Tremaine Edmunds
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The New York Giants have been warned they ignored two worrying stats about $36 million free agent signing, LB Tremaine Edmunds.
They paid Tremaine Edmunds handsomely in 2026 NFL free agency to improve their options at middle linebacker, but the New York Giants also ignored two worrying statistics about the former Buffalo Bills and Chicago Bears starter.
A couple of concerning underlying trends in Edmunds’ game were spelled out by ESPN’s Seth Walder and Ben Solak. They detailed how Edmunds struggled to assert himself against running backs in 2025, when the 27-year-old’s “tackle rate against the run was only in the 32nd percentile among off-ball linebackers last season, while his run stop win rate was in the 34th percentile. He did have four interceptions last season, but he also allowed 1.1 yards per coverage snap (higher than average).”
The middling numbers hardly qualify Edmunds to solve the biggest problem plaguing the Giants defensively in recent seasons. Namely, a softness against the run.
Not being able to remedy this issue will make it tough to justify the $36 million deal Edmunds was handed on the veteran market. The same problem could exist if the Giants follow insider buzz and select a linebacker with a similar profile to Edmunds in the first round of the 2026 NFL draft.
Tremaine Edmunds a Curious Fit for Giants
Edmunds passes the eye test as a throwback thumper at the heart of the front seven, but the 6-foot-4, 251-pounder doesn’t always play to his size. He’s active and willing, but what’s missing is the intensity, technique and aggression of a true bruiser in the tradition of great linebackers from Big Blue’s past.
New head coach John Harbaugh has historically built his defense around inside ‘backers with range, and Edmunds at least fits this bill. His chops as an opportunistic defender are endorsed by snatching nine interceptions across the last three campaigns.
One of Edmunds’ best plays in space was this goal-line theft against the Cincinnati Bengals from Week 9.
More splash plays in coverage would be welcome after the Giants only grabbed a mere nine picks last season. Yet, Harbaugh and his chosen defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson may consider it a bigger priority to fix a run defense that surrendered a league-worst 5.3 yards per carry.
Consistently lousy numbers in this area could prompt Harbaugh to use the fifth-overall pick for linebacker help, but the prevailing view of certain college coaches might give the Giants second thoughts.
Star Draft Linebacker Not the Safest Pick
Options are aplenty for the Giants in the top five, including a stud running back and a safety already credited with Hall of Fame credentials. Even so, Ian O’Connor of The Athletic is convinced Harbaugh won’t be able to pass on Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles.
Ian O'Connor
For the 5th pick I’m still putting my $20 on Sonny Styles over Caleb Downs to the Giants. John Harbaugh: “If they run the ball for 4, 5 yards, that is the end of the world. That’s a disaster. If it breaks out past that, we can’t even breathe…We want the run stopped…
“We want
As O’Connor put it, “Priority No. 1 for Harbaugh is stopping the run, as he made clear again at the league meetings. And Styles-an elite athlete who doesn’t miss tackles-meets that objective more than any candidate for pick No. 5. Yeah, the Giants signed Tremaine Edmunds for 3 years. But Harbaugh wants to coach the NYG for at least 10 years.”
It’s a solid argument, but like Edmunds, Styles doesn’t necessarily perfectly fit the blueprint for a natural run-stuffer. Not according to an unnamed offensive coordinator from the Big Ten, who told O’Connor’s colleague Bruce Feldman, Styles is “a beautiful athlete, like he was created in a lab. He looks like a power forward. I just can’t believe he was a safety, but you see that frame and that closing speed, it’s impressive, man. He’s not the same kind of player (Reese) is. He doesn’t have that kind of violence to his game, and I don’t know if he’s that instinctive out there.”
Meanwhile, an anonymous Big Ten running backs coach tellingly admitted to Feldman, “On the film, he’s massive. They just stuck Sonny in the middle and let him roam. He was really good and he can fly, but you didn’t feel him as much as you did Arvell (Reese).”
Again, the Giants would be targeting a middle linebacker with athletic range, rather than overwhelming physicality, if they choose Styles. Partnering Edmunds with Styles looks good on paper, but Harbaugh and general manager Joe Schoen might need a more prototypical downhill tackling machine to better complement their big ticket arrival from free agency.