DJ Reader
This season
No snaps on record this season yet.
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- Giants defensive snap counts vs. Texans: • It's so important to hit on a few mid-level free agent signings every offseason. The Giants certainly did with DJ Reader. His two-year, $12 million contract looks like an absolute bargain. Bobby Jamison-Travis has ditched the redshirt and might already be the second-best run-stopper on the D-line. His emergence allowed the Giants to use Darius Alexander almost exclusively in passing situations, which masks his deficiencies against the run. If there's a position I had to predict a trade, it's defensive tackle. This group is getting by, but could really use a solid piece to complement Reader. And I'd expect Dean Lowry to be a practice squad elevation before long. • Abdul Carter is a machine. He was back to playing nearly ever snap after being on a pitch count last week due to a calf injury. On the Texans' game-tying drive late in regulation every member of the D-line was on a knee catching their breath during a timeout and Carter was…
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D.J. Reader has been Solid in the Giants’ Run Defense
2 more updatesfrom 1 source
- Oct 25 Pat Leonard (X) D.J. Reader wins the OT toss and elects to kick. Texans start with the ball
- Oct 25 Pat Leonard (X) Awesome national anthem here in Houston on the guitar Giants captains today are D.J. Reader, Bryan Hudson and Malik Harrison Giants win toss and defer. Texans start with the ball
- Oct 25 Patricia Traina (Bluesky) D.J. Reader has been Solid in the Giants’ Run Defense
- Giants-Saints defensive snap counts (trying to post before any more cuts): • Slight uptick in DJ Reader's playing time. Has to be incredibly challenging to limit his snaps because he is far and away their best DT. His TFL on third-and-goal before halftime could have been a game-changing play. Shelby Harris is a tier or two below, and then it drops off a cliff when they get to the young guys. • Abdul Carter was dominant early with the consecutive holding penalties. Bad tackles just don't have a chance against him. He was on a pitch count while playing through a calf injury. He was quieter as the game progressed, but it also turned into a run-heavy second half. Kayvon Thibodeaux has been better the past two weeks, but they still need more. The roughing the passer penalty was just unnecessary. I'll just say the Jihad Ward release was not a surprise. Trace Ford is out of practice squad elevations. I'm not sure it's a lock that he gets signed to the 53. You're seeing the difference…
- Giants defensive tackle D.J. Reader made some poignant comments after today’s loss to the Saints. That and more from our game analysis in @NYDNSports
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D.J. Reader with an incredible play on third down near the goal line to stuff Miller.
1 more updatefrom 1 source
- Oct 18 Pat Leonard (X) Nice tackle there by D.J. Reader for a loss of 1. 4th and goal at the 2 yard line for the Saints
- Oct 18 Jordan Raanan (X) D.J. Reader with an incredible play on third down near the goal line to stuff Miller.
- Giants' defensive snap counts vs. Commanders: • Very even split among the top three defensive tackles. That's mostly because Darius Alexander was used as an interior rusher on passing downs. He has replaced Chauncey Golston, while Jihad Ward replaced Kayvon Thibodeaux (who has shifted outside to replace Brian Burns). DJ Reader has been so steady. They've shown impressive discipline not over-using him, which can't be easy because the drop off is significant when he's off the field. Jacory Croskey-Merritt's 33-yard touchdown run on the opening drive came on the first play after Reader and Shelby Harris were replaced by Alexander and CJ Okoye. Okoye got easily displaced from the gap where the run went. Harris has been playing better recently, but the depth here is still a concern. Ward failed to make an impact in his debut in his role as an interior rusher on passing downs and a DE in the base 3-4. • Abdul Carter continues to play at an extremely high level. He had six pressures…
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Darius Alexander played the most snaps of the interior Giants DL on Sunday. Interesting development.
Defensive Snaps:
Darius Alexander 32
Shelby Harris 31
D.J. Reader 30
Jihad Ward 23
C.J. Okoye 13
1 more updatefrom 1 source
- Oct 12 Jordan Raanan (X) Defensive line depth definitely a concern for this team right now. Giants are 25th in rush defense (127.6) and 30th in yards per carry (5.19). Darius Alexander and C.J. Okoye were on the field for the first two long TD runs by the Commanders. · Quoting Jordan Raanan: Darius Alexander played the most snaps of the interior Giants DL on Sunday. Interesting development. Defensive Snaps: Darius Alexander 32 Shelby Harris 31 D.J. Reader 30 Jihad Ward 23 C.J. Okoye 13
- Oct 12 Jordan Raanan (X) Darius Alexander played the most snaps of the interior Giants DL on Sunday. Interesting development. Defensive Snaps: Darius Alexander 32 Shelby Harris 31 D.J. Reader 30 Jihad Ward 23 C.J. Okoye 13
- Giants' defensive snap counts vs. Cardinals: • Uptick in snaps for DJ Reader and Shelby Harris. Reader has been quietly steady all season. Harris had his best game, highlighted by the tipped pass that turned into an Arvell Reese interception. Darius Alexander's playing time increased as he was back in the third-down package with Kayvon Thibodeaux bumped out to edge rusher. CJ Okoye had an impressive bull rush for his first career sack. Chauncey Golston played almost exclusively on the defensive line before leaving with a neck injury (he looked woozy) in the third quarter. Alexander and Reader were the interior DL on passing downs after Golston's departure. • Abdul Carter had a major impact rushing the passer regardless of what the box score says. He was constantly winning quickly and putting pressure on Jacoby Brissett. He has been off the field for four defensive snaps in the past two games. That's not sustainable. Need to find a way to rotate more even with Brian Burns…
- Funky look from Dennard Wilson with Shelby Harris and DJ Reader dropping in coverage while both ILB and Dru Phillips rushed. Coverage gave Brissett nowhere to go with the ball · Quoting Doug Analytics: DOTS of the Deonte Banks game-winner
- Giants captains: Micah McFadden, Cam Skattebo, D.J. Reader, Jermaine Eluemunor. They win the toss and defer to the 2nd half. Cardinals will start with the ball
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Giants-Titans defensive snap counts:
• DJ Reader and Shelby Harris have held steady around 50% of the snaps in all three games. Darius Alexander back in the mix after being a healthy scratch in Week 2. He figures to see more time on passing downs in Brian Burns’ absence.
• Didn’t even consider the possibility of Burns playing after he missed practice all week with a sprained ankle. They started out using him only on third downs, but he eventually got some early-down snaps as the game progressed.
Impossible to say if the ankle injury contributed to the ACL. I’d be more inclined to blame the turf.
It’s weird to not feel great about a defensive performance that yielded just seven points. But the lack of pass rush was alarming. Abdul Carter played 97% of the snaps, and that was with Burns still in the mix. That’s not sustainable.
Kayvon Thibodeaux was quiet in his most extensive PT of the season. Going to need to pick it up with Burns out.
• Arvell Reese looked like a top five…
2 more updatesfrom 1 source
- Sep 28 Josh Kendall (X) “I know it sounds crazy, but four rushing as one is hard to find on tape these days. You have so many guys across the league that are mercenary mindsets.” · Quoting Joe Cronin: Interior Defensive Line Pass Rush Win % through 3 Weeks: (SumerSports) 1. Gervon Dexter 24.3% (Falcons) 2. Zach Harrison 24.0% (Falcons) 3. Jeffrey Simmons 21.6% (Titans) 4. Aaron Donald 21.4% (Rams) 5. D.J. Reader 19.0% (Giants)
- Sep 28 Josh Kendall (X) Interior Defensive Line Pass Rush Win % through 3 Weeks: (SumerSports) 1. Gervon Dexter 24.3% (Falcons) 2. Zach Harrison 24.0% (Falcons) 3. Jeffrey Simmons 21.6% (Titans) 4. Aaron Donald 21.4% (Rams) 5. D.J. Reader 19.0% (Giants)
- Sep 28 Dan Duggan (X) Giants-Titans defensive snap counts: • DJ Reader and Shelby Harris have held steady around 50% of the snaps in all three games. Darius Alexander back in the mix after being a healthy scratch in Week 2. He figures to see more time on passing downs in Brian Burns’ absence. • Didn’t even consider the possibility of Burns playing after he missed practice all week with a sprained ankle. They started out using him only on third downs, but he eventually got some early-down snaps as the game progressed. Impossible to say if the ankle injury contributed to the ACL. I’d be more inclined to blame the turf. It’s weird to not feel great about a defensive performance that yielded just seven points. But the lack of pass rush was alarming. Abdul Carter played 97% of the snaps, and that was with Burns still in the mix. That’s not sustainable. Kayvon Thibodeaux was quiet in his most extensive PT of the season. Going to need to pick it up with Burns out. • Arvell Reese looked like a top five…
- Giants defensive snap counts vs. Rams: • This was the matchup that was going to put the remade interior defensive line to the test. The Rams running backs averaged 6.8 yards per carry. DJ Reader and Shelby Harris have been around 50% of the snaps in each of the first two games. This was the expectation with two older DT, so that leaves a lot of snaps for backups. Darius Alexander was a healthy scratch, while the players in his place failed to make an impact. Chauncey Golston is playing a lot of snaps because he's a starting DL in the base (Giants played more 3-4 last night) and he rushes inside on passing downs. Still not convinced playing him inside so much is the best use of his skill set. • Abdul Carter with another heavy workload. Other than the sack, a quiet game. Nowhere near the impact he had in the opener. Pass rush was quiet overall. Similar refrain about chip blocks and QB getting the ball out quick. Need to figure out a counter because can't just have a QB like Matthew…
- Giants-Rams pregame thought No. 7: • The Josh Tupou promotion was telling. The 350-pounder adds beef to deal with the Rams’ Duo-heavy run game. DJ Reader is going to earn his salary in this game. The key for the defensive tackles against the double teams will be staying square to the line as much as possible. If they’re getting turned or pushed back, LA’s running backs will find the creases for big gains. The Giants mostly played nickel last week, but expect them to use more base 3-4 tonight to counter the Rams’ 13 personnel usage. Abdul Carter played with violence against the run in the opener. It will be vital for Carter and the other edges to bring that type of physicality tonight.
- Giants defensive snap counts vs. Cowboys: • As someone who charts the personnel live by hand, I appreciate that Dennard Wilson had very strong patterns to his substitutions. DJ Reader and Shelby Harris are clearly the top two interior DL. Getting away with playing the vets less than 50 percent of the snaps and holding the Cowboys to 3.8 yards per carry is a big win. When they were out on early downs, Darius Alexander and CJ Okoye took over. On third downs, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Chauncey Golston were the interior DL. Golston is a versatile piece. He can play DE in the base, DT in sub packages and OLB when needed in that rotation. • Thibodeaux is being asked to make the biggest sacrifice to accommodate this front seven because Abdul Carter and Brian Burns are playing nearly every snap on the edge. Nice hustle by Thibodeaux to chase Dak Prescott on his interception. Carter had a game like many in his rookie year, where there are no sacks in the box score, but his presence was…
- Lot of chirping in this game. CeeDee Lamb came very close to getting flagged for taunting Deonte Banks after that TD. Dak Prescott was talking trash to DJ Reader coming off the field.
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The Giants unofficial Week 1 depth chart lists Donte Banks alongside Greg Newsome as the starting cornerbacks. Banks ahead of Paulson Adebo
Chauncey Golston is listed as the starting DE alongside DT Shelby Harris and NT D.J. Reader. Golston ahead of Darius Alexander.
1 more updatefrom 1 source
- Sep 8 Dan Duggan (X) The Giants' "unofficial" depth chart for Week 1 officially lists a few notable developments that we saw as the preseason progressed: • Chauncey Golston as a starting DE alongside DJ Reader and Shelby Harris. • Greg Newsome and Deonte Banks starting corners. Also: • Tyrone Tracy, Najee Harris and Devin Singletary all listed as RB2. • Darnell Mooney listed as the starting WR alongside Malik Nabers. • Kayvon Thibodeaux no longer listed as a co-starter with Abdul Carter. • They list a starting nickel corner now, and it's Dru Phillips, as expected. • Jevon Holland listed as the top punt returner. Uhh, no. That'll be Braxton Berrios.
- Sep 8 Jordan Raanan (X) The Giants unofficial Week 1 depth chart lists Donte Banks alongside Greg Newsome as the starting cornerbacks. Banks ahead of Paulson Adebo Chauncey Golston is listed as the starting DE alongside DT Shelby Harris and NT D.J. Reader. Golston ahead of Darius Alexander.
- Defensive tackle a position Giants had to continue to address. They traded Dexter Lawrence in the spring, then signed some vets including DJ Reader and Shelby Harris. But still more work to do · Quoting Mike Garafolo: Another John Harbaugh reunion: The #Giants are trading for DT C.J. Okoye, per me and @RapSheet, sending a 2028 7th-rounder to the #Ravens for the former International Player Pathway participant. Okoye, who recovered a fumble for Baltimore last night, heads to East Rutherford.