It probably won't happen because it almost never happens.
But with Dexter Lawrence not getting smaller, weaker or less dominant, the Giants' best player has learned something no interior defensive lineman should claim on his resume. It is certainly possible to achieve this.
Big Dex could actually finish this season as the NFL leader in sacks.
“He's on pace for it right now, so…he's doing a great job,” inside linebacker Bobby Okereke said Wednesday.
That's one of the many wasted aspects of this season for the Giants.
They are 2-5 and don't seem to be headed anywhere other than heading to Pittsburgh soon for a meeting with the Steelers on Monday night.
Being locked into yet another losing season is one of the best stretches for a defensive player in the history of a franchise celebrating its 100th anniversary.
Lawrence leads the NFL in sacks with nine sacks in seven games.
This puts the Jets' Will McDonald (8 sacks), the Lions' Aidan Hutchinson (7.5 sacks, but will miss the rest of the season), the Bengals' Trey Hendrickson (7 sacks), and the Ravens' Kyle Van Noy (7 sacks) ). ).
All of these players make their living as edge rushers, and sack leaders almost always belong to edge rushers. As a 340-pound nose tackle, Lawrence will be required to control the running game and push the pocket with an inside rush.
A sack rarely pays a lot of money.
Of the 33 players who have led the league in sacks since it became an official league statistic in 1982, only three have tied it inside: Hall of Famer John Randle (15.5 in 1997); LaRoy Glover (17 sacks in 2000) and future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald.
His 20.5 sacks in 2018 not only led the NFL, but also set the standard for interior defensive linemen.
And now Dexter Lawrence is here to take on it.
“No, I don't think anyone doubts that a nose tackle leads the league in sacks,” guard John Runyan Jr. said.
Lawrence, who has six sacks in the past three games, looks rare.
His nine sacks are the most by a Giants player in the first seven weeks of a season since Hall of Famer Michael Strahan broke the NFL record with 22.5 sacks in 2001 (Steelers' T.J.・Since Watt recorded it). ).
Leonard Marshall had 11.5 sacks in the Giants' first seven games in 1985.
Lawrence, 26, is on pace for 22 sacks.
“Honestly, it’s not just me,” Lawrence said. “It's the game plan, it's the DB coverage, the other guys are rushing as well. We do what we can when we can. When we get one-on-ones or when we hustle to the ball. , so effort play is more than just the numbers that come with getting a sack.”
His sack numbers are up, with Lawrence's previous season career high being 7.5 in 2022. But for a player signed to a four-year contract worth $87.5 million through 2027, abusing centers and guards is commonplace.
It's no secret what his opponents think of him.
According to Next Gen Stats, 63.3% of Lawrence's pass-rushing snaps this season have been double-teamed.
This is the highest rate (minimum 100 pass rushes) faced by any player since at least 2018.
“Dexter Lawrence is a problem,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said this week. “He has issues in the running game. He has issues in the passing game. I think he leads the NFL in sacks, but he's just a dominant, dominant player.”
Thanks in large part to Lawrence, the Giants lead the league in sacks with 31, followed by Brian Burns (four) and Azeez Ojulari (four), but far behind their giant teammates. do not have.
Runyan spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Packers and knew what it was like to play against Lawrence.
It's more fun to experience Lawrence as a teammate.
“Every year I look at the schedule and think about and think about all the players that are going to be there,” Runyan said. “I played against the Giants twice against Dexter, and that was a game I always went around knowing that I was going to get the best player in the business and that I was going to have to bring my A-. It was one of those games when that happens.
“But to be here and be on this side and see him just as a player, as a teammate and as a person, it's phenomenal in every way.”
Including the aspect that no one expected: he is the NFL's sack leader.
Two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning has taken the next step on the ballot for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. That group includes former Defensive Player of the Year Luke Cushley and Terrell Suggs, as well as prolific tight end Antonio Gates.
On Wednesday, the Hall announced 50 modern-day candidates, up from an original list of 167, after voting by a newly formed judging committee.
The full selection committee will then narrow the list of candidates to 25 semi-finalists within approximately four weeks.
The 15 finalists will then be selected for an annual pre-Super Bowl meeting that will create a new class.
