The New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen addressed the media on Wednesday. He was asked about the roster and potential areas for improvement ahead of the Giants’ Week 1 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. Schoen stated that the Giants are scouring available players and doing their due diligence, but then the topic of the defensive line was addressed, and this was Schoen’s response:
“We signed D.J. Reader, Shelby (Harris), we traded for C.J. Okoye, we’ve got DA (Darius Alexander). Bobby Jamison-Travis
had a good camp. We’ve got a couple of vets on the practice squad, probably going to sign another one next week. So yeah, I feel good where we are right now. And again, we’ll continue, that’s something we’ll continue and see what opportunities are out there.“
Schoen mentioned that New York is interested in signing another veteran defensive tackle next week. The Giants had three defensive tackles and a big defensive end in for a workout on Wednesday: Benito Jones, David Blay, Aaron Graves, and Dawuane Smoot. Blay and Graves are both undrafted rookies this season, so they’re not veterans, but the Giants are certainly interested. Let’s explore Jones and Smoot, plus other available veteran defensive linemen that could help the Giants’ depth.
Benito Jones
Benito Jones is a 28-year-old 6-foot-1, 335-pound defensive lineman who went undrafted out of Mississippi in 2020. Jones started his career with Miami before playing two seasons in Detroit; he then returned to Miami for two seasons and spent the 2026 training camp on the Raiders’ practice squad. Jones only played 15 defensive snaps in preseason for the Las Vegas Raiders before being cut.
Jones is a veteran with 59 pressures and four sacks to his name. He has 41 STOPs and has played 1,700 defensive snaps, with very poor PFF grades and a high missed-tackle rate. He has experience as a nose tackle and a 1-technique.
Dawuane Smoot
Smoot is much more of an edge defender than a defensive tackle, but he does align inside and has been used as a 4i-shade and a three-technique in certain situations. Smoot is entering his 10th season in the NFL, and all but one was spent in Jacksonville — he played 322 snaps for the Buffalo Bills in 2024 before returning to the Liam Coen-led Jaguars in 2025.
Smoot has 203 pressures and 27 sacks throughout his career, while also earning 35 tackles for a loss and seven forced fumbles. He’s been a productive player with 3,725 defensive snaps to his name. He hasn’t had more than 20 pressures since 2022, but he did have a 50-pressure season in 2021. New York had him in for a workout this week, and he could give the Giants another physical edge with some inside pass-rushing ability, similar to Chauncey Golston.
DaQuan Jones
The 34-year-old played 424 snaps for the Buffalo Bills last season and recorded 13 STOPs and 21 pressures. He was an effective rotational player for Buffalo, and that would be his role with the Giants as well. Jones is long in the tooth but has not slowed down much from a productivity standpoint. He has 238 pressures and 25 sacks to his name. Adding Jones would give the Giants a geriatric defensive line room, but one filled with three reliable players that can allow Darius Alexander and Bobby Jameson-Travis to develop.
Jihad Ward
Is Jihad Ward coming back to New York? I have no clue, but the former Giant just had his best season with Dennard Wilson last year. The 32-year-old recorded an impressive 47 pressures and five sacks last season, operating as one of Wilson’s most effective twist-game players. Ward is more of a BIG defensive end, but he could be the veteran Schoen is referencing, for both Schoen and Wilson have experience with Jihad Ward. He is 6-5, 287 pounds, and has four consecutive seasons with more than 20 pressures, two of which were with the Giants.
Elijah Garcia
Hey, another familiar face! Garcia played well as a depth piece for the Giants in the final Brian Daboll years, but he was claimed by Atlanta late last season and spent this training camp in Christian Parker’s defense. Garcia did not make the final 53-man roster, but the 6-5, 302-pound former Giant could be a depth option.
Eric Gregory
Gregory is hardly a veteran, but I wanted to add him to the list. The 6-4, 320-pounder went undrafted in 2025 out of Arkansas and played 136 snaps for the Patriots last season. He earned two STOPS, three hurries, and had five tackles. Gregory recorded three consecutive seasons with 17 pressures in college, but was nearing Van Wilder status as a Razorback — he played six seasons of college football. He could be a depth piece for the Giants at a position of need.
