Dexter Lawrence Sees Growth in NY Giants' Defense

Florham Park, NJ –New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II came out with a bold proclamation for the team's defense just three weeks ago as the organization was kicking off their 2025 training camp practices in preparation for the upcoming season.

Amidst all the constant offseason press clippings that were fully enamored with what the Giants' unit could become this fall, their defensive captain's message was simple. He did not want them to get sucked up by the noise and instead let their actions on the gridiron do the talking about their potential.

From what the promising group put together by general manager Joe Schoen and the front office has shown through the first few weeks of the preseason, including the Giants' first joint practice with their crosstown rivals, the New York Jets, it appears like they've quickly bought into that important message.

Nevertheless, it's still very early in what Lawrence has maintained is a "process" of getting ready for Week 1, when a do-or-die campaign will officially begin for the current state of the franchise. As much as there have been positive flashes on the defensive end, there is still much room for them to grow into the key hogs the bunch will be expected to play this season.

"The team. I think we did well," Lawrence told reporters after the first of two joint practices. "Like I said, we’re still learning how to communicate with different things, and learning who's rushing beside you, and just honing in on your technique more. We have a few more weeks to get that down, but I think we just keep getting better and progressing every day."

That progression has been present from the very first day of the Giants' sessions at their headquarters in East Rutherford, and especially from the few fearsome pieces they have assembled along the defensive front that includes Lawrence manning up the middle of the interior for his seventh rodeo.

The Giants already set the expectation with their slew of offseason moves that their defensive line will be one of their lead workhorses as they search for success in what will be the NFL's toughest schedule this year, and that stable of super-talented pass rushers has surely delivered thus far.

Nothing more pleasant to the eyes of the Giants organization and the fanbase than their performance in New York's first preseason game against the Buffalo Bills last weekend, where defensive coordinator Shane Bowen's crew was relentless from the opening snap in getting after the quarterback and making life miserable for the Bills' passing attack

In that 34-25 win in Orchard Park, the Giants finished with the league's eighth-highest pass rushing grade of 71.8 as they sacked the Bills' signal callers twice, generated 15 pressures, and held them to an 11% third down conversion rate and a 2-of-4 effort in the red zone.

The defense was even special against the run, stopping Buffalo from surpassing 55 yards on the ground and only whiffing on one tackle amongst their major contributors. All of that work was not perfect and came in limited reps, which tends to be the case in the preseason.

That is why Lawrence and company know they must treat every rep as a big opportunity to ensure their game is as clean as possible.

"We’re in training camp, I mean, that's the best way I can answer that," Lawrence said.

"We only had a few plays on Saturday, so I don't know what this week looks like, but that's why we have to take these practices seriously. Every day, I see improvement. Guys are not making the same mistakes all the way around, so that's the best thing you can ask for right now."

Save for the fact that joint practices are typically hard to evaluate from a team perspective, given that there usually isn't full-on tackling going on, one player that's making the most of his time is rookie edge rusher Abdul Carter.

Carter, the Penn State phenom and Giants' No. 3 pick, has been dominating nearly all of his reps as a pass rusher and putting many in the league on notice. His unique blend of speed and flexibility to get around the corner of the offensive line has stunned even the eldest of the game's elite offensive tackles.

That included Dion Dawkins and the Bills' front line, whom Carter simply seemed to burst right past as he recorded a pressure on all three of his pass rush snaps and just six total for the contest to lead the entire Giants defense in that department.

It leaves one, including Lawrence, to wonder whether we have fully seen what Carter is capable of, and the nose tackle wants to see a larger workload before he leaves any early predictions.

"I don't know yet. We'll see. We'll see. We'll see with him," Lawrence quipped with a laugh.

The same goes for him and the rest of the Giants' defense as the team pushes into their second joint practice on Wednesday and closer to kickoff of the regular season. If they want to be considered among the greatest units in football this season, the rent for that title is due every day, and they look forward to paying it with each faceoff in the coming days.

"We have to respond tomorrow, honestly. Greatness and being a great team, you got to be consistent."

"We did well today. We have to do well tomorrow because they're going to have a fire in them tomorrow. Then we got to do well on Saturday. It's all about that progression each day, growing and getting better every single day. By Saturday, we should be ready to play these guys."