The Giants took a significant step in their quest to replace Dexter Lawrence during the sixth round of the NFL draft last weekend. Then, just a few days later, they furthered their plans by signing two seasoned defensive tackles to one-year contracts.
The most prominent of the new signings is 34-year-old Shelby Harris, who has quite a number of starts under his belt—89, to be exact—across his NFL career. Alongside him, they also welcomed Leki Fotu, an experienced player who has played for four different teams in six years.
The strategy seems to involve addressing this gap with multiple players, as it’s clear that no single individual can mimic Lawrence’s impact on the defense. There’s a possibility the Giants might add another veteran soon. Earlier, they selected Bobby Jamison Travis, a hefty 328-pound run stuffer from Auburn University in that same sixth round.
While Harris is not the biggest guy at 6-foot-2 and 288 pounds, he has a notable history of excelling against rival rushing offenses. He has appeared in 146 NFL games, starting in 89, and has a career total of 28.5 sacks. He’s played for several teams—Raiders, Broncos, Seahawks, and Browns—an impressive record for a seventh-round draft pick from 2014 out of Illinois State. Last season, while with the Browns, he played in 17 games and notched 32 tackles (including seven tackles for loss) and a sack.
On the other hand, Fotu, who is 27, has spent time with both the Raiders and Texans recently. He stands at 6-foot-5 and weighs 317 pounds, making him considerably larger than Harris, though he doesn’t quite have the same track record. So far, Fotu has started 26 of 66 games and accumulated 4.5 sacks. He started his NFL career with the Cardinals before briefly playing two games with the Jets in 2024.
However, it’s important to note that bringing in these players isn’t the final word on the Giants’ defensive line. They had DJ Reeder visiting before the draft, and they’re also looking at 39-year-old Calais Campbell.
Lawrence and the Giants couldn’t quite align on a contract extension, which led to some dissatisfaction on Lawrence’s part, ultimately resulting in him requesting a trade.
In the end, the Giants made a strategic move, trading Lawrence to the Bengals and, with the 10th pick in this year’s draft, drafted Francis Mauigoa, the top-rated offensive lineman available. Mauigoa is anticipated to step in as the starting right guard.
Currently, additional defensive tackle options on the roster include veteran Roy Robertson-Harris and 2025 third-round pick Darius Alexander.
