Progress Report: Youth shining down the stretch – Giants.com

Starting opposite Beal at corner was rookie DeAndre Baker, who put together his second consecutive strong performance. Baker finished tied for the second-most tackles with six (five solo) and had two pass breakups. Baker did a good job in coverage against Miamis DeVante Parker, limiting the Dolphins number one option until the end of the fourth quarter when the Giants were up by 23 points.

Julian Love has shined since taking over at safety for the injured Jabrill Peppers. The rookie fourth-round pick finished with five tackles (four solo), two tackles for loss, a pass defended and a quarterback hit.

Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence enjoyed one of the best games of his rookie season. While the stat sheet shows that he recorded just one tackle, Lawrence was a force in the pass rush. The first-round pick had two quarterback hits and finished with a pass rush grade of 90 and an overall grade of 82, according to PFF.

Lawrence wasnt the only young defensive lineman to perform well. Oshane Ximines collected 0.5 sacks and a QB hit, while RJ McIntosh picked up a sack, tackle for loss and a QB hit to go with his two solo tackles.

On top of the performance of several first and second-year players, fourth-year receiver Sterling Shepard led the team with nine receptions for 111 yards, earning the highest grade of any Giant at 87.9, according to PFF. Third-year lineman Dalvin Tomlinson tied with Lawrence for the highest PFF grade on the defensive side of the ball (82.0) after recording three tackles (one solo), one sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and one QB hit.

While this season may not have gone as the team or fans expected, the play of numerous young players has provided hope for a bright future.

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Progress Report: Youth shining down the stretch - Giants.com