Markus Kuhn called worst defensive tackle in the league by PFF

Pro Football Focus has released its list of worst players in the NFL at every position.

I suppose it's good news that the New York Giants had just one representative -- Washington had five. But the bad news is that that player, Markus Kuhn, may have suddenly become a more important player for the Giants in the wake of the injury to Johnathan Hankins.

This is what PFF had to say about Kuhn:

Defensive interior - tackle: Markus Kuhn, Giants (46.8)

Kuhn has been below-average when it comes to rushing the passer, just not extremely below-average. He has a sack, a hit, and two hurries in 79 pass rush snaps. But it's his run defense that's been a real struggle for him this season. He's been on the field for 108 run plays, and has made just two run stops. That's a 1.9 run stop percentage, ranked 70th out of 73 qualified defensive tackles.

Honorable Mention: Brandon Mebane (48.6)

Kuhn also had the lowest +/- grade of any defensive tackle graded by Pro Football Focus, a score -8.5. That makes his the lowest-graded player among 70 qualifying defensive tackles/nose tackles. Kuhn's run defense grade of -7.3 is 67th, and his pass rush grade of -2.0 is 49th.

In a dubious honor, Kuhn is actually the second-most highly rated "worst" player in the NFL, behind only Pittsburgh first-rounder Bud Dupree.

Honestly, a week ago, this probably would only have been a footnote. Kuhn strikes me as a good guy. A hard worker in the classroom and weight room, a high-motor guy on the field, and a great teammate. But just not that good at football -- and I, for one, hate feeling like I'm piling on. But with Hankins' injury, Kuhn's importance to the team might just rise.

The hope is, of course, that second year man Jay Bromley and recently promoted practice squadder Montori Hughes would absorb Hankins' snaps, leaving Kuhn's role relatively unchanged.