Giants take surprising turn and add veteran defender who was not expected before the draft in intriguing late move
New York was expected to sign DJ Reader after the draft. Instead, the team added defensive tackle Shelby Harris, who had spent the past three seasons on the Cleveland Browns.
Ahead of the draft, the New York Giants hosted DJ Reader for a visit. It turns out, the team will sign an interior defensive lineman, but it’s not Reader. According to Jordan Schultz, the Giants are adding defensive tackle Shelby Harris.
Because the draft has already passed, this move doesn’t affect the Giants’ compensatory pick formula for 2027 — right now, the Giants are set to receive a fourth-round pick for losing wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, who signed with the Tennessee Titans for $17.5 million on yearly average.
New and different option
While Reader would be a more one-for-one replacement for Dexter Lawrence as a true nose tackle, Shelby Harris offers more alignment versatility. Last year for the Cleveland Browns, Harris played 379 snaps as a 3-tech and 52 as a true nose. He even had 73 snaps over the tackle.
A seventh-round pick back in 2014, Harris has played for the Oakland Raiders, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, and Seattle Seahawks. He spent the past three years in Cleveland — in that time, he generated 61 pressures and had 57 stops.
The move doesn’t necessarily mean the Giants won’t add DJ Reader, but that’s not as clear anymore. During the draft, the Giants selected Auburn defensive tackle Bobby Jamison-Travis in the sixth round. The current roster has two true nose tackles in Sam Roberts and Marlon Tuipulotu.
Resources to build the roster
The Giants traded Dexter Lawrence for the 10th overall pick in the draft. They used this selection to take offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa, from Miami. Not only is that pick impactful, but Lawrence’s trade had significant cap ramifications for New York.
It’s hard to give up a player of that caliber, but general manager Joe Schoen and head coach John Harbaugh collectively think that the combination of resources spread around the roster could generate better results — and adding Shelby Harris is part of that process.