ILB Bobby Okereke
Bobby Okereke enters Week 6 tied for fourth in the NFL with 48 total tackles. According to some of the underlying metrics, the veteran linebacker has stepped up in the run game this year.
Okereke has recorded a tackle for an unsuccessful offensive play on 17.4 percent of run snaps this season, the highest rate of all linebackers with at least 50 run snaps, according to NGS. This mark is well above his career average of 10.6 percent coming into the season, as well as the league average among all linebackers from 2019 to 2024 of 11.0 percent. Not only that, but Okereke has also seen his missed tackle rate drop significantly this season. Coming into the 2025 campaign, that figure was at 11.8 percent, but this season, it's all the way down at 3.4 percent after he's missed just one tackle all season.
The veteran picked up 10 total tackles in Week 5, marking his third game with double digit tackles this season. The Giants are going to need another strong outing from Okereke this week as they face an Eagles offense that has been one of the most successful at running the football for years. While Saquon Barkley has gotten his season off to a bit of a slow start, he still remains one of the more explosive backs in the NFL. Additionally, Jalen Hurts has recorded at least nine rush attempts in four of five games this season, with a total of 182 yards and four touchdowns on the ground already.
OLB Abdul Carter
When looking at his season stats, it may not look like Carter has made too big of an impact in the pass rush thus far. But the traditional box score does not tell the whole story. Carter has generated 25 quarterback pressures through his first five games, which ranks as the seventh-most in the NFL and 15 more than any other rookie. To take it a step further, the 22-year-old has 15 pressures in under 2.5 seconds, which is tied with Nik Bonitto and Will Anderson for the most in the NFL.
Carter has a quarterback pressure rate of 16.8 percent, which is the 14th-highest among all players with at least 50 pass rushes. According to NGS, when Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Carter are all on the field, the defense has pressured the quarterback on 45.7 percent of drop backs and allowed a drop back success rate of 40.2 percent. When one of them leaves the field, the pressure rate drops to 32.1 percent and the drop back success rate increases to 46.8 percent.
The Eagles have surrendered 15 sacks on the year, tied for the ninth-most in the league. Six of those sacks came in last week's loss to the Broncos, as edge rusher Nik Bonitto had five total pressures, which led to 2.5 sacks.
"One, I would just say his execution," Carter said when asked what makes Hurts such a good quarterback. "Then obviously he's got great players around him. Obviously, when you execute yourself and with great players, you're going to be a good player."