Jaxson Dart has been watching the kind of middle linebacking setup that can wreck an offense before the snap even settles.
The Giants are rolling out Arvell Reese and Tremaine Edmunds in the heart of the defense, and the appeal is obvious: two 6-foot-4 linebackers who look more like edge threats than old-school interior defenders. The idea is to keep quarterbacks and protection schemes guessing, because both players can come, both can drop, and both have the length to mess with passing lanes over the middle.
Reese brings the kind of athletic jolt that changes how an offense has to play. The fifth overall pick ran a 4.46 at 243 pounds, and the Giants are not asking him to fit into a neat little box.
If he starts walking toward the line, the offense has to sort out whether he is coming on the rush or opening things up for Brian Burns, Abdul Carter or Kayvon Thibodeaux. If he drops out, that speed gives him a chance to run with a tight end or close on a checkdown.
Edmunds gives the defense something just as important: stability. He is listed at 251 pounds and has piled up at least 100 tackles in every one of his eight NFL seasons.
In the middle, he can make the calls, line up the front and handle the less flashy work that keeps the whole thing from spinning out of control. That lets Reese play faster and less burdened, which matters for a rookie who is still going to have missed reads.
Dennard Wilson has a piece in Reese that he can move around without giving the offense the answer too early. He also has a veteran next to him who can keep the structure intact. That combination is what makes this different from the smaller fixes the Giants have tried in the middle over the years.
Reese does not need to be protected from himself. The better move is to use him aggressively right away and let the traits that made him a top-five pick show up on the field. Edmunds can steady the group while Reese hunts for negative plays, and together they give the Giants size, range and enough flexibility to make one look turn into several different answers.
If the communication is clean, quarterbacks are going to have a miserable time seeing both of them between the tackles.
In Other News...
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What remains less clear is how quickly Austin can settle into a role that matters and whether he can give New York the kind of impact WanDale Robinson provided before leaving for Tennessee. The Giants are betting on speed and flexibility, but this is still the sort of signing that asks for patience before it offers proof. [Read more 🡒]