Heading into the 2025 season, the Giants are coming off another incredibly disappointing campaign, which saw them go 3-14 and take another step in the wrong direction, putting GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll firmly on the hot seat. But as the team heads into 2025, there's optimism that the Giants will be an improved squad.

In this series, we’ll break down the depth chart for every position group. This time, we’ll go in-depth at the defensive tackle spot...

Projected depth chart

Starters: Dexter Lawrence, Rakeem Nunez-Roches
Backups: Roy Robertson-Harris, Darius Alexander, Jeremiah Ledbetter, D.J. Davidson, Elijah Chapman
Key additions/losses: Drafted Alexander in third round
Top Performers in 2024: Lawrence, with 9.0 sacks, eight tackles for loss, 16 quarterback hits
2024 ranking via PFF: Lawrence, 2nd out of 219 defensive linemen

What Giants defensive tackles have going for them

No matter what the rest of the depth chart looks like, the Giants can hang their hat on the fact that they have one of, if not the best interior linemen in the NFL in Lawrence.

Sexy Dexy has been everything the Giants hoped for, and perhaps even more, since they selected him 17th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, and the scary part is that he just keeps getting better. Lawrence had a career-best 9.0 sacks in just 12 games last season, earning his third straight Pro Bowl nod. Not bad for a player thought of as primarily a run-stuffer coming out of college.

There are plenty of depth pieces behind Lawrence, and we'll get to them in a moment, but big No. 97 is a total game-wrecker in the middle of the Giants' defense.

Key concern for 2025: Who steps up if Lawrence isn't playing?

Lawrence was a monster in the first half of 2024, racking up all 9.0 of his sacks in his first seven games. But his production in that department tailed off, and he suffered a dislocated elbow on Thanksgiving against the Cowboys, ending his season.

With Lawrence in the lineup, the Giants allowed 30 points just once. Without him, they allowed 30+ points three times in a five-game span.

The Giants are loaded with outstanding edge rushers, but pushing the interior of the pocket and getting in the quarterback's face is so important in today's NFL. And the Giants are going to need someone other than Lawrence to step up in that category, especially with Lawrence likely to draw double teams on almost every passing snap.

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