Giants 2023 UFA Primer: DT Justin Ellis

Justin Ellis, DL

Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 334 lbs.
Age: 32
NFL Exp.: 9 seasons
College: Louisiana Tech

Defensive lineman Justin Ellis signed a one-year deal with the New York Giants on March 18, 2022, with the idea of having him as the backup for Dexter Lawrence II.

Before coming to New York, Ellis played five seasons with the Raiders and three with the Ravens. As a Raider, Ellis had some of his best years. In 2015, he had a career-high 13 pressures in 174 pass-rush snaps. Two seasons later, in 2017, Ellis finished with 48 combined tackles and 22 stops in 14 starts.

During his time with the Ravens, Ellis didn’t start more than five games in each of his three seasons. Even with the playing time he received, he struggled to garner much success, failing to surpass double digits in stops or pressures since his days as a Raider.

2022 Recap

In Ellis’s first season as a Giant, which consisted of 362 snaps over 17 games (four starts), his performance was nothing particularly special.

Ellis finished with 22 combined tackles and the first sack of his NFL career. He also had eight stops to go with two pressures. However, Ellis didn’t find it easy to break through with his pass rush, nor did he have a greater impact against the run.

This came to life in Week 18, where Ellis, who played a full 48 snaps, didn’t come away with a single pressure or stop and just had one tackle to account for. Moreover, he struggled with minimizing missed tackles, committing a career-high three missed tackles.

Why The Giants Should Keep Him

Ellis has experience in defensive coordinator Wink Martindale's system, which is a plus. That experience can continue to benefit newcomers to the system because Ellis can help them get up to speed quickly.

He also likely won't be expensive to re-sign. Last year he had a one-year $1.27 million veteran minimum contract.

GIANTS UFA PRIMERS: QB Daniel Jones | IOL Nick Gates | RB Saquon Barkley | C Jon Feliciano

Why The Giants Shouldn’t Keep Him

The 32-year-old Ellis's production has been okay, but it's probably easy to replace. His 2022 campaign marked the third season of his last four, where he finished with a missed tackle rate higher than ten (13.0). Though he has the tools and build to be a plugger on defense, he hasn't quite delivered that consistently with the Giants.

Keep or Dump?

What the Giants got from Ellis was a solid but unspectacular performance that just about any other younger defensive lineman could have produced with the same number of reps.

The Giants will need to add depth on the defensive line, but they might be better off doing so via the draft rather than to continue recycling players from Martindale's past to fill key roles. It's time for the Giants to start thinking long-term. With a veteran like Ellis, who in his last four seasons hasn't been as super productive in his opportunities, the Giants are probably better off allocating whatever financial resources they might have devoted to re-signing Ellis elsewhere.