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Could Gillotte round out the Giants’ edge rotation?
The
New York Giants made moves in free agency to add to the depth of their defensive front. But are they done?
The 2025
NFL Draft has a great selection of defensive linemen and edge defenders, and the Giants could dip into that depth of talent to bolster their defense.
Louisville’s Ashton Gillotte is flying under the radar, but he offers an intriguing profile and has been productive in his time there. He lacks some of the traits that get scouts excited, but Gillotte has the burst and competitive toughness that appeals to coaches.
Could the Giants find themselves in a place where Gillotte is the best value on the board?
Prospect: Ashton Gillotte (9)
Games Watched: vs.
Notre Dame (2024), vs. Miami (2024), vs. Clemson (2024)
Measurables
Kent Lee Platte |
RAS.football
Strengths
Best traits
- Competitive toughness
- Power
- Burst
- Hand usage
Gillotte is a compact, powerful, and highly competitive edge defender with surprising versatility.
Gillotte is built like a fullback at 6-foot 2 ⅝ inches, 264 pounds, and that’s reflected in his game. He has a stocky build with obvious power in his lower body, which he puts to good use as a power rusher. There are multiple instances of Gillotte putting bigger blockers on skates if they aren’t prepared for his bull rush.
He has an explosive burst off the line of scrimmage as well as solid flexibility in his lower body to both generate power as well as maximize his leverage. Gillotte also has solid hand usage and while he rarely gets his hands on blockers first, he does a good job of dealing with their hands and preventing them from slowing his rush. He also understands how to rush with a plan and mixes speed moves like a long-arm, swipe, or club-rip as counters his power rushes.
Gillotte is versatile enough to play from a two or three point stance as an edge defender, and is a capable run defender on the edge. He also moved inside and played as a defensive tackle in obvious passing situations. His power and leverage play well inside, and his burst makes him a mismatch for guards.
Finally, he has fantastic competitive toughness. Gillotte has no problem delivering second or third efforts to defeat blocks, match up with much bigger offensive linemen, and is willing to pursue through the echo of the whistle.
Weaknesses
Worst traits
- Length
- Long speed
- Change of direction
Gillotte has a couple weaknesses which could force him down draft boards and limit his ceiling at the NFL level.
The first, and most obvious, is his overall lack of length. He’s short for a modern edge defender, and has short arms at 31 ⅞ inches. While his technique allows him to compensate to an extent, there are multiple instances in his tape where his lack of length shows up.
His rushes can be blunted by offensive linemen with long arms and solid hand usage. Gillotte generally does a good job of using his own hands to prevent linemen from latching on, but sound technicians can find his chest plate and control him. Gillotte’ short arms mean that if his efforts to defeat blockers’ hands fail, he can struggle to disengage once an offensive lineman latches onto him.
Likewise, he doesn’t have a big tackle radius, nor can he make plays off of blockers.
Secondly, while Gillotte has a good burst off the line and a flexible lower body for his height, he isn’t a great athlete overall. He lacks the speed to consistently threaten the edge, and he doesn’t quite have good enough change of direction skills to bring down agile ball carriers.
And while he was dropped into coverage on occasion, he appeared awkward and stiff in space. That could limit his appeal to teams that use “multiple” concepts and ask their edge defenders to occasionally play off-ball linebacker.
Game Tape
(
Gillotte is the Louisville edge defender wearing number 9, with long hair and black bands on his wrists.)
Projection
Gillotte projects as a rotational edge defender with positional and schematic versatility.
He’s a high-effort player who understands how to use his traits to his best advantage, but Gillotte’s ceiling may always be limited by his length and lack of elite athleticism.
Gillotte should be a reliable run defender, while his burst and positional diversity should allow teams to put him in position to be a productive pass rusher. He might not be an every-down player at the next level, but he should be a defender teams feel comfortable with on the field in relief of a starter or as a part of subpackages.
Does he fit the Giants?
Possibly, depending on their defensive scheme.
Final Word: A late Day 2 or early Day 3 value
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