The New York Giants should definitely be considering adding this player to repair a glaring issue.
The New York Giants' defense has not been what everyone had hoped this season. In spite of the unit being littered with talented players, it ranks toward the bottom of the NFL.
The biggest issue for the Giants has been stopping the run, where they are allowing a league-worst 5.6 yards per carry. Dexter Lawrence can only do so much, especially when he has clearly been playing injured all year long.
New York absolutely needs to address the issue during the offseason, and while I think drafting Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods will be the best possible solution, I could also see the Giants taking to free agency if they want to address another position on Day 1 of the draft.
The free-agent defensive tackle class is not very impressive, but there will certainly be some viable options available, and perhaps the most intriguing one is D.J. Reader.
Reader has long been renowned for his ability to stuff the run ever since he entered the league with the Houston Texans in 2016. He has also spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals and Detroit Lions, with whom he is currently playing.
The 31-year-old is far from a flashy addition, but he is practical and he would be affordable for a Giants squad that doesn't exactly have a ton of cap room.
New York has been lacking a partner for Lawrence ever since trading Leonard Williams, who, by the way, has been absolutely dominant with the Seattle Seahawks.
No, Reader isn't Williams, but he doesn't have to be. He would just represent a cost-conscious solution to what has been a pivotal problem for the Giants all season long.
The veteran isn't quite as destructive of a force as he once was, but again, New York's options in free agency will be very limited.
Reader should be able to be had on a short-term deal at a pretty low cost, probably less than the two-year, $22 million deal he signed with the Lions in March 2024.
The Giants need to rectify their run-stopping woes before anything else this spring, and unless they are planning on nabbing Woods in the first round of the draft, they should probably place a call to Reader once free agency begins.