My buddy is a big Giants fan and I asked him about Hankins when Dallas got him and he laughed and said he is nothing special that's why the Giants let him go. Typical Jerry move. Bring in a cheap T that's big enough to get everyone excited.
Hankins is a good run stopping DT. The reason the Giants let him go is because their idiot GM
way overpaid Hankins in free agency. They paid him like a superstar DT when he was just a run stopper. They realized he was making too much money and let him go. Not because he’s not really good at clogging the middle, but because you just shouldn’t pay a ton for that as a franchise. (Which is why I wouldn’t spend a high first round pick on a run stuffing DT).
Hankins is still good at stuffing the run and he was on a team (and traded for draft capital) while Linval Joseph and Suh were on the street where any team could sign them, and yet it took halfway through the season before anyone wanted them.
The people poo-poo’ing Hankins and saying how much they wanted Joseph really don’t know about those two players.
Now Suh provides a better pass rush inside than Hankins but is no better in the run game… and Suh picks his spots when he wants to give full effort.
The only issue with Hankins right now is that he’s not quite healthy yet.