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D.J. Reader Vows to Fix Giants' Run Defense His Own Way
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- D.J. Reader Vows to Fix Giants' Run Defense His Own Way
The New York Giants signed the No. 1 free agent defensive lineman to bolster their 31st-ranked run defense last season.
Yet, D.J. Reader is also tasked with replacing arguably the best D-lineman in the game, in Dexter Lawrence .
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But Reader is confident in his ability to stop the run and told the New York Post he will "affect the game" even though he will play a different way from Lawrence.
Reader, 31, signed a two-year, $12.5 million contract with the Giants in May after the Giants traded Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 pick. Reader is coming off a year in which he had the 30th-best interior-defensive-lineman grade from Pro Football Focus (68.9) of 134 linemen graded.
D.J. Reader is 'A Physical Player Who Is Gonna Play His A– Off'
Reader only has 12.5 career sacks and is coming off a season where he only had 11 solo tackles while playing for the Detroit Lions . But that is proof of his differences to Lawrence as a player.
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"[I'm] not gonna be that player, not looking to be Dex," Reader told Steve Serby of the New York Post . "He plays the game a little bit different than the way I play it, but I feel like we both do it effectively. We affect the game. We affect the quarterback, we affect the run game."
So if the Giants aren't getting Lawrence, fans might be wondering what kind of player they are getting.
"I would just say, you're getting a physical player who's really bought into the system and is gonna play his a– off," Reader said.
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D.J. Reader is Ready to Help the Giants Run Defense Improve
Only Cincinnati allowed more rushing yards per game than the Giants last year (145.3). Reader was brought in to change that, and he intends to do so.
"I put a tremendous amount of pressure on myself as a player, especially in the run game," Reader said. "Obviously there's pressures from the outside, but I don't pay attention to them as much. I feel very confident in me being able to do the job I came here to do."
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Reader is confident in the Giants' ability to stop the run — "I believe we can; we just gotta go do it," he said. But the player who will wear No. 98 this year is sure he'll be able to do his part.
"I'm gonna be there in the middle, not going anywhere," Reader said. "I tell guys, 'Exit 98's always closed, man. I'm always there. Can't get off on Exit 98, no cars passing there.'"
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Sep 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
