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NFL Draft

Giants vs Washington: 3 Matchups To Watch

  • The Draft Network
  • September 16, 2021
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The New York Giants and Washington Football Team will kick off Week 2 in primetime fashion on Thursday night. It promises to be a fierce battle between two division rivals that are in desperate need of correcting their early-season miscues.

Both of these teams will be looking to avoid the nightmarish 0-2 start, so we expect the intensity level to be at an all-time high. There are several intriguing one-vs-one matchups that will take place when these two teams do battle. Here are three heavyweight battles we’re particularly excited to monitor.

CHASE YOUNG VS. ANDREW THOMAS

This matchup should jump off the screen. Thomas has struggled throughout the early portion of his career, and general manager Dave Gettleman has already received plenty of criticism for drafting Thomas before the likes of Tristan Wirfs and Jedrick Wills.

But Thomas was terrific in Week 1 and earned himself the highest pass-block grade (87.6) of the week on true pass sets, per PFF’s grading system. Thomas will be looking to continue that momentum tonight against one of the most feared pass rushers in the league in Chase Young.

On the other side of this coin, Young will look to get his campaign going after being held in check by Los Angeles Chargers rookie tackle Rashawn Slater last week. Thomas should expect to see a motivated and hungry Young on Thursday night.

TERRY MCLAURIN VS. JAMES BRADBERRY

Ohhhhh baby. Wide receiver-cornerback matchups don’t get much better than this. McLaurin is one of the best young pass-catchers in the league and Bradberry is a 28-year-old cornerback with the skill set to put the camps on any and all receivers he comes across.

McLaurin had himself a nice game in Week 1—catching four balls for a total of 62 yards—but we know he’s capable of so much more. Bradberry will be motivated to lead the Giants’ secondary to greener pastures after they offered little resistance to Teddy Bridgewater and the Denver Broncos’ passing offense a week ago.

“It definitely wasn’t up to our standards,” Bradberry said. We’re definitely looking to improve and have a bounce back week against Washington.”

McLaurin will try to stand in the way of that desired improvement.

BILLY PRICE VS. DARON PAYNE/MATT IOANNIDIS

*Squeals loudly* This one does not favor the Giants on paper. Unfortunately for New York, they are still shuffling things on the offensive line as they continue to search for the right combination in front of Daniel Jones.

Price will get the start at center tonight, per the NFL Network’s Kim Jones. It represents a fresh start for Price, who was traded by the Cincinnati Bengals to the Giants in late August after earning a grade of just 29.4 in pass protection a year ago, per PFF.

Price couldn’t ask for a worse matchup in his debut as a member of the Giants. Daron Payne and Matt Ioannidis are absolute wrecking balls and are likely salivating at the thought of this assignment.

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