The New York Giants reduced their active roster to 53 players on Sunday to comply with the league mandate.
25 of those 53 players are on defense. Of those 25, only 13 were here at this time last year. That has led to some anxiety and a lot of questions about what this unit will look like and how it will perform this season.
Here are five things to focus on as the season nears.
New coordinator and coaching staff
Denneard Wilson is in as defensive coordinator, and his philosophy is for his unit to be fast and physical. The goal is to win in the trenches, confront receivers off the line of scrimmage, and harass the quarterback. They have the personnel to do all of that this year. Now that they have their roster set, the unit can start to meld together and become cohesive. Fans need
to be patient. There's a lot of newness here.
The defensive line
People are panicking over the defensive line. There's a prevailing narrative that they need to keep finding external solutions to backfill the loss of Dexter Lawrence.
News flash -- they've already done that. Free agents D.J. Reader and Shelby Harris have been in the building all summer, but neither appeared in a preseason game, so we have no idea what this unit looks like with them in the starting lineup.
Darius Alexander was asked to carry the water in preseason; he appears to have slipped a bit. Be patient. Wait until he plays beside Harris and Reader before passing judgment. They traded for C.J. Okoye, drafted Bobby Jamison-Travis, and have Chauncey Golston returning. Fans and pundits need to take a breath and give this group a chance to get its sea legs. If they don't get it together by Week 4, then you can worry.
Inside linebacker
When the Giants take the field in two weeks against the Dallas Cowboys in their season opener, inside linebacker Tremaine Edmunds will be wearing the green dot on his helmet as the signal caller.
For those who just came in, Edmunds did not play a snap in the preseason, so we don't know what he and rookie stud Arvell Reese can do as a tandem in the middle. All we know is that it could be anywhere from mind-blowing to chaotic.
Edmunds' experience and leadership should bring this defense together, and under Wilson's guidance, they could be one of the NFL's best. They also have excellent depth in this area with Micah McFadden, rookie Jack Kelly, and Zaire Barnes.
The pass rush
Brian Burns is one of the NFL's best pass rushers. He is in excellent health to start the season. He will be flanked by last year's top pick, Abdul Carter, who might also be on the verge of becoming one of the NFL's top players. They are backed by another former first-round pick, Kayvon Thibodeaux, who the team largely kept out of the preseason to preserve his health.
This trio, along with Reese and Golston, could kick up quite a storm this season, one that opponents will find hard to stop. This group could be the tail that wags the dog this season. Again, they're all new to one another, and it could take some time to gel.
The defensive backs
Fans aren't sold on the proposed starters at cornerback -- Paulson Adebo, Greg Newsome II. They've never seen rookie Colton Hood ball out and are still leery about the alleged renaissance of Deonte Banks.
Understood. No one really knows what to expect here. It could be great, or it could be disastrous. We think it will be somewhere in the middle of the two. One thing is for sure. This group won't be the passive turnstiles we saw last year. They will be more aggressive and physical near the line of scrimmage.
The safeties are all young veterans who should be either in their prime or entering it. Jevon Holland is ready to show that last season was not his best. Tyler Nubin is finally healthy, which will help. The three new depth players -- Ar'Darius Washington, Jason Pinnock, and Elijah Campbell -- all come in with a ton of NFL experience.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: New York Giants defense: 5 things to know after roster cuts
