The New York Giants’ fourth big move in free agency addressed the pass rush, as the team signed defensive end Olivier Vernon to a huge deal.
After brining in cornerback Janoris Jenkins and defensive tackle Damon Harrison, the New York Giants signed defensive end Olivier Vernon, capping their first-day frenzy of spending.
According to numerous outlets, including NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport, the deal is of the five-year variety and is worth a whopping $85 million. Like the aforementioned Jenkins and Harrison signings, it was a pricey move, but a move that was absolutely necessary
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The Giants’ pass-rushing woes were heavily publicized last year, as the franchise best-known for its fierce pass rusher was comically bad. The front office was adamant in addressing the deficiencies this offseason, and they’ve done that by spending big bucks on the defensive side of the ball.
The talented pass-rusher was initially given the transition tag by the Dolphins, but the tag was rescinded, which made Vernon an unrestricted free agent. Vernon was the Giants’ top priority in free agency, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com.
Related Story: New York Giants: Damon Harrison another pricey, but necessary signing
Vernon, who NFL.com ranked as the second-best unrestricted free agent, is only 25 and isn’t even in his prime yet. Despite only racking up 7.5 sacks last year, Vernon was phenomenal down the stretch, terrorizing offensive lines and laying waste to quarterbacks.
Did the Giants overpay for Vernon? Of course they did, but the heat under Jerry Reese‘s seat was turned up, and the GM likely didn’t want to whiff on another big-name free agent.
If you want to know what kind of talent Vernon possesses, the game film — all courtesy of NFL Game Rewind — from Miami’s game against Dallas illuminates Vernon’s ability.
In the above clip, Vernon utilizes a nasty spin move to get around Tyron Smith, pressuring Tony Romo in the process.
In this clip, Vernon uses his elite speed and a simple hand-swipe/swim technique to get around Smith. Smith is one of the premiere left tackles in the league, and the fact that Vernon beat him badly twice, is incredibly impressive.
Vernon was also a beast when the Dolphins hosted the Giants, as he constantly made Ereck Flowers like amateurish.
While Flowers is no Tyron Smith, it’s still impressive that Vernon was able to make him look as bad as he did.
Here’s Vernon wrecking Baltimore’s protection scheme.
Simply put, Vernon is adept at generating pressure from the quarterback’s blindside. I think what impresses me the most about Vernon is his game speed — seriously, he just runs right by people — and his motor late in games. When offensive linemen get tired, Vernon’s motor is still going.
While his speed is certainly impressive, I think Vernon’s explosiveness sets him apart from other defensive ends.
NJ.com’s James Kratch shared his two cents on the Vernon signing, highlighting Vernon’s accomplishments from 2015.
"The pass rusher was the Giants’ top priority, and they showed it… Vernon, 25, is a young, productive pass rusher who finished third in Pro Football Focus’ edge defender grades for 2015. He was behind only Oakland’s Khalil Mack and Denver’s Von Miller. Vernon led all 4-3 defensive ends with 30 quarterback hits, and finished with 7.5 sacks."
The big thing people will likely be irked by is the contract, but it’s important to remember the Giants are a) in a position where bad drafting has forced them to overpay for free agents, and b) paying for a player who’s only going to get better.
The team is investing in the future, paying an exorbitant amount of money to a player who has recorded 29 sacks in his four NFL seasons and has never missed a game.
More nfl spin zone: New York Giants: Janoris Jenkins signing is huge
The Giants’ ideal and realistic starting defensive linemen for week 1 will be Vernon and Jason Pierre-Paul at defensive end, and Damon “Snacks” Harrison and “Big” Johnathan Hankins at defensive tackle. At this point, all we have is how it looks on paper. But on paper, this unit looks like the most lethal D-line the Giants have had in years.
Vernon was the centerpiece the Giants wanted to rebuild their defense around, so signing him to the big deal makes sense. They identified the guy they wanted and they went out and got him.