The Giants swung a surprising trade for Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree last week. It was surprising in that Ogletree has been a very good player for the Rams, just 26 years old and having signed a four-year, $42 million contract extension just last October. Kind of soon to regret that deal, it seems.
Apparently, the Rams didn't like Ogletree's fit in Wade Phillips' defense (concerns they didn't seem to have six weeks into the season). It also frees up some cap room, maybe making it easier to retain or pursue other players. But certainly Ogletree is a player New York's defense could use.
The Giants haven't fielded a strong linebacking corps in recent years. Last year, their most productive tacklers at the position didn't have more than 60 total, a combination of injuries and the team shuffling players to try and find the right mix. B.J. Goodson and Calvin Munson were there leading tacklers. Neither were standouts.
Ogletree comes off a down year himself; maybe he wasn't a good fit for Phillips defense. He had 95 tackles. But that's still much better than any Giants linebacker, and he's just a year removed from putting up 136 for the Rams. It was the third time in his first four seasons he had over 110 tackles, and made him one of just 30 players to record over 135 in the last five years.
| 135-PLUS TACKLES, 2013-2017 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Pos | Solo | Ast | Tot |
| 2013 | Vontaze Burfict, Cin. | OLB | 114 | 57 | 171 |
| 2016 | Bobby Wagner, Sea. | MLB | 85 | 82 | 167 |
| 2013 | Paul Posluszny, Jac. | MLB | 122 | 40 | 162 |
| 2013 | Kiko Alonso, Buff. | MLB | 87 | 72 | 159 |
| 2013 | Luke Kuechly, Car. | MLB | 93 | 63 | 156 |
| 2015 | NaVorro Bowman, S.F. | ILB | 116 | 38 | 154 |
| 2014 | Luke Kuechly, Car. | MLB | 99 | 54 | 153 |
| 2014 | DeAndre Levy, Det. | OLB | 117 | 34 | 151 |
| 2015 | D'Qwell Jackson, Ind. | ILB | 89 | 61 | 150 |
| 2016 | Zach Brown, Buff. | ILB | 97 | 52 | 149 |
| 2016 | Christian Kirksey, Clev. | ILB | 96 | 52 | 148 |
| 2015 | Lavonte David, T.B. | OLB | 85 | 62 | 147 |
| 2014 | Lavonte David, T.B. | OLB | 101 | 45 | 146 |
| 2016 | Kwon Alexander, T.B. | MLB | 108 | 37 | 145 |
| 2016 | Sean Lee, Dall. | WLB | 93 | 52 | 145 |
| 2013 | Lavonte David, T.B. | OLB | 107 | 38 | 145 |
| 2013 | NaVorro Bowman, S.F. | ILB | 120 | 25 | 145 |
| 2014 | Curtis Lofton, N.O. | ILB | 99 | 45 | 144 |
| 2017 | Blake Martinez, G.B. | ILB | 96 | 48 | 144 |
| 2017 | Preston Brown, Buff. | MLB | 84 | 60 | 144 |
| 2017 | Joe Schobert, Clev. | MLB | 87 | 57 | 144 |
| 2014 | Paul Worrilow, Atl. | ILB | 84 | 58 | 142 |
| 2013 | D'Qwell Jackson, Clev. | ILB | 75 | 66 | 141 |
| 2016 | Preston Brown, Buff. | ILB | 79 | 60 | 139 |
| 2014 | D'Qwell Jackson, Ind. | ILB | 81 | 57 | 138 |
| 2017 | Deion Jones. Atl. | MLB | 91 | 47 | 138 |
| 2017 | Christian Kirksey, Clev. | OLB | 86 | 52 | 138 |
| 2016 | Alec Ogletree, L.A. | MLB | 98 | 38 | 136 |
| 2013 | Stephen Tulloch, Det. | MLB | 93 | 42 | 135 |
| 2017 | Demario Davis, NYJ | ILB | 97 | 38 | 135 |
New York, in contrast, hasn't had a linebacker reach even 100 tackles since Jameel McClain, back in 2014.
The move appears to be a philosophical shift by new GM Dave Gettleman. The guy he's replacing, Jerry Reese, hadn't used a high pick on the position in recent years, and tended to sign modestly priced veterans. Gettleman was in Carolina the last four years, so he knows the value of having an excellent group of linebackers. First-rounder Shaq Thompson was drafted on his watch two years ago.
There was some talk that New York trading draft picks for veteran players indicates they won't draft a quarterback at No. 2 overall. I don't agree. Ogletree is a very good 26-year-old at a position of need for the Giants. They weren't likely to pluck a player out of the draft in the fourth or sixth rounds that were better than him (those are the picks they gave up, while getting a seventh back next year). Ogletree should offer stability and production at a position where the Giants have had none for the last few years.
A step in the right direction for the Giants defense perhaps returning to fantasy relevance after a crummy 2017.
--Andy Richardson