New York Giants Just Unearthed a Potential Gem on Defense

The New York Giants put together a rather stunning 27-21 overtime victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon, winning on the road in spite of an avalanche of injuries that has befallen the team.

All things considered, it was the most impressive win of the season for the Giants, and there is plenty of credit to go around.

But for now, I want to highlight one player in particular who may have emerged as a significant piece for New York: rookie defensive tackle Bobby Jamison-Travis.

The Giants selected Jamison-Travis in the sixth round of the NFL Draft back in April, hoping that the 6-foot-3, 328-behemoth would help improve New York's shoddy run defense.

A rather pedestrian training camp and preseason resulted in Jamison-Travis being buried on the depth chart, and a late-summer trade for CJ Okoye further clouded his role.

It took until last week for Jamison-Travis to finally see the field, when he played 18 snaps in a loss to the New Orleans Saints.

But clearly, John Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson must have seen something they liked in the first-year defender, as Jamison-Travis started up front alongside of DJ Reader and Shelby Harris against the Texans.

Jamison-Travis ended up playing in 39.3 percent of the Giants' defensive snaps and delivered, finishing with three tackles and combining for a stuff.

New York limited Houston to just 84 yards on the ground, and while Jamison-Travis wasn't the only reason, he was certainly a big help.

Suddenly, the Giants may have unearthed a potential solution to help with their run defense woes. I thought it would be Okoye, who I initially petitioned to move into the starting lineup to add some extra beef in the trenches.

But maybe it's Jamison-Travis who will assume that role.

At 25, the Auburn product is pretty old for a rookie, but given that he is not playing a position that requires elite athleticism, the age doesn't mean quite as much.

Jamison-Travis is specifically being asked to help stop the run, which is something he did very well in college.

Few people even knew who Jamison-Travis even was when New York drafted him six months ago, but the Minneapolis native could turn himself into a known commodity very soon.

The Giants have a bye next week and will then face the Philadelphia Eagles on the road in Week 9. You can bet that Jamison-Travis will be in the starting lineup yet again at Lincoln Financial Field.