Day 7 of the New York Giants‘ 2025 training camp presents us with a slew of position battles, but today we’ll focus on the defensive line.
With Dexter Lawrence only getting in a few reps here and there as he rehabs from the dislocated elbow that landed him on injured reserve (IR) last year, the opportunity for the others to step up is here.
Run defense has been atrocious without Dexter Lawrence pic.twitter.com/4BOrxL3jOh
— Giants Nation Show (@GiantsNationPod) July 29, 2025
It was clear to general manager Joe Schoen that outside of Lawrence, the line was thin and poor against the rush. He used a third-round pick on Toledo’s Darius Alexander and added veterans Roy Robertson-Harris and Jeremiah Ledbetter in free agency to a group that has Rakeem Nunez-Roches, D.J. Davidson, Elijah Chatman, Jordon Riley, Cory Durden, and Elijah Garcia returning.
Now comes the part where this group has to gel and prove its worth. The Giants can run the ball on offense, no doubt, so they will be tested.
“It’s never as good as you think and never as bad as you think,” Lawrence said last week. “I’m excited just for these days to stack each other and us to keep growing together.”
We’ll see. A lot depends on how quickly Alexander can get on the field and produce.
“He is a lot like these other guys. There’s some flashes out there,” head coach Brian Daboll said this week regarding Alexander. “He’s got length and athleticism and he’s rushed from different areas in the pass-rush portion of things. He’s rushed inside, we’ve put him on the edge outside.
“(He’s a) big body guy who’s got sneaky athleticism for a big man. I know everybody sees the interception return that he had, but he’s got quick feet, he’s got long arms, he’s got good get off, he’s got a natural ability to rush, particularly on the interior side of the pocket, but then there’s double teams and down blocks and a bunch of things that you’re coaching off of that we have to work on.”
Although expectations are high for Alexander, he still appears firmly behind Robertson-Harris on the depth chart.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants training camp: Position battle to watch on Day 7