The New York Giants were atrocious defending the run a season ago, finishing last in the league by allowing an average of 5.3 yards per rushing attempt. New head coach John Harbaugh has called stopping the run “a must thing,” and has pointed to the importance of the inside linebacker position in accomplishing that.
“The inside linebacker isn’t always considered a value position, but you can’t stop the run without an inside linebacker making tackles in the middle,” Harbaugh said the day he was introduced
as the Giants’ coach. “You can’t do it.”
It is probably no coincidence that the Giants have remade the position during Harbaugh’s first offseason. Let’s take a look at the position as we continue our position-by-position “better or worse” series.
Key additions: Arvell Reese, Tremaine Edmunds, Jack Kelly
Key losses: Bobby Okereke
The roster: Micah McFadden, Zaire Barnes, Tremaine Edmunds, Cam Jones, Jack Kelly, Darius Muasau, Arvell Reese
*** Rookies in bold
Why they could be better
In an ideal world, the Giants will come out of the 2026 season with two, maybe even three, off-ball linebackers better than anyone the Giants played at the position in 2025.
Okereke made 143 tackles in 2025, the fourth time in seven years he has had 130 or more. Total tackles, though, is never a good way to judge a linebacker. Only two of those tackles were for loss. Okereke’s Pro Football Focus run defense grade was a full-season career low of 46.2, and his missed tackle percentage was a career-worst 13.0.
Edmunds, 6-foot-4, 251 pounds, is bigger than the 6-2, 235-pound Okereke. Both are fast — Edmunds testing at 4.54 in the 40-yard dash and Okereke at 4.58. Both have a 97th percentile arm length. Edmunds, though, was one of the best run-defending off-ball linebackers in the NFL in 2025 with an 80.6 PFF grade. Pro Football and Sports Network ranked him as the No. 6 off-ball linebacker in the NFL. He may not be the second coming of Harry Carson, but he should be an upgrade over Okereke as a run-defending force, and he has enough athleticism and length to help clog the middle of the field against the pass.
Expectations for Reese are sky-high, as they should be for the No. 5 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. To be an improvement over what the Giants fielded at WILL linebacker a year ago, Reese only has to be better than Darius Muasau, Swayze Bozeman, Zaire Barnes, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, and anyone else who played a few snaps next to Okereke last season. McFadden’s few Week 1 snaps before a season-ending injury don’t really count.
The Giants now pair the 6-4, 251-pound Edmunds with the 6-4, 243-pound Reese.
McFadden, a former starter now relegated to the No. 3 linebacker role, will provide excellent depth. If, that is, he makes the roster. That’s no sure thing with the drafting of Kelly and the special teams acumen of Muasau.
- Better or worse? NY Giants defensive line a question mark entering 2026
- Better or worse? Cam Skattebo’s return key for NY Giants at running back
- Better or worse? NY Giants should be more dynamic at tight end
- Better or worse? NY Giants should be better at wide receiver
- Better or worse? Andrew Thomas, Sisi Mauigoa hold keys to NY Giants’ offensive line
Why they could be worse
In a world where Edmunds is terrible and Reese is a bust — or, where both get injured — I suppose being worse is possible.
The verdict
I can’t see how the Giants won’t be better — bigger, more athletic, more versatile — than they were at this position a year ago.
