New York Giants rookie inside linebacker Micah McFadden has been getting more playing time of late. In Sunday’s game, McFadden played on 42 percent of the defensive snaps.
Head coach Brian Daboll was asked on Monday the reason the team is gaining confidence in the fifth round selection out of Indiana.
“Continual improvement,” said Daboll. “He’s done the right thing, on and off the field. We use a lot of packages on defense and shuffle a lot of guys in and out, and that was something that we were going to do this week and give him some chances. He made the most of them.”
McFadden made four tackles in the Giants’ 27-13 loss to the Seahawks in Seattle on Sunday, including his first NFL sack. Another rookie linebacker that saw 42 percent of the snaps on Sunday was Tomon Fox, the undrafted free agent out of North Carolina that impressed one of their most famous alums, Lawrence Taylor, this summer.
Fox led the Giants with eight total stops in the game, two for a loss. Daboll is a proponent of rewarding players who make the most out of their opportunities.
“I think we’ll play the guys that we think earned it and then for that particular week gives us a chance that we think is best for our team,” Daboll said. “That’s what we’ve always done, and that’s what we’ll always do.”
That bodes well for McFadden and Fox, two players who will be hard to keep off the field going forward.