Giants star on pace to be rewarded for enduring brutal team season

The New York Giants are not having a good season (again) on paper. At 2-7, the team is on track to select in the top 10 of the 2025 NFL Draft like it did this year while no progress seems to have been made.

Well, at least in one department progress has been made but it hasn't translated to overall success for the club.

Entering Week 10, New York's defense leads the NFL in sacks with 35 and nose tackle Dexter Lawrence has been a huge part of that effort. He leads the team and is second in the league with nine sacks, trailing just Cincinnati's Trey Hendrickson. That's incredibly impressive for a nose tackle.

New York's defense as a whole, however, ranks 18th in total defense, ninth against the pass and 29th against the run. Quite confounding numbers for Giants fans looking for something to cheer about.

Dexter Lawrence earns midseason honors from NFL executives

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer polled 20 general managers, assistant general managers, vice presidents, and pro scouting directors to see who they think will win the individual year-end awards at the midseason mark. For Lawrence, he was picked to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Lawrence received eight votes from NFL executives, with Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher TJ Watt earning seven votes.

If Lawrence were to be voted Defensive Player of the Year, Lawrence would be the first nose tackle to earn the honor in the award's history. He would also be the first New York Giant to earn it since Michael Strahan in the 2001-02 season - the same where he broke the single-season sack record (22.5).

Lawrence still has three more years remaining on his contract (with a potential out in 2026) but it seems unlikely, for now, that New York would move on from the heart of its defense. Defensive Player of the Year honors would only add more value to a potential extension if Lawrence seeks it.