A late-round pick in the 2022 draft has turned out to be a rare bright spot for the Giants in what has been a difficult season all over the field.
Ahead of the Giants’ Week 11 game against the Commanders, linebacker Micah McFadden was reminded of his standout Week 7 performance against Washington when he recorded five total tackles, two quarterback hits, a half-sack and earned an elite 89.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
Since then, he has continued to make strides in his second season and he may be stepping into a bigger role at FedEx Field if fellow linebacker Bobby Okereke’s hip injury doesn’t improve.
“Yeah, I believe it would be Micah. We’d sit down and talk about it,” Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said regarding who would replace Okereke communicating the plays on defense. “[Darrian] Beavs [Beavers] is really starting to come back from a knee injury and looking well, doing nice things in practice, so I think we would have to wait and see what we could do roster-wise and everything else with Joe [Schoen] and Dabes [Brian Daboll] and go from there, but you know Micah has been playing well. Got a little beat up in the Dallas game, but I think that’s what we would have to do.”
McFadden, a fifth-round pick out of Indiana, feels ready for that challenge as he has comfortably flip-flopped positions with Okereke during practice and has taken advice from the five-year vet throughout the year.
“Bobby’s usually the green dot [helmet communicator on defense]. So, obviously if I went in, I’d probably be the green dot if he wasn’t able to go [in],” McFadden told The Post after Thursday’s practice. “So, I was just kind of having that in the back of your mind, getting ready to be that person and be that guy who’s not only going to call out the plays, but also talk through all the situational stuff, and just be aware of opponents. … I’d be ready and I’d be excited to do that, too.”
Okereke, who was the Giants’ most-expensive free-agent signing last offseason, said McFadden was also a mentor to him in learning the playbook after he arrived from Indianapolis.
That leadership, he believes, will prepare McFadden for taking on more responsibility.
“I think it’s just a great example of a homegrown kid within an organization, putting in the work, reaping what you’ve sown and really just seeing growth after a first-year campaign,” Okereke told The Post. “I think it’s just going to be a great example for the rookies that come in next year because this year to look at Micah and be like, ‘Wow, here’s a guy who’s really put the work in and done everything right and is now reaping in success.”
Across nine games this season, McFadden has recorded 60 combined tackles, nine tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, a half-sack, two recovered fumbles and one interception.
“I think he has developed and credit to him, the hard work he’s put in, the hard work he put in the offseason,” Martindale said. “He’s got more confidence and I think Bobby [Okereke] has a lot to do with Micah’s development as well. Egs [inside linebacker coach John Egoruwu] has done a great job with all those guys in that room but Micah, he’s done a nice job of taking the opportunity and running with it.
“And you know, he’d be the first to tell you he still has things he wants to work on and get better at as well and that’s one of the reasons why he’s improving.”