The first step in the massive undertaking of replacing the massive Dexter Lawrence came last weekend in the sixth round of the NFL draft and the next steps came Wednesday when the Giants signed two veteran defensive tackles to one-year deals.
The more notable addition is Shelby Harris, a 34-year-old with 89 career NFL starts. The Giants also signed Leki Fotu, a well-traveled player who has been with four teams in six years.
No single player can replicate what Lawrence brought to the defense, so the plan is to attack the problem with multiple players. The Giants could sign another veteran soon. In the draft, they selected Auburn’s Bobby Jamison-Travis in the sixth round. He is a 328-pound run stuffer.
Harris is not nearly that big — 6-foot-2, 288 pounds — but arrives as a durable player with a track record of subduing opposing rushing attacks.
He has played 146 NFL games (89 starts) with only 28.5 career sacks. He has played for the Raiders, Broncos, Seahawks and Browns, quite a run for a 2014 seventh-round pick from Illinois State. In 17 games (five starts) in 2025 for the Browns, Harris had 32 tackles (seven tackles for loss) and one sack.
Fotu, 27, split time in 2025 with the Raiders and Texans. At 6-foot-5 and 317 pounds, he is considerably larger than Harris but does not have the same resume. Fotu has only 26 starts in 66 games and a total of 4.5 sacks. After spending his first four NFL seasons with the Cardinals, Fotu played in two games with the Jets in 2024.
Shelby Harris celebrates a tackle during the third quarter of a game against the Chicago Bears at Cleveland Browns Stadium on December 17, 2023. Getty Images
These additions do not mean the Giants are done building up their defensive line. They had D.J. Reader in for a visit prior to the draft and 39-year old Calais Campbell is also on the radar.
Lawrence and the Giants could not agree on a contract extension, and Lawrence eventually soured on the organization and requested a trade.
Leki Fotu of the Houston Texans before an AFC Divisional Round game between the New England Patriots and the Houston Texans on January 18, 2026, at Gillette Stadium Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Giants sent him to the Bengals for the No. 10 pick in this year’s draft, using it to select offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa, the top-rated offensive lineman on their board. Mauigoa is expected to start at right guard.
Veteran Roy Robertson-Harris and Darius Alexander, the 2025 third-round pick, are defensive tackle options already on the roster.
