Leki Fotu Gives Giants 317-Pound Depth After Draft — Dj Reader
dj reader: The New York Giants signed Leki Fotu on April 30, adding a 6-foot-5, 317-pound defensive lineman after the draft ended. He is the second addition to the Giants’ defensive line since that point, following Shelby Harris.
Fotu brings 66 NFL games and 26 starts to a room that just got another veteran body. He has played for four teams — the Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders and Houston Texans — and has 103 career tackles, 46 solo tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
Arizona Years
The Cardinals drafted Fotu in the fourth round at No. 114 overall, and he started 21 games across four seasons in Arizona. That stretch produced 3.5 of his sacks and 12 of his tackles for loss, with his strongest year coming in 2023.
In 11 games that season, Fotu posted 2.5 sacks and five tackles for loss before a broken bone in his hand interrupted the run. The line of production is modest, but it is the kind of depth profile teams keep adding when they want size and some run-game history without paying for a headline name.
Utah To The NFL
Fotu spent four years at Utah before entering the league, and he left school with 4.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. He was twice named first-team All-Pac 12, in 2018 and 2019, which is the clearest sign of why he stayed on NFL radars even as he moved from roster to roster.
He also has one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and three passes defensed, a reminder that the résumé goes beyond straight pressure numbers. For the Giants, the immediate value is simple: Harris was already added, and Fotu gives the team another experienced defensive lineman to sort into the post-draft competition.
Giants Depth After Draft
Four NFL stops before age becomes the story again usually means a player is being evaluated on fit, not flash. Fotu’s path through Arizona, New York, Las Vegas and Houston gives the Giants a low-cost option with enough game exposure to matter if they want a bigger defensive front on certain downs.
That is the practical read on this move: New York is not waiting for one veteran to carry the room. It added Harris, then Fotu, and the line now has two recent arrivals with a combined track record built on snaps, starts and the kind of interior size teams usually keep hunting for after the draft ends.
