EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — For as tight-lipped as the New York Giants tend to be about their personnel plans, there was little doubt as to what the owners of the league’s 32nd-ranked defense and close to $60 million in cap space was bound to do in free agency.
And so defense it was for the Giants, who aggressively pursued and landed three of the top defensive players on the market: defensive end Olivier Vernon, cornerback Janoris Jenkins and defensive tackle Damon Harrison.
The additions of Vernon and Harrison alone are being hailed as a stroke of necessity given the defensive front’s problems with generating a pass rush and with stopping runs up the gut.
The hope is that with Vernon lining up opposite Jason Pierre-Paul, who re-signed for one year with the team, the defensive attack can ultimately resemble that of 2007 and 2008, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s first stint with the Giants, when the four-man front was stout against the run and a terror to opposing quarterbacks in the pocket.
“We went into free agency hoping to find help to improve our defense,” general manager Jerry Reese said last month after the signings were finalized. “We believe signing JPP, Snacks (Harrison), J.J. (Jenkins) and Olivier Vernon gives us a good start in that direction.”
Reese and the rest of the Giants are hoping that the new faces combined with returning players such as Pierre-Paul, Johnathan Hankins and Devon Kennard will help turn around the NFL’s worst defense in total yards, total passing yards and in opponents’ third-down conversion percentage.
While the Vernon-Harrison-Jenkins trio is a step in the right direction, there’s still much more to be done on the defense. The team re-signed free-agent linebacker Jasper Brinkley, who will compete with newcomer Keenan Robinson for the starting middle linebacker role, a position that is far from settled.
The Giants also are in search of some additional depth at cornerback, where besides Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, they have Trevin Wade, their nickel back last year, returning.
Then there is a matter of safety, where other than Landon Collins, the Giants seem willing to roll the dice once again with the inexperienced trio of Nat Berhe, Bennett Jackson and Mykkele Thompson, all three of whom didn’t make it out of training camp last season.
“I don’t have concerns; I’m looking forward to seeing these guys come back,” said safeties coach David Merritt.
Meanwhile, on the offensive side of the ball, the Giants came up short in a quest to land a starting right tackle in free agency, despite reported interest in Donald Penn, who re-upped with the Raiders, and Russell Okung, who signed with the Broncos.
In fact, the only notable free-agent signing on the offensive side of the ball was the acquisition of fullback/tight end Will Johnson, formerly with the Steelers, who headlined a group that also included journeymen offensive linemen Ryan Seymour and Dillon Farrell, both of whom had some experience working with new Giants offensive line coach Mike Solari when they were all with the 49ers.
With only six draft picks — New York traded its seventh-round pick to the Steelers last year in exchange for punter Brad Wing — the team would ideally like to come away with a split between offensive and defensive players. However, the best laid plans often don’t pan out when it comes to the draft, so it will be interesting to see if they come away with Day 1 starters at key positions such as right tackle, nickel corner, and receiver when they go on the clock April 28.