Giants' Defensive Line Depth Chart Enters Flux as Roberts, Fotu Battle for Roster Spots

Sam Roberts missed the entire spring after undergoing offseason surgery, but New York expects the fifth-year defensive lineman to be ready for training camp in late July. Roberts, who appeared in only five games last season due to injury, accepted a one-year contract with no guaranteed money—a clear signal the Giants view him as a depth experiment rather than a solution. His late entry into the offseason program puts him on compressed footing when practice pads hit the ground.

The context here matters. The Giants traded away Dexter Lawrence, the Pro Bowl anchor of their interior, leaving a vacuum at a premium position. Head coach John Harbaugh's defensive philosophy will be shaped by whoever earns starting snaps alongside D.J. Reader and Shelby Harris. That means training camp isn't a formality—it's a competitive tryout for both Roberts and fellow veteran Leki Fotu, who took starting reps during the spring when Harris sat out OTAs. Fotu carries NFL experience (66 appearances, 26 starts) but also one-year, $25K guaranteed money, the same precarious economic footing as Roberts.

Fotu's spring work gives him a timing advantage. Taking first-team reps while Harris rested means he's already acclimated to Harbaugh's scheme and snap counts. Roberts will need to compress three months of ramp-up into six weeks. That's not insurmountable for a veteran, but it's a real structural disadvantage when depth spots are being contested. Neither player is guaranteed a roster spot; the Giants will almost certainly keep three or four interior linemen through Week 1, and Alexander, their 2025 third-round pick, profiles as a prime candidate for expanded playing time.

From a prop perspective, this reshuffling has implications for Giants defensive volume. Without Lawrence, sack generation becomes more distributed across the line. Roberts, when healthy, has produced 18 sacks over 79 career games—respectable depth production. If he makes the roster and earns rotation snaps, his individual sack total and tackles will depend entirely on snaps played. Fotu's profile is similar: 7.5 career sacks, suitable as a rotational interior anchor. The real bet isn't on either player's stat line—it's on playing time allocation. Whichever setup the Giants run out of camp (Reader plus Roberts, Reader plus Fotu, or a three-man rotation) will determine interior sack rates and how the team's pass rush distributes its production. Watch preseason snap counts closely. That's where the edge surfaces.