants have yet to stumble into a victory in 2020. New York’s 27-point defeat has left fans disappointed and uncertain about the team’s future. For Joe Judge, it is all about “day-to-day improvement.” Judge recognizes a “tough opponent” is once again on the Giants’ schedule entering Week Four, and the Giants need to be better than they were this week.

We’re not looking for excuses, not pointing fingers, not looking for shortcuts. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure we will put a product on the field people of this area can be proud of. We’ll be working our butt off to improve the product going forward. – Joe Judge via Matt Lombardo

Judge and the Giants are making no excuses. He is holding himself and his team accountable and hoping to improve for the future. Judge plans to “go out there day by day and piece by piece to put this together.”

Leonard Williams

The Giants’ defense struggled to get off the field on third down all game. When asked about this Leonard Williams did not point any fingers, but noted that he needs to get to the quarterback faster and the team as a whole needs to do better.

Per Jordan Raanan, Leonard Williams stated that he thinks the Giants are “right there” and that they need to fix a few “small” errors/mistakes in order to turn things around.

Blake Martinez

Giants linebacker Blake Martinez also mentioned the small little things in his postgame press conference. He suspects they will “show up on the tape,” as does Joe Judge. However, many fans will likely agree that the tape is not needed to identify many of these mistakes.

Daniel Jones

In the first quarter, the Giants made a crucial mistake, turning the ball over on a pitch play to Evan Engram. Jones took the blame for this, stating that it was “just a poor pitch.” Jones and the Giants worked on that play all week in practice.

He also took accountability for his second turnover in the game. Jones conceded that his interception to Evan Engram in the second quarter was a “poor decision.”

Jones and the Giants are “disappointed” but their confidence has not wavered. The Giants must “take [the loss] and learn from it.” Moving forward, the Giants will continue to work hard and prepare for Week Four. Jones said “nothing” will change that. The Giants will try to “not let this situation define” them.

New York Giants: Silver Linings From Week One vs Pittsburgh

by
New York Giants, Daniel Jones

The New York Giants suffered a disappointing loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last night. After getting off to a good start, the Giants squandered their lead and ultimately lost the game by two possessions. The final score was 26-16.

Despite this loss, there was plenty to like about the Giants’ performance in Week One. Some Solid performances on both sides of the football can encourage Giants fans heading into the second week of the season.

The Silver Linings

Daniel Jones

The Giants’ second-year quarterback, Daniel Jones, played a great game on Monday night. However, he did turn the ball over twice, and it cost the Giants big-time. But outside of those two turnovers, Jones was impressive as can be in Week One.

The Steelers possess one of the best defenses in the NFL. Their run-defense and pass-rush were elite last night. The Steelers held Saquon Barkley to 6 rushing yards and pressured Daniel Jones on 26 of his passing attempts. Jones was pressured 6 times more than any other quarterback in the NFL in Week One.

Despite having pressure in his face constantly, and despite not having a solid run game to rely on, Daniel Jones stood in the pocket and made some of the best throws of his career. Jones totaled 279 yards and 2 touchdown passes on 26 attempts.

Jones was particularly good when targeting the middle of the field. When targeting the middle, Jones completed 13 of his 15 passing attempts for 182 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jones was also superb on third down and carried the Giants’ offense at times. If Jones can continue to play at this level while keeping the turnovers down and receiving more help from his offensive line, 2020 could be the year Jones establishes himself as a franchise quarterback.

The Front Seven

The Giants enjoyed multiple impressive performances in their front seven. No one was more impressive than newly-signed inside linebacker Blake Martinez. Martinez recorded 11 tackles (tied for the most of all linebackers in Week One) en route to an 83.9 overall grade by Pro Football Focus. Blake Martinez played like one of the best linebackers in the NFL in Week One.

Lorenzo Carter also had one of the best games of his career on Monday night. Carter recorded 3 pressures, nearly had a sack, and earned an 81.5 overall PFF grade this week. His 3 pressures were tied for the team lead along with Leonard Williams, another player who had an impressive performance.

Leonard Williams recorded a sack and 3 pressures in Week One. Another interior defensive lineman also recorded a sack, though. Dexter Lawrence, the big hog molly out of Clemson started his second season off on the right track, earning a sack in an impressive performance.

The Giants’ defense was most impressive in Week One. The front seven was excellent, seeing multiple players have some of the best individual performances of their careers. This was especially important as the defensive secondary struggled to contain Ben Roethlisberger and his playmakers. The Giants will want to see their front seven build off of an impressive performance in Week Two, while also hoping to see some improvement from their young and inexperienced secondary.

New York Giants: Leonard Williams Impressing During Training Camp

by
New York Giants, Leonard Williams

The New York Giants made a controversial trade during the 2019 season. Despite a poor, losing record, GM Dave Gettleman gave up future draft picks to trade for a player. This player was Leonard Williams and this trade has received plenty of criticism since it happened.

New York gave up a 2020 third-round and a 2021 fifth-round pick in exchange for Leonard Williams. Williams is a former first-round pick, so usually, this would be pretty great value for the Giants in this trade. But Williams was an impending free agent, meaning the Giants would have had a chance to sign him in free agency without giving up draft capital. Williams is now set to play the 2020 NFL season on the franchise tag with the Giants.

Despite all the outside noise and criticism, Leonard Williams has shown up and impressed during the Giants’ training camp. In fact, defensive line coach Sean Spencer said that he believes Leonard Williams is “starting to put it all together.”

Leonard Williams Putting It All Together

Leonard Williams has been in the NFL since 2015. He was a hyped-up prospect entering the 2015 draft, but so far he has not lived up to the hype. Leonard has been a great interior defensive lineman throughout his career, but not the dominant force that he was expected to be.

Now, entering his sixth season, Williams could be headed for a breakout season. Williams has been standing out in training camp to the coaches and reporters alike. Watch Leonard Williams teach rookie offensive tackle, Andrew Thomas, a lesson below:

Since 2015, Leonard Williams has had the second-most quarterback hits among interior defensive linemen since 2015. Williams has recorded 82 quarterback hits, second only to Aaron Donald (93).

The biggest problem for Williams, though, has been turning pressures and hits into sacks. Leonard has only 17.5 career sacks and recorded a career-low 0.5 sack in 2019. But, according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY, the Giants’ coaching staff is “convinced they can refine Williams’ technique and teach him things that will turn pressures into actual sacks for him this year.”

If the coaches are right, then a big season could be in store for Leonard Williams. The Giants’ defensive line is filled with young talent. Dexter Lawrence, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Leonard Williams could combine to be one of the best front lines in the league. But if Williams can truly put it all together, he could but this line over the top.

New York Giants: Leonard Williams Makes It Off Of Injury List

by
New York Giants, Leonard Williams

It’s that time again. The time to talk about one of the more controversial players on the New York Giants. Of course, that player is defensive end Leonard Williams.

Williams has the highest base salary on the team at the current moment, so fans expect to see him on the field and performing during training camp. It seems like they’re going to get their wish, because Williams has been removed from the non football injury list. Also, Williams was seen in practice the very same day, showing he’s ready to jump back into action.

Leonard Williams back on the field

Williams had a hamstring injury from the start of training camp, which kept him on the non football injury list until just now. However, there’s a big chance that even seeing Williams return to the field for the rest of training camp won’t be enough to silence his critics.

That’s mainly because the Giants owe Williams $16 million in salary this year, which puts him above other players that have done more for the team. Sterling Shepard, Evan Engram, and Jabrill Peppers are among the players that are set to make less this year than Williams.

He’ll have to improve from his half a sack in 2019 for sure, to have a chance of diminishing the harsh criticism for the Giants’ choice to bring him back for another year.

But to his credit, Williams has a pretty good chance this year. This will be his first full year with the Giants and it’s a decent time for it to happen. Entering a defensive line that also has Dalvin Tomlinson and Dexter Lawrence up front, it won’t be a lack of teammates potentially holding back Williams in 2020.

New York Giants: Why The Defensive Line Could Dominate In 2020

by

Since becoming general manager of the New York Giants in 2018, Dave Gettleman has put an emphasis on building up the defensive line. Since 2018, here is what the Giants have invested into their defensive line: a 2018 third-round pick, a 2018 fifth-round pick, a 2019 first-round pick, a 2019 seventh-round pick, a 2020 third-round pick and 2021 fifth-round pick in a trade to acquire Leonard Williams, and a $16.1 million franchise tag on Leonard Williams. Additionally, the Giants already had a 2017 second-round pick invested in Dalvin Tomlinson.

The Giants have invested a considerable amount in their defensive line. But this investment should pay off, as New York has a young core of highly-talented hog mollies to fill the trenches.

Young Defensive Line Talent

Dalvin Tomlinson

The Giants’ longest-tenured defensive lineman is an underrated star, Dalvin Tomlinson. The hog molly out of Alabama has been the most consistent and efficient player on the Giants’ defense since entering the league in 2017. Dalvin has not missed a game in his career, starting in 16 games every season for the past three seasons.

2019 was a career year for Tomlinson. Dalvin Tomlinson recorded 49 combined tackles with 7 tackles for loss. What made Tomlinson’s 2019 season so exciting though was his improvements as a pass-rusher. After failing to record a single sack in 2018, Tomlinson totaled a career-high 3.5 sacks in 2019. Dalvin Also totaled 13 pressures in 2019, 5 more than he did in 2018.

There is a reason to believe that Dalvin Tomlinson will improve further in 2020. When asked about new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s scheme, Tomlinson expressed excitement:

The scheme is fun. It reminds me of the Alabama defense and the Alabama days and the techniques I used to use and stuff like that.  – Dalvin Tomlinson via Giants.com 8/6/20

Pages: 1 2 3

New York Giants: Sterling Shepard, Leonard Williams, and Saquon Barkley Speak With Media

by
New York Giants, Saquon Barkley

Training camp is here for the New York Giants and with that comes the first official player interviews of the 2020 NFL season. New head coach Joe Judge was the first to speak with the media, doing so on Wednesday. You can read those quotes here.

Yesterday, Daniel Jones, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Blake Martinez spoke with the media. Today, it was Sterling Shepard, Leonard Williams, and Saquon Barkley’s turns to speak. The three players each completed ten-minute interviews via Zoom today. Here are the highlights:

Sterling Shepard:

Sterling Shepard is the longest-tenured player on the New York Giants’ roster. Sterling was drafted by the Giants in 2016 and has played a prominent role in the team’s offense ever since. Could 2020 be the year the Shepard gets himself a Captain’s Badge? Shepard said he “be happy to wear that badge and take that role” if the team votes him a captain but whether he gets it or not, he will “find a way to lead” in “whichever role” they have him in.

“(I will) just set a good example for the young guys and kind of teach them about some of the different rivalries that we have and how important those games are to the New York Giants as an organization.” – Sterling Shepard via Giants.com

Shepard also expressed excitement for the Giants’ new offensive scheme, coached by Jason Garrett. Sterling noted that “it’s an offense that utilizes everyone’s skill set.” The fifth-year slot receiver also gave some insight into Joe Judge’s virtual offseason program: “When we were going through the OTA period on the Zoom calls, the coaches would have some trivia questions for us, so we did this Kahoot! challenge to kind of get guys going and understanding the history of the organization.”

Saquon Barkley:

Superstar running back Saquon Barkley spoke with the media today and gave some insight to his offseason. Barkley considers the Giants’ current regime and roster to be “a fresh new start,” explaining that this is a team of young players who “are learning every single day, on the offensive side, and on the defensive side. Learning a new scheme and system and trying to focus on the little things to get better every single day.”

Saquon made it clear that head coach Joe Judge is instilling a new culture for the Giants:

“The Giants are known for being tough, physical and doing the little things right. That’s something that coach Judge and all the coaches have made a focal point for us in the short time that we have been here. That’s what we try to attack every single day and try to get better every single day.” – Saquon Barkley via Giants.com

Barkley also discussed his teammate and quarterback, Daniel Jones, stating that he is “definitely excited for DJ.” Barkley said that they have grown closer and that they have been hanging out and working together.

Certainly, the most exciting part of Saquon Barkley’s media session came when he discussed his expectations for himself in the upcoming season. Barkley is only focused on improving, despite being one of the best running backs in the league already:

“What I want to seem from myself is just growth,” he said. “I feel like I have been saying this answer so much in my first two years. I’m really focused on trying to get better in every area of my game. I feel like I have so much more room to continue to grow and there is so much I can continue to add to my game. I would say some big focal points are pass pro(tection), in between the tackles, outside the tackles, catching the ball, ball security. Every single day try to focus and try to get better in every area of my game. I am a big stickler when it comes to stuff like that. Definitely when our coaches sat down, they really have us focused on the details and all the little things matter. That’s the focus and where I want to improve my game, which I guess you could say is everything.” – Saquon Barkley via Giants.com

Leonard Williams:

The Giants’ newly acquired defensive lineman, Leonard Williams, also spoke to the media today. Williams was acquired in the middle of the 2019 season via trade in what has been a controversial and polarizing move amongst the fanbase. The Giants placed the franchise tag on Leonard Williams this offseason after the two sides failed to come to an agreement on a long-term deal.

Williams discussed this, saying he thinks “it’s always in the player’s interest to get a long-term deal, but that’s something that worked itself out between my agents and the organization.” Leonard said he is not disappointed that there was no deal agreed upon, he is simply “looking at it as an opportunity.”

But Williams also made it clear that he is ” just happy to be here, play with this team again, and learn about the guys that I’ve been with since last year.”

The media asked Leonard Williams about his injury. The disruptive defensive lineman showed up to training camp with a hamstring injury and was placed on the non-football injury list. When asked about it, here is what Leonard Williams had to say:

We can’t really talk about injuries. If somebody wants to get more information on that, you might have to bring it up with Coach (Joe) Judge or someone else on the team. I’m definitely making strides on it and doing the best that I can to get out there with my teammates. – Leonard Williams via Giants.com

When asked about learning that new defensive scheme that Saquon Barkley mentioned earlier, Leonard Williams referred to new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham as a “genius.” Williams said he loves the new scheme and that he loves working with the team’s new defensive line coach, Sean Spencer.

Overall, the Giants’ three young stars sound excited about the upcoming 2020 NFL season. The players are optimistic about their new coaching staff and seem focused on improving after a disappointing 2019 season.

New York Giants: Leonard Williams shows up to training camp injured

by
New York Giants, Leonard Williams

The New York Giants started off training camp with a bit of bad news. This past week, left tackle Nate Solder opted out of the 2020 season, leaving fourth overall pick Andrew Thomas to fend at left tackle. They did sign Cameron Fleming to act as reserve talent, but he might be thrust into a starting position at the beginning of the season.

However, the bad news doesn’t end there as Leonard Williams showed up to training camp already injured. According to Jordan Raanan of ESPN, the Giants decided to go with the 80-man roster for camp.

Wide receiver Da’Mari Scott was the second Giant to opt-out and the team placed Williams on the designated non-football injury list.

The Giants placed the franchise tag on Williams this off-season, which will count $16 million against the cap. Showing up with a hamstring injury does not offer optimism for the fan base, who have been extremely hostile over the decision to trade for Williams in the first place. Gettleman offered a third-round pick to the Jets for his services, when he was going to be a free agent at the end of the season anyway.

In 2019, Williams posted 26 combined tackles, 11 quarterback hits, and 0.5 sacks over 33% of defensive snaps. He was expected to be a focal point in the interior of the line, and while he should be ready for the regular season, he will lose essential training time to get his body in shape.