It’s a new defensive era in East Rutherford, N.J.
After defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and the New York Giants parted ways, the team hired Shane Bowen as its new top defensive mind. Bowen arrived in New York after three seasons as the Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator.
Not only has Bowen brought a new scheme with him, but he also has some new pieces to work with, highlighted by a splashy trade for a pass rusher who should help the Giants forge a new defensive identity. Including the scheme, here are three ways the defense will look different in 2024. (And be sure to check out how the offense will shape up differently, too.)
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Scheme
Then: Heavy blitzing
Now: More varied approach
During the Martindale tenure, the Giants largely lived and died by the blitz. Last season, the Giants blitzed on 46.4 percent of opponents’ dropbacks, second highest in the league to Minnesota (49.5 percent), while conceding 23.9 points per game (seventh worst in the league). The Giants paced the league in 2022 by blitzing on 44.8 percent of opponents’ dropbacks. Meanwhile, Bowen’s Titans defenses ranked 31st (16.2 percent), 30th (15.7 percent) and 24th (20.4 percent) in blitz rate from 2021 to 2023.
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Martindale’s heavy blitzing was often accompanied by a heavy use of man coverage. The Giants ranked second in man-coverage snaps last season (38.7 percent) while the Titans were 20th (21.3 percent).
So while Bowen and Martindale both operate out of a base 3-4 defense, there aren’t many similarities between them.
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Martindale loved plotting exotic blitzes and confusing opponents with an aggressive attack that could seemingly come at you from anywhere. Bowen’s defense won’t be nearly as exotic and will be far more reliant on the front four to generate pressure. That’s why the offseason trade for Brian Burns (more on this later) makes so much sense. Burns, fellow outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux and game-wrecking defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence will be those largely tasked with pressuring quarterbacks.
With that in mind, their two position groups have already been working together this spring in an effort to better coordinate their talents.
“If you go back and look at my time in Tennessee, it’s been a lot of front pressure,” Bowen said. “Like the front four, being coordinated with their rush lanes, working together, finding ways to affect the quarterback and then being able to use that to be multiple on the back end, right, where you’re not delegating a piece up front.
“My history has been, if we’ve got four guys that can rush, we are going to let them go rush.”
That’s not to say Bowen won’t dial up some pressure. For him, it’s about delegating resources. It’s a matter of how good the back end can play with fewer resources or how good the rush is with less.
Though his tactics will be somewhat new for Giants fans — at least compared to what they’ve seen over the past couple of years — they have already become the norm inside the locker room.
“New is over,” Bowen said. “I told the guys (last week), like I don’t want to hear new no more. It’s not new anymore. We are still figuring it out, and we’re learning every single day, and it’s been great work this spring seeing things, but the Giants defense is going to continue to evolve based on our personnel and what our guys do best.”
Outside linebackers
Then: Inconsistencies and injuries
Now: One of the best young tandems in the NFL?
The biggest move of the Giants offseason was a trade with the Carolina Panthers to acquire Burns, a 26-year-old two-time Pro Bowler who brings five seasons of experience — and 46 career sacks — to the Giants locker room. He joins a position room that is young and has struggled with inconsistency. Thibodeaux, the No. 5 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, is due for a (bigger) breakout in his third year after taking a major jump from four sacks his rookie season to 11.5 last year. Azeez Ojulari, meanwhile, has struggled with injuries, missing 16 games over the past two years. He also wasn’t very productive when he did play last season (2.5 sacks in 11 games).
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Burns, however, has played 80 games in his five years and has posted at least 7.5 sacks every season of his career. He’ll pair with Thibodeaux to form one of the most dangerous young pass-rush duos in the NFL. The two have already been spending a lot of time together to get a better sense of each other, and Burns has likened the situation to his own third year in the league when veteran Haason Reddick arrived in Carolina. Burns learned from Reddick, and competing to one-up the veteran helped him hone his craft and his competitive nature.
Brian Burns thinks “Sky’s the limit” for the #giants pass rush.
Says he’s been spending a lot of time with Kayvon Thibodeaux and working a lot with him. Already been pushing each other a ton.
On what he’s learned about Kayvon: “He’s an interesting individual but I like him.” pic.twitter.com/fj5MDngQeb
— Charlotte Carroll (@charlottecrrll) May 18, 2024
That Burns-Thibodeaux pairing along with Lawrence creating chaos up the middle could become a weekly nightmare for quarterbacks and maybe even harken back to the glory days of the Giants pass rush.
“Anytime an offense can key into one player, that challenges that particular player but also the scheme,” new outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen said this spring. “Having another proven rusher opposite Kayvon, someone has to get the attention. And with Dex, there’s three bona fide, experienced guys up front, and the offense can only choose a certain amount. If they start altering their protection and keeping guys in to protect, then the routes get limited downfield.”
Secondary
Then: Experienced veterans
Now: Youth takeover
With a lot of focus on the Giants’ improved front, the changes in the secondary shouldn’t be overlooked. Veteran safety Xavier McKinney departed for Green Bay in free agency while cornerback Adoree’ Jackson was not brought back. McKinney played 100 percent of the Giants’ defensive snaps last season, while Jackson accounted for 70 percent, leaving a sizable hole to be replaced in large part by two Day 2 draft picks. The Giants selected safety Tyler Nubin in second round and cornerback Andru Phillips in the third.
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Nubin will have to beat out Dane Belton and Jalen Mills in training camp to start opposite Jason Pinnock, but given his pedigree as a four-year starter at Minnesota and being the first safety selected during the 2024 NFL Draft, it seems likely he’ll start sooner rather than later.
As for Phillips, he won’t be a one-for-one replacement for Jackson, as it looks like Phillips is going to play a majority of his snaps in the slot — if he beats out Nick McCloud.
“They’re going to earn their roles,” Bowen said of the rookies. “It ain’t on us. We’re going to coach the hell out of them and give them every opportunity they can imagine. We’re going to try to get them in the best spots that fit their skill sets. When the time comes, they have to make the plays and show they deserve more.”
Beyond the rookies, the Giants need last year’s first-round pick, Deonte Banks, to prove he can be a No. 1 cornerback because that’s the spot he occupies on this roster with Jackson gone. Banks returned a few pounds heavier after an offseason focused on getting his core stronger but looked more muscled. Cor’Dale Flott and McCloud are the other cornerbacks who spent the most time with the first-team defense this spring.
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Bowen has challenged the cornerback room and his defense as a whole to be ready to roll at the start of training camp.
“Bottom line: We need guys to start separating themselves,” Bowen said. “Maybe not the first week in training camp, but as we get going those first few weeks in training camp, we’ve got to start defining roles. I want to see guys take opportunities, grab them and start to pull away.”
(Photo of Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux: Michael Karas / USA Today)
