The New York Giants are entering a critical offseason where they must address key issues and upcoming free agents.

Last season the Giants defense ranked 29th overall, the second worst in franchise history. That's very uncharacteristic for a franchise that prides itself in defense. This offseason the Giants have to make a big splash in free agency, especially with next season most likely being the final year for head coach Tom Coughlin. General manager Jerry Reese has a lot of work to do.

The Giants should take advantage of a great defensive free agency class, particularly the big men. Jason Pierre-Paul, Ndamukong Suh and Justin Houston are all free agents that the Giants are expected to have an eye on.

Jason Pierre-Paul

Of course the biggest question for the Giants now is "what will they do with Jason Pierre-Paul?" Pierre-Paul has played his entire five year career with the Giants. The former first round draft pick has racked up 42 sacks in his 79 career games. He knows the Giants system, as he did help the team win the Super Bowl in 2012 over the New England Patriots. Pierre-Paul led the Giants in sacks last season with 12.5.

There's no doubt Pierre-Paul is an excellent player, and he is still just 26 years old. But, he does have some injury issues and he can play inconsistent at times. There's a good chance the Giants will franchise tag Pierre-Paul to ensure he stays another season. But, the Giants do have other options.

Justin Houston

Justin Houston is a monster of a football player. You could easily make the case he is the best player entering free agency this offseason. Last season Houston nearly broke Michael Strahan's single season sack record with his league-leading 22 sacks. Houston has played his entire career with the Kansas City Chiefs, accumulating 48.5 sacks in just 59 games. Houston, like Pierre-Paul, is also just 26 years old with a great future ahead of him.

Houston would be a great franchise player for the Giants because of his young age and his ability to get to the quarterback. The best possibility for the Giants would be to franchise tag Pierre-Paul, and sign Houston to a long-term contract. Not only does Houston require constant double teams at the line of scrimmage, he also makes plays as a linebacker in the middle of the field. Houston averages four more sacks and 10 more tackles per season than Pierre-Paul.

Ndamukong Suh

It's very unlikely that the Detroit Lions will re-sign Ndamukong Suh this off-season. Having said that, the Giants may want to make a move here. Other than his two game suspension in 2011, Suh has never missed a game in his career. What makes Suh a good addition for the Giants is the fact that he is a tackle, unlike Houston or Pierre-Paul. Suh won't record a ton of sacks for the Giants, but he stops the run better than any other player in the league. Hence, the Lions had the No. 1 ranked rush defense in the league last season.

Even though the Giants defense was pitiful last season, they did get to the quarterback at a high rate. Last season the Giants had the fourth most sacks in the NFL with 47. However, the Giants' run defense ranked a dreadful 30th overall. Suh has expressed interest in joining a New York team in the past, and this could be a great roster addition for the Giants.

The NFL free agent and trading period begins on March 10 at 4 p.m. EST.

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