A Toledo defensive tackle whose late-blooming senior surge, including a pick-six, earned him a third-round selection by the Giants.
Darius Alexander is a Fort Wayne, Indiana native who spent a redshirt year and several seasons working toward a starting role at Toledo before breaking out as a disruptive interior force in 2023 and 2024. The Giants drafted him in the third round in 2025 to pair with Dexter Lawrence on the interior of their defensive line.
Path to the league
Alexander redshirted in 2019 and worked into a full-time starting role by 2023 at Toledo, earning third-team All-MAC honors that season with 36 tackles and four sacks. As a fifth-year senior in 2024, he improved to 40 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, earned second-team All-MAC recognition, and returned an interception for a touchdown in a six-overtime bowl win over Pittsburgh. The Giants selected him with the 65th overall pick in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Career highlights
Alexander's 2024 season at Toledo, which included second-team All-MAC honors and a pick-six in a marathon six-overtime bowl game, stands as the high point of his college career and the performance that pushed him into the third round of the draft.
2025 season recap
As a rookie for the Giants, Alexander worked his way into the interior defensive line rotation, recording 20 total tackles, 3.5 sacks and a pass deflection on the season.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Darius Alexander
- Giants.com: Darius Alexander draft profile
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Defense
16 games played▶Defense · career
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | SACK | INT | FF | FR | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | giants | 16 | 20 | 9 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Defensive Tackle
- Group
- defense
- College
- Toledo
- Hometown
- Fort Wayne, IN, USA
- Age
- 25
- Status
- active
