Despite the New York Giants fielding one of the absolute worst offenses in the NFL over the last two seasons, it was the defensive side of the ball that got the biggest injection of talent this past offseason.<\/p>\n
The Giants\u2019 inability to stop opponents when it mattered rankled John Mara enough that it got a specific call-out, despite the looming mess at the quarterback position. And so the Giants added two of the top free agent veterans in Jevon Holland and Paulson Adebo, as well as selecting two of the 2025 draft\u2019s best pass rushers (at their respective positions) in edge Abdul Carter and defensive tackle Darius Alexander.<\/p>\n
The hope is that the infusion of talent would give the Giants one of the best, most athletic, and deepest defenses in the NFL. From there, it would fall to defensive coordinator Shane Bowen to make it all work.<\/p>\n
Bowen spoke to the media before Wednesday\u2019s practice, praising the growth of his young players, as well as talking about the challenges of getting them all on the field at the same time.<\/p>\n
There are plenty of threads to follow as Shane Bowen builds the Giants\u2019 defense. But one way or another, they all seem to come back to rookie edge defender Abdul Carter. The third overall pick has garnered rave reviews from everyone who\u2019s faced him in camp as well as observers from around the media landscape.<\/p>\n
The Giants\u2019 defensive coordinator is no different, and seems incredibly impressed with his newest weapon. Notably, Bowen is as encouraged by Carter\u2019s instincts as his raw athletic tools.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, the talent shows up out there on the field,\u201d Bowen said. \u201cI think he\u2019s a very instinctive player. Finds ways to get to the football. He\u2019s got a natural feel to dip, to lean, to bend. You see those traits show up out there on the practice field. He\u2019s continuing to work consistency day in and day out. With the effort, the technique, the fundamentals. But I like his versatility and what he\u2019s going to be able to bring for our defense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps the most exciting \u2014 but not often discussed, at least compared to what he\u2019s doing in practice \u2014 aspect of Carter\u2019s development is that he\u2019s truly just scratching the surface of his potential. He started his career at Penn State as an off-ball linebacker and only has one year under his belt as a true edge defender. So in addition to learning how to play in the NFL, Carter is also still learning how to play his position at a high level.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, he\u2019s got a history of playing off the ball, so I think that helps him.\u201d Bowen said. \u201cObviously, the ability to rush different spots. There\u2019s a lot of things he can do, and he does really well. It\u2019s just a matter of making sure as a coaching staff we do a good job not overloading him. Obviously being a rookie, continuing to focus on the techniques and fundamentals. But finding ways for him and all these guys to impact the game for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the cornerback competition<\/p>\n
One of the other threads to follow is the battle for the starting cornerback job across from veteran free agent addition Paulson Adebo. It\u2019s expected that Deonte Banks will be the starter once the season starts, but Cor\u2019Dale Flott has been pushing him hard. The two were splitting first team reps before Flott missed some practice time with injury, and the Flott has flashed in camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they\u2019re both doing a really good job,\u201d Bowen said. \u201cObviously, Flott\u2019s missed a little bit of time here the past couple days, but I think they\u2019re doing a really good job. I like the growth of Tae. I think competition\u2019s been good for both of them. I really do. But you\u2019re seeing Tae battle and going up against Malik and finding ways to get PBUs and some other guys. He\u2019s been able to get his hands on footballs more, I feel like, this early on in training camp, we\u2019re 10 days in, but early on, more so than what it was last year. He\u2019s working. He\u2019s working. He\u2019s competing for the job. He\u2019s trying to earn it, just like everybody else is trying to earn their play time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought Flott was doing a really good job,\u201d Bowen added. \u201cFrom the spring to now, he was probably one of the guys that had the most pass breakups. So just continue that competition. The versatility is no different than all these other positions. There\u2019s going to be time and place where the numbers kind of shrink and we\u2019ve got to figure out ways of how do we fit based on who\u2019s available and who\u2019s not. So some of the versatility stuff is going to come into play as well.\u201d<\/p>\n