Make the case: Braden Fiske or Brandon Dorlus at DT for the Giants?

The New York Giants still have needs throughout their depth chart. Their depth was replenished at critical positions, and some players were signed to compete to start. The defensive line was not one of those positions.

GM Joe Schoen identified the defensive line as an Achilles heel last offseason when the Giants struggled to fit the run. Their two top defensive linemen in 2022 — Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams — were forced to play significantly more snaps than the coaching staff desired. The latter player also dealt with an injury that season.

Schoen ensured that the defensive line would not be an issue in 2023 by signing Rakeem Nunez-Roches and A’Shawn Robinson. The latter is still with the team, but Robinson leveraged his time with the Giants into a three-year $22.5-million contract with $10 million guaranteed.

The Giants' depth chart now includes Lawrence, Nunez-Roches, and two young Day 3 players from the last two drafts: D.J. Davidson and Jordon Riley. While promising, the Giants could look to upgrade their depth and possibly find a quicker — perhaps lighter — player who can better complement Lawrence.

The Giants' defense will likely be more multiple from a front standpoint under new defensive coordinator Shane Bowen. This means a lighter three-technique with upfield burst and the lateral agility to quickly slant to help assist a defense that is predicated on four-man rushes (twists) is in demand. Here are two players that fit that mold.

Braden Fiske, Florida State

Few players had a better offseason for themselves than Braden Fiske, who knocked both the Senior Bowl and the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine out of the proverbial park. I wrote my evaluation on Fiske in the middle of January. It was obvious he was talented and quick, but even I was taken aback by his elite athletic performance at the combine. Here is my scouting report of his play:

A former three-star recruit out of Michigan City, Ind., where he attended Michigan City High School. He was the 15th-ranked Indianan recruit and the 63rd offensive guard in the 2018 cycle. He made the switch to defense in his first year at Western Michigan.

Fiske was one year off from Van Wilder status; he spent five seasons at Western Michigan before using his final year of eligibility as a transfer student to Florida State, where he was the second defensive lineman and the 20th-ranked player in the transfer portal.

He finished his long college career with 191 total tackles, 36 for a loss, 19.5 sacks, and three passes defended. Fiske recorded 131 pressures throughout his college career, 48 of which came in his final year with Western Michigan. He assimilated well into Florida State’s aggressive defense, which relied heavily on gap-exchanging at the snap. Fiske, along with future first-round pick Jared Verse, were excellent in their twist game. Fiske will attend the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl.

Strengths

• Solid overall upper-body thickness
• Good athlete
• Very good first step quickness/burst
• Gets upfield quickly keeps his chest clean
• Hands and feet are synced well with excellent change of direction
• Solid overall hand usage (location, timing, placement)
• A ton of slanting/exchanging gaps
• Good angles, limits chest exposure on exchange
• Sniffed out screens/misdirections - smart player
• Keys the snap well to maximize his first step
• Knack for splitting double teams vs. pass
• Maintains low leverage and gets himself through narrow crevices
• Arm over + COD, good feel when containing wide
• Third-and-8 sack vs. Louisville
• Hands are active with excellent ability/feel on twists
• Angle discernment is great with twists and he does a good job to contain
• Does a good job maneuvering around the half-man relationship
• Capable run defender against base blocks
• Good job in pursuit
• Elite competitor with an exceptional motor

Weaknesses

• Slightly undersized for an IDL
• Very short arms - third percentile (31-inches)
• Pad level would get high - has some stiffness in his lower-half
• Will be limited in a two-gapping, reading, type of system
• Needs to finish tackles better near the LOS
• Had a career 15.3% missed tackle rate
• Play strength when tasked to hold the point of attack is modest
• Will be a 24-year-old rookie

Fiske is best utilized by penetrating and gap exchanging to leverage his quick first step, adaptability, and processing as a football player. He may struggle in a system inside the 4i-shade where he has to stack, read, and shed. He has elite competitive toughness, and his motor never runs out of gas. A team that uses four-man pass-rushing concepts (twists, simulated pressures) should love the idea of adding a player like Fiske. Especially from the twisting standpoint, his angles of approach and first step are excellent in these situations.

He may not be the strongest at the point of attack, but he’s not a liability, either. Fiske has the upside to start but will be a good complementary piece with a pass-rushing upside when he is selected in the upcoming draft.

Brandon Dorlus, Oregon

A former-three star recruit out of Deerfield Beach, Fla., where he attended Deerfield Beach High School. He was the 74th overall Floridian recruit and the 49th strong-side defensive end in the 2019 recruiting class.

The former teammate of Kayvon Thibodeaux presents a natural fit for Shane Bowen, due to his ability to align as a five-technique in an ODD front or a three-technique in an EVEN front.

Like Fiske, Brandon Dorlus is an older prospect who is already 23. He had three consecutive seasons of 40-plus pressures in college and finished his college career with 160 total pressures. He had 108 tackles, 27 for a loss, 12 sacks, and 14 passes knocked down throughout his entire collegiate career.

Dorlus is different than Fiske. The former Oregon Duck aligned all over the defensive front of Oregon and has a similar usage of Jihad Ward, although Dorlus has more pass-rushing upside than Ward.

Dorlus’ first game against Washington and his Week 10 matchup versus Cal were good representations of his pass-rushing prowess. He has a combination of heavy-active - hands, an array of pass-rushing moves to stress offensive linemen, and the raw power to stress OL, creating disruptive pressure into the pocket.

Dorlus is also a sound-run defender who can sink his tall stature down to a lower base. His presence would also help add more valuable depth behind Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Azeez Ojulari while providing a quick threat on the interior next to Lawrence.

The verdict

The idea of Dorlus adding depth to the entire defensive front is appealing. That type of versatility is valuable. Brian Daboll and other positional coaches have stressed the importance of wearing many hats for players who aren’t superstars. Dorlus has a big head and can fit those hats, as long as they’re not the Brian Robinson hat from 2022.

Both of these players would be considered around pick 47 for the New York Giants. Fiske will likely be selected by this point - his combine solidified himself into the top-50, even with a deep interior defensive line class that also has a pair of Texas defenders (Byron Murphy II & T’Vondre Sweat) and Illinois’ Jer’zhan Newton.

Still, crazier things have happened. There is an immediate role to be seized on the Giants. Fiske has the exact skill set the Giants want to add to their team to complement Lawrence and allow Bowen to pressure the quarterback with four rushers and many twists. Fiske is the pick, and the interior defensive line could be a target for the Giants somewhere on Day 2.