The New York Giants may not have the privilege of boasting some of their recent draft picks since the start of the 2019 season, but none should make them more proud and blessed to have than the All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence chasing defensive greatness. .

Lawrence, the team’s 17th overall pick that year, is building one of the best passing campaigns by a Giants inside linebacker in recent memory. After eight games, he has run away from most of the competition at his position with 28 tackles, ten sacks and 32 total pressures in 240 pass snaps, good for the third-best stat line among the elite defensive tackles in the NFL.

The 340-pound receiver is still far from capturing the glory of the Giants’ single-season sack record of 22.5 held by legend and Super Bowl champion Michael Strahan, but he surpasses the work of the previous five seasons in blue, who saw over 4,000 snaps and two straight 90.0-plus defensive grades per PFF.

In those seasons, Lawrence was active for 2,383 pass rushes and recorded over 232 pressures, including at least three sacks and six quarterback hits. He also has 30+ stops in four seasons and posted a win percentage of at least 11.7%, which increased to 20.7 during the 2023 season to make him the best tackle in the game .

Whenever he steps on the field, Lawrence simply dominates at a pace that has earned the respect of the rest of the league and has lifted the Giants’ defense to a career-high 35 sacks, the most of any team entering the week 9 of the NFL season since. 2017 Jacksonville Jaguars.

Halfway through the 2024 campaign, all of this is paired with his latest recognition for outstanding play—being named to PPF’s annual NFL Midseason All-Pro Team for the top performers in each position group as one of two defensive tackles with Pittsburgh Steelers veteran Cameron Hayward.

While he makes the distinguished group with Heyward, Lawrence’s current stretch finds him sixth among interior defensive linemen with an 84.9 grade on 241 snaps. The selectors had plenty of names to choose from, but the main reason they called him up for the honor roll comes down to how much his incredible impact makes the Giants defense a competitive and durable unit.

Individually, the 26-year-old cuts to the full-back and causes instant stress on the opposing front with the greatest consistency. His 32 pressures and 19 total stops tops any player on New York’s defensive line and led to a team-high 13.6% pressure win rate.

In four games this season, Lawrence has pressured the backfield at least five times and has 17 pressures and 12 hurries combined in the Giants’ last three contests. His sheet size and raw power make it nearly impossible for offensive linemen not to be dragged back like a rag doll, which helps close down running lanes and forces the quarterback to chase down the bullpen, often into the arms of his teammates . girl.

Led by Lawrence’s efforts, the Giants defense will chase records as the fifth franchise in 20 years to record 4+ plus sacks in five consecutive games. They also beat the opposing gunner on a 13.3 percent of their weekly plays, which tied for the best percentage of any defense (798 total) dating back to the 2000 season.

What makes him all the more impressive is that teams have tried to undermine his presence by using double teams on the Giants’ pass attempts this fall. , Lawrence entered Week 8 holding the most double teams with a minimum of 100 passing snaps at 12 for 63.3 percent of his total snaps.

That concern has Lawrence facing the highest percentage of double-teams of any defensive player in the 2018 season and leads the party’s second-highest victim, Green Bay’s Karl Brooks, by nearly 10 percent in the race .

Still, he overcame the extra attention and repeatedly dismissed the reinforcements as irrelevant, including creating at least two recorded pressures on double teams in Pittsburgh’s 26-18 loss last Monday night.

The unfortunate part of Lawrence’s season is that his production hasn’t been attached to very many wins. The Giants offense has struggled at home and lost five games by less than 15 points.

Without it, they wouldn’t have been able to stay afloat with some of the better teams in the league and have opportunities to win, as seen in their recent matchups against the Bengals and Steelers.

As New York moves forward with the final nine games of the regular season, their defense will look to continue to enjoy Lawrence’s skill and pass rush as a focus of their game plan.

They rank seventh in passing margin and have teams tied for the same ranking in both total points and yards, respectively, a product of challenging the pass and stopping the run response with the massive presence of the stuffing their big ones in the middle.

By the end of the year, if he continues, Lawrence could join the best players on the NFL’s full All-Pro team and cement a legacy as a Giant forever. One who could eventually beat out Strahan and become the next big Big Blue to don the gold jacket.