The Giants should be in the market for a linebacker once free agency begins and a name to keep an eye on is Atlanta linebacker Stephen Nicholas.

My man D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says one of the five things/rumors he heard last week was that Nicholas is heading to the Giants.

D-Led writes: “Stephen Nicholas is headed to the New York Giants: Nicholas is viewed as a potential starter for the Giants. For the Falcons, he opened last season as a reserve. He has started 24 of the last 32 regular-season games with the Falcons.”

The Giants, who signed former Falcons linebacker Michael Boley in 2009, could look at several linebackers. Nicholas, Buffalo’s Paul Posluszny (who played for defensive coordinator Perry Fewell in Buffalo) and Carolina’s James Anderson could be potential targets for the Giants in free agency. And then we have to see what other linebackers are released by teams.

According to D-Led, Nicholas is more of a run-and-hit type linebacker whose strength is playing against the run. Nicholas, 28, has had 80 and 78 tackles the past two seasons for the Falcons.