NFL Offseason Outlook: New York Giants
What a season for the NFL's greatest organization, the New York Giants. At the start of the season I expected the Giants to be one of the worst teams in the NFL but after watching the first game of the season, Giants versus Titans, I knew that we were going to be competitive. The team ended up making it to the divisional round of the playoffs. What an amazing milestone for a team that started multiple waiver pickups.
First, I want to start by saying shoutout to Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen. I was critical of the Daboll hire because I thought he was just another conservative white guy coming to take charge of a football team in America's greatest city. I had PTSD from Joe Judge calling people in North New Jersey and New York City residents "blue collar". There is nothing blue-collar about this area and I'm glad to see some flash and excitement back in the team. I have never seen a video of Giants players dancing in my life until this year.
Offseason Plans
The New York Giants are coming into the offseason with the 25th pick overall and a lot of cap space; however, they have to decide which players to keep. I will start by saying the hardest decision Joe will have to make is paying Daniel Jones long-term, franchise tagging him, or letting him walk. I love Daniel and he proved all of the haters wrong but I can never see him being an All-Pro Quarterback but hey neither was Eli Manning.
Joe Schoen should have paid Daniel Jones at the beginning of the season when the price was low but now he going to have to pay an upper middle-of-the-pack quarterback. As a fan, I am unsure if that is the right thing to do because I am of the belief that all of the top college prospects now can make all of the throws in the NFL. Thus, the question is whether to pay Daniel big or believe Daboll is the quarterback whisper and find a rookie or cheaper option at the position.
Back to the offseason optimal plan...
Offense
1st- Sign Daniel Jones to an affordable deal.
2nd- Keep Saquon, I know everyone does not want to pay him but at a comfortable 13 million a season, he should take that. He will be paid more than King Henry, Dalvin Cook, and others but less than CMC. NFL Fans do not value running back but three of the four remaining teams have amazing RBs (Miles Sanders, Joe Mixon, & CMC). I would also bring in another running back to share carries with Saquon.
3rd- The dreaded wide receiver position, NYG should first cut Kenny Golladay which is a no-brainer. I do believe Golladay will find success elsewhere. Next, the Giants should use the 25th pick to draft Jaxson Smith-Njigba. He will be the Giant's wide receiver one of the future. I would not be mad at Jordan Addison but Jaxson is the pick here. With a wide receiver room of Jaxson, Hodgins, and Wandle, the Giants will have a bright future. Yes, I love Sterling Sheppard but it's time for him to either become a coach or find a new home. The only way I keep Shep is if he is bringing Odell with him. The addition would make the Giants have one of the best wide receiver rooms in the NFL.
4th- Get a new offensive line coach. The Giants cannot afford to have Evan Neal not be successful. The Giants have to utilize some of the cap space to address the guard and center positions this offseason. They do not need to spend big money on a star but on a reliable player such as Mark Glowinski. Hopefully, Ezeudu can also be a serviceable starting next year as well.
Defense
5th- Giants need to go to Leonard Williams and make him take a massive pay cut which he mentioned he would consider. Lenny is a great player but he is not a sack specialist thus he needs to take the pay cut however we cannot lose his skill next to Sexy Dexy.
6th- Giants need an edge rusher opposite of Kayvon. I love Azeez but he spent all season getting injured. I would use the cap space to land a player such as Yannick Ngakoue this off-season. This would give Giants a three-way edge-rushing tandem reminiscent of the old days.
7th- I love Julian Love but he's not a player that you pay money to. I believe Belton can come in and provide the same effectiveness.
8th- We lost Bradberry thus we need to fill that void. I love Adoree Jackson thus we need to get him a running mate. Two options would be to use the second-round pick (which I personally would not do)or go after a young promising corner such as Rock Ya-Sin. Corner Back is a position of depth so keeping Moreau would not be bad either.
9th- I am a Giants Fan and I truthfully cannot name you any linebackers on the team. I saved this position last because. I believe a lot of draft capital should be spent here. The Giants should spend their second and third-round pick to get players who can play immediately at the position. The giants started a mixture of Jaylon Smith, Jarred Davis, and Landon collins at the position which is crazy being that they were either cut or free agents mid-season.
Despite mentioning nine things the Giants need to address this off-season I truly believe the Giants are close to being back to their winning ways. With the cap space and draft capital Joe Schoen has, I expect him to easily address the team's needs. The New York Giants finally have a good core of players that can lead the next generation of the organization. As we get closer to the draft I will start pinpointing who specifically I want the Giants to draft.