New York Giants all-time Mount Rushmore

2. Michael Strahan, DE (1993-2007)

The Giants have always been known for defense. Recently, that has not been the case.  However, each time the Giants have been successful, there has usually been a tremendous defense involved.

During the 1993 NFL Draft, the Giants selected Michael Strahan out of Texas Southern with the 40th overall pick. With the transcendent Lawrence Taylor nearing the end of his career, the team looked to add another game wrecker on defense.

Strahan played in nine games during his rookie year. He had one sack. Taylor retired after that 1993 campaign, and Strahan was now the future on defense.

Things didn’t go too smoothly for Strahan right away. From 1993-96, he had just 18 sacks in 55 games. Under Dan Reeves and Mike Nolan, he could not find his footing. After the ’96 season, Jim Fassel was named the head coach and he hired John Fox as defensive coordinator.

In the first year under Fassel and Fox in 1997, Strahan broke out with 14 sacks. The next year, he upped that to 15 sacks. He was named an All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl in both seasons.

Strahan’s production dipped a little bit after those two seasons, but he had a career-best, and NFL single-season record, 22.5 sacks in 2001 and was named AP Defensive Player of the Year. He had another 18.5 in 2003 and totaled six seasons of double-digit sacks with two more campaigns of nine plus.

Heading into the 2007 season, Strahan was 36 years old and nearing the end of his career. He had been named to seven Pro Bowls, selected to four All-Pro teams, and had a AP Defensive Player of the Year award on his resume. However, he did not have a Super Bowl win.

Strahan checked the Lombardi Trophy of his list that season, which rounded out a tremendous career. In 2014, he was elected to the Hall of Fame. His 141.5 career sacks are the highest total in team history, and also the sixth-most in league history.