Kerry Wynn’s versatility on the defensive line makes him a major asset for the Giants

Kerry Wynn has been injured most of this preseason, so predicting him to be a breakout player at this point is making me a little nervous. However, I know what I saw on film, and unless he totally lost all of his ability with his groin injury I still believe that he will have a huge impact for the Giants this season.

Wynn showed last year that he can be a helluva run defender at defensive end. He has good size at 6’5 and 264 pounds and did a really good job with his hands controlling blockers and holding his ground. His thick lower body gives him a really good base, which makes him very hard to move even though he isn’t the biggest guy in the world. While he isn’t likely to start, Wynn should be able to carve out a nice niche for himself coming in on run and goal-line downs at defensive end, especially with JPP’s situation with his hand, and maybe rushing inside on passing downs.

I’m not going to make a huge deal out of it, but I still do have questions and concerns about how JPP will hold up against the run when the Giants face teams that decide to line up with multiple tight ends and come downhill right at him. Throwing Wynn in there to play the run could make a huge difference in those situations. Wynn also has shown an ability to play well on both sides of the line, only adding to his value.

I’m probably most excited about the prospect of Wynn rushing inside on nickel though to be honest. He has only a sack and a half in the first two seasons of his career, all coming in 2014, but I think that’s mostly because he was trying to rush from the edge where he doesn’t necessarily have the kind of speed or explosiveness that you normally need to be productive out there. Succeeding as an interior rusher has more to do with quickness than straight line speed, and I think Wynn is plenty of quick enough and powerful enough to get a lot of pressure in there. On top of that he also showed good hand work rushing as a defensive tackle last season. With Cullen Jenkins no longer on the roster the Giants will need some pass rush help inside anyway, and Wynn is a great candidate to help pick up that slack.

If he can get healthy, that is.

With Jenkins, Robert Ayers and George Selvie all gone there will be opportunities aplenty for Wynn; he just has to get healthy before camp ends to show what he can do. If the Giants end up using him as an interior rusher, I predict that Kerry Wynn’s sack production will make a great leap this season. And now if you will excuse me I’m going to sit here with my fingers crossed wishing him better health.