Next on the list of veteran IDP winners and losers after the NFL Draft is the New York Giants! They have some players you want to get for your IDP teams! The Giants also have some players you might want to move on from.
New York Giants
IDP Veteran Winners
Defensive Ends/Edge – Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari
The first winners on my veteran IDP winners and losers list are coming from the defensive end/edge spots. The Giants spent zero capital in the 2023 NFL draft on the position. There were also zero note-worthy free agents brought in to challenge the incumbents. Those incumbents return for 2023 with great expectations to take a gigantic step this year in creating havoc for the opposing offenses passing game.
The first of these incumbents is Azeez Ojulari who will be heading into his third season. After playing in all 17 games as a rookie in 2021, and starting in 13 of those games, Ojulari missed a substantial part of the 2022 season. As a rookie, he played in at least 50% of the defensive snaps in every game, and as much as 90% of the defensive snaps. He posted 49 tackles (29 solo), 8 tackles for a loss, 13 QB hits, 8 sacks, 2 passes defended, and a forced fumble.
Injuries derail Ojulari’s sophomore campaign.
After a very successful rookie season, Ojulari was counted on for a nice jump in performance. His body said, not so fast. Ojulari hurt his calf in training camp and ended up missing the first two games of the season. He then returned for weeks three and four and posted 3 tackles (2 solo), a sack, and a forced fumble on under 50% of the defensive snaps. After having a setback with his calf, Ojulari was placed on injured reserve and missed the next seven games. He returned for 4 more games and racked up 11 tackles (7 solo), 3 tackles for a loss, 7 QB hits, 4 1/2 sacks, a pass defended, 2 forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. Ojulari would injure his ankle early in week 17 and miss the rest of the season.
The second winner on the veteran IDP winners and losers list is Kayvon Thibodeaux. He also missed the first two games at the beginning of the season with a knee MCL sprain. His rookie year and Giants’ career would begin in week three. Over his first 11 weeks, Thibodeaux would average 2.36 tackles (1.45 solo), 1 QB hit, and .18 sacks.
Thibodeaux blows up in week 15.
Week 15 would be Thibodeaux’s break-out week. He would record 12 tackles (9 solo), 3 tackles for a loss, 1 QB hit, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. His next 2 games would bring another 11 tackles (8 solo), 2 tackles for a loss, 2 QB hits, a sack, and 2 passes defended. Thibodeaux and Ojulari are set to be the bookends for years to come. Both will benefit from the other playing across from them.
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Linebacker – Micah McFadden
Micah McFadden dodged a bullet and is on the winners’ list of the veteran IDP winners and losers list. Drafted in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, not a lot was expected of McFadden. He would receive his opportunity to show his game with a string of games starting with week eight. From that point on, McFadden posted 49 tackles (29 solo), 6 tackles for a loss, 2 QB hits, 2 sacks, and a forced fumble.
The Giants showed their belief in him when their only move was to bring in Bobby Okereke to replace the unsigned free agent, Jaylon Smith. No draft picks were used during the 2023 NFL draft either.
IDP Veteran Losers
Cornerback – Fabian Moreau and Darnay Holmes
After actually having a decent fantasy football year, Fabian Moreau ends up on the losers’ side of the veteran IDP winners and losers list. He played roughly half of the defensive snaps for the year with the Giants. In those limited snaps, he totaled 66 tackles (50 solo), and 10 passes defended. It was not enough to keep Moreau around though. The Giants made Deonte Banks their first-round draft pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Moreau is still unsigned and is a free agent as of now.
The Giants used their sixth-round pick on another cornerback in Tre Hawkins. This is not a good sign for Darnay Holmes who will also end up on the losers’ side of the veteran IDP winners and losers list. Holmes played anywhere from 43% of the defensive snaps to 84% of the defensive snaps in 2022. He was the nickelback. Holmes produced just 38 tackles (28 solo), 2 tackles for a loss, 1 QB hit, 8 passes defended, and a forced fumble. Those just are not the statistics that will keep you on the field year after year.
Thank you for checking out my 23′ Team Veteran IDP Winners and Losers article! You can read all of my articles on my IDP Guys author page. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @OldMan_FF and @IDPGuys (we have offense, too), and please consider becoming a subscriber!
