The New York Giants released defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka and applied the franchise tag to Jason Pierre-Paul. As they work on a new deal for Pierre-Paul, they still need to address their pass rush on the edges, which has affected the success of their defense over the past three seasons.
ESPN Insiders Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay project the Giants will select offensive tackle Brandon Scherff out of Iowa with the ninth overall pick in the upcoming draft. The top pass rushers - Leonard Williams, Dante Fowler Jr. and Shane Ray - are all expected to be taken within the top eight picks, so New York may look to fulfill this area of need in free agency.
"There is anticipation that [defensive end] Damontre Moore is ready to burst onto the scene after two years of seasoning," writes Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. "Moore, in limited action, had 5.5 sacks last season and has shown a knack for buzzing around the quarterback. Even with the training wheels taken off Moore, additional help is needed to fortify a roster alarmingly lacking in quarterback-trackers."
Schwartz predicts that the Giants could have a few defensive ends on their radar once free agency begins on March 10. Those names include Jerry Hughes of the Buffalo Bills, Pernell McPhee of the Baltimore Ravens, Jabaal Sheard of the Cleveland Browns and O'Brien Schofield of the Seattle Seahawks. Hughes would obviously be the most attractive since he's the top defensive end on the market after the Bills opted to not use the franchise tag on him. However, it's believed he's going to command a deal that will pay him $10 million per season.
New York has been linked to free-agent defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh so it might not be out of the question if general manager Jerry Reese were to pursue Hughes. The bidding for Suh is likely to get excessive, and that's something the Giants are almost guaranteed to not get involved with.
The Giants' pass rush has struggled mightily over the past three seasons, amassing 20 sacks in 2012 (last in NFL), 40 sacks in 2013 (T-20th) and 30 sacks in 2014 (T-21st). The 26-year-old Hughes got off to a slow start in his first three NFL seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, but he was then traded to the Bills where he recorded 99 tackles and 19 sacks over the past two seasons.
The market for Hughes is unknown at this point with free agency just six days away. New York's plan is also unclear, since they have to take care of some free agents of their own, including safeties Antrel Rolle and Stevie Brown. With $135.78 million committed to the cap in 2015, the Giants still have some room to work with, so Hughes will be speculated as an option at this point.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo would have a field day with Pierre-Paul and Hughes on the edges, and the Giants could see their pass rush of old return in 2015.
