Dexter Lawrence embracing leadership role for Giants

Dexter Lawrence figured someone had to say something.

Deep into December, the Giants have yet to win a game in their division. They’re coming off that embarrassment against the Eagles, and on Sunday night, they’re seeking to avenge the unsatisfying tie with the Commanders two weeks ago.

“This,” Lawrence said, “is a playoff game.”

Actually, it isn’t.

But as a rally-the-team mantra, Lawrence could be on to something.

Lawrence implored his teammates in recent days to “challenge each other,” to study more, to build their confidence through preparation.

The Giants have gone 0-3-1 in their last four games, but they still came out of Week 14 in playoff position in the charitable NFC.

This season is a gift, and Lawrence seems to understand that as well as anyone. Making the playoffs this year for the first time since 2016 would be remarkable.

Lawrence has emerged as a leader, a snap-count phenomenon (we’ll get to that) and a popular and well-respected locker room presence.

“I think as a person I’ve grown,” he said, “and that made me more comfortable being on the field, not being afraid to be ‘the guy’ or to shine.”

It is as if Lawrence has found room to spread his wings in a renewed locker room environment and under the Brian Daboll coaching staff.

“He’s a good player for us,” Daboll said. “Centerpiece of the defense. He’s strong on the inside. I’d say he rushes the passer well, affects the quarterback. Stops the run. Things that a good defensive tackle needs to do. He’s been a good leader for us [and] he’s done a good job for us.”

None of this surprises defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.

In the weeks leading up to the 2019 draft, Martindale, then the Ravens’ defensive coordinator, fell in love with Lawrence’s NFL potential. He wanted to draft Lawrence but never had the chance; the Giants selected him with the 17th pick. (Baltimore had pick 25.)

When Martindale left the Ravens to join Daboll’s staff, he inherited Lawrence, and in his fourth NFL season, the tackle clearly has blossomed.

“I said it when I took the job here that he should be a Pro Bowler,” Martindale said. “He loves football, he loves his teammates, he’s selfless and he’s very accountable to everybody in the room.”

Lawrence’s accountability on game days is not debatable. Not only is he one of the Giants’ top players — if you ask Giants personnel, they will tell you that Lawrence and Saquon Barkley are the best players on the roster — but he is logging a gaudy number of snaps on a per game basis. According to Pro Football Focus, Lawrence leads all NFL defensive linemen with 725 snaps this season. Kansas City’s Chris Jones is second at 719.

(Washington’s defensive line is venerable; Daron Payne ranks fifth at 692 and Jonathan Allen is seventh at 679.)

Martindale doesn’t worry about the snap count, he said, but he is aware of it. With Leonard Williams on his way back to the defensive line, help is on the way.

“Dexter is in great shape right now,” Martindale said. “[The snap count] does concern you for the 17-game schedule, so we’re going to try to find spots to spot him some reps.”

Taking Lawrence off the field isn’t easy.

“It’s like if you had a Rolls-Royce, wouldn’t you want to drive it everywhere?” Martindale said. “It’s just, he’s playing really well. And he wants to go back in. We’re going to try to peel back on some of those reps if we can; it always depends on where we’re at in a game.”

Giants defensive line coach Andre Patterson, who has coached some of the best defensive linemen in the game, compares Lawrence to John Randle, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a Minnesota Viking, Class of 2010.

“[Patterson] has done a good job of making me intentional with whatever technique I want to work on,” Lawrence said, “and having a mindset of being the guy and putting my physicality on the field all the time.”

Said Patterson of Lawrence: “He can be great.”

His teammates have noticed.

“He’s the guy,” rookie defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux said. “He’s helping me understand the interior line and [their responsibilities] so I can execute my rushes better. I’ve definitely been able to grow, and he’s been a guy who’s helped that. He and [Williams] have both given me tips on how I can use their rushes to help mine. It’s about being cohesive.”

To outside linebacker Oshane Ximines, drafted by the Giants in the third round in 2019, Lawrence is the go-to guy when it comes to any and all questions about the defense.

“He knows where every defensive player should be lined up at all times,” Ximines said.

On Sunday night, Lawrence surely will make it his business to know where Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke is at all times. Because here’s the beauty of Lawrence’s leadership: He expects the most from himself.

By Kimberly Jones

kimberly.jones@newsday.comkimjonessports

Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.