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Ex-Raven Couldn’t Be More Excited to Play For John Harbaugh’s Giants
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- Ex-Raven Couldn’t Be More Excited to Play For John Harbaugh’s Giants
Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle C.J. Okoye. Getty
As the weeks got closer and closer to roster cutdown day, the New York Giants were an abnormally active team, particularly on the trade market.
It started with a deal that sent backup guard Daniel Faalele to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 2026 sixth-round draft pick.
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Then, they shipped backup offensive tackle Joshua Ezeudu to the Kansas City Chiefs , netting a 2028 seventh-round draft pick.
It showed a level of savviness from the front office that we haven't really seen before from the Giants, getting draft capital for players who were unlikely to make the final 53-man roster, but New York wasn't just dealing; they were receiving, too.
John Harbaugh doubled back to his old Baltimore Ravens roster, acquiring much-needed depth at defensive tackle in C.J. Okoye, a player who couldn't be more excited to be in New York.
C.J. Okoye Excited About Giants Trade
In an interview with the New York Giants website Big Blue View, Okoye spoke at length about his thought process before, during, and after the trade that sent him from Baltimore to New York, and how excited he is to be with Big Blue heading into 2026.
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"My (position group) room back in Baltimore was a deep room, but I had a great camp coming out. I was like, if they're gonna cut me, I know I'm gonna have to go somewhere else," Okoye said, via Big Blue View.
"That morning, it was like a shock to me, but it wasn't a shock. I was kind of happy, like it was a trade, you know what I mean? So, it was, it was a good, it was a good outcome."
Okoye was an addition the Giants desperately needed on their interior defensive line. After D.J. Reader and Shelby Harris, the position gets a little thin, and the ex-Raven should certainly help give them some more beef.
The 6-foot-6, 315-pound international prospect spent the first two years of his career with Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers before joining John last year in Baltimore.
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Now, as a member of the Giants, he'll have a bigger opportunity for playing time and likely an expanded role for the first time in his career.
How Will the Giants Use C.J. Okoye?
After the New York Giants traded for Okoye, Harbaugh revealed in a press conference how the team plans on using their new defensive tackle.
"So a guy who had been a developmental-type guy, learning the game and tremendous physical skills, hard worker, has really dedicated himself over the last few years to learning the game really because he didn't play it growing up and made great strides," Harbaugh told reporters.
"We see him as an inside defender, a defensive tackle, A-gap, B-gap player, run stopper, pocket pusher in terms of the pass game, and just a really big physical player. So kind of a type of guy we've been looking for, and we're really excited to get him up here."
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With Okoye playing under the same defensive line coach he had in Baltimore last season, Dennis Johnson, the Giants should already have a good understanding of the 24-year-old's strengths and weaknesses.
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