Offense 

Any conversation with the Giants really has to start with their QB room or for some rather their lack of a QB room. For me bringing in Russell Wilson at least gives you a nice floor or base level of play to count on week to week. While Russ may not be what he once was in Seattle due to the arm talent dipping a bit and most certainly the athleticism dropping off in recent years he will still give the Giants a middle of the road QB that frankly they just haven’t had, other than the 22’ season from Daniel Jones, in a LONG time. While I’m not the biggest fan of Russ and everything he brings with him to your organization just simply having a guy that can be slightly below to right at league average on a week to week basis is more than worth bringing him in, at least for this team specifically. You tack on a quality backup QB that can win you some games in Jameis Winston and you now can at least get yourselves out of the Tommy DeVito and who’s who of practice squad level guys playing for you.

Now this is where a whole other even more fascinating question starts to pop up in this QBroom, Jaxson Dart. Where does he fit in? Does he start at any point this year? Can he win the job right away? Is he the franchise guy? All of these questions are pilling on top of an already murky and interesting situation the Giants have in their QB room and frankly have had for years now. I think Dart has a chance at being a long term starter in this league and he’s personally someone I would have taken a shot on in the draft. The fact he’s going to Brian Daboll only makes me feel that much more confident in him succeeding. There’s one big issue here though.. How long will Daboll be here? I think he was unfairly stuck with Jones for the first part of his coaching career and because of that he’s now in a situation where he may lose his job sooner rather later. While this isn’t directly related to Dart and this room it is a huge part in my opinion if he’ll become the player I think he’s capable of being. I think there’s a real chance they have success this year and Dart is able to sit, which in my opinion he should. I also think there’s a real chance 7 or so weeks in they have a overreaction to a slow start and Daboll feels he has to put Dart in to save his job and that not only hurts his chances at keeping his job but Dart working out, at least short term. If the Giants are able to stand pat and Daboll is able to hold onto his job I think we see Dart become a solid QB sooner rather than later but if not.. well we’ll just have to wait and see I suppose. He’s not completely dependent on coaching but he needs someone that can help refine his game to become what he ultimately is capable of being.

Now that the QB situation has been addressed we can move onto the rest of this offense. And to me it all starts with what they get out of this OL group. We all know just how great Andrew Thomas is but can he stay on the field? This group goes from a quality group when he’s out there to one of the leagues worst if he’s not. They need him to have a healthy year otherwise you’re counting on James Hudson III, Stone Forsythe, or swapping Jermaine Eluemunor/Marcus Mbow over to LT and that’s simply not a recipe for success. Now as far as RT goes, you’re almost certainly getting quality play out of Jermaine Eluemunor but I found it interesting they currently have Marcus Mbow (their 5th round pick this past draft) as their backup. Most people viewed him as a G (due to his 32.5in arm length) but I love that they’re giving him a chance at Tfirst. I loved his feet and hands when it came to mirroring of pass rush moves at the college level and I thought he was very sharp in the run game when it came to getting to the next level and shielding off LBs to create open lanes for his RB. While I think he can play G or rather I know he can play G I worry about his ability to anchor and hold up against the bigger IDLs in the league so I think he’s better off at T despite others seeing it the other way. 

Now as far as the IOL goes you have the big question mark of what are you getting out of Evan Neal now that he’s moving inside to G. Things sound promising coming out of camp but that only means so much so it will be interesting to see if he can compete with a group that absolutely needs a influx of talent right. John Michael Schmitz Jr has been up and down his first couple years.. can you get him to level his play out and become what people thought he could be coming out of college? At G you have guys like Jon Runyan who is solid in pass protection but can struggle in the run game at times and Greg Van Roten who’s a solid vet that will be serviceable for you but certainly isn’t someone I’m counting on to be starter. Can Evan Neal find some consistency at G and find a role along this OL finally? I lean towards no from the tape else on but he’s extremely physically talented and has all the opportunity in the world to do so. Would love to see it!

As far as weaponry goes I think it starts with Malik Nabers. This guys has the upside and showed as a rookie that he can be one of the best 10 or so WRs in the league when he’s right. If you get the best out of him this WR core all of the sudden starts to come together in ways that it just can’t without him. While Darius Slayton is a solid outside WR that provides you with a deep threat he’s not a game changer and the same really goes for Wan’Dale Robinson in the slot, a solid option that can be a complimentary option but if you’re running a passing offense through/around him where are you really going in your season. They need Nabers to be that guy and to stay on the field for them especially considering I don’t love the depth in this room either. Jalin Hyatt can run fast in a straight line, Zach Pascal is a fine option as 4/5 WR on your roster, Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Lil’Jordan Humphrey are both really solid special teams players but aren’t going to give you much outside of that. Nabers is the key to this passing game operating just as much as whichever QB that is playing that week is. 

I also do really like this TE room despite it not having the biggest names in the world. I think Theo Johnson can absolutely be your starting Wing/F TE while Daniel Bellinger is your In Line/Y TE and while that may not be an elite combo that fantasy players or people who cover the league will bring up constantly I think they fit perfectly together and will fill exactly what you need from your TEs in this offense. On top of that the fletch is really solid with a vet in Chris Manhertz, a guy that hasn’t worked out in his career quite yet with the Broncos but is a really solid athlete in Greg Dulcich, and now your 7th round pick Thomas Findone II (Nebraska) who may not have an immediate impact but if he can fill out physically and become more a complete player that has some really special WR like athleticism that flashes on film. 

The RB is sort of like the TE room in the fact it may not be the flashiest but each of these guys have their own roles they fill that I think will fit together really well and form a solid option not only in the running game but also the passing game. Tyron Tracy Jr. showed how talented he is in his rookie year (129 – 839 (4.4) 5 TDs and 38 – 284 1 TD) flashing not only his former WRskills but physicality that really impressed on film and I personally think can be a lead back if you need him to be. You pair Tracy Jr with Devin Singletary and now Cam Skattebo (ASU) out of the draft and you now have a really solid backfield in my opinion. Skattebo will provide you with a physicality and attitude every carry and catch that will ripple throughout the team and Singletary as a complementary back that can fill in where needed is more than enough. This should be a really effective run game and overall effective backfield that I think they should lean on throughout the season.

Defense

This defense starts and finishes with this front seven and especially the pass rush side of it. You have arguably the best defensive player in the league right now in Dexter Lawrence II and if he’s not the best overall defensive player he’s not far off. This guy is one of the best run stuffing NTin the league but what makes him special compared to other guys at NT is that he provides elite level pass rush. You pair that with Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and now one of the most athletic and honestly overall best edge players we’ve seen in recent years coming of college in Abdul Carter (Penn State) and I just don’t know what else you could ask for. Sure Rakeem Nuñez-Rochester is the greatest 3-5 Tech in the league and Roy Robertson-Harris isn’t some superstar IDL but those guys aren’t slouches either, they’ll be league average for them almost certainly. Plus, you add a freak to that grouping through the draft in Darius Alexander (Toledo)and all the sudden that group surrounding Dexter Lawrence II isn’t only talented but it’s deep and they rotate guys in to keep them fresh. The battles the NFC East will have in the trenches this year will be absolutely special and this Giants front seven isn’t one I’d be betting against to losehose battles very often.

 Not to mention you have Bobby Okereke flying around behind them and a really solid ILB paired with him in Micah McFadden.. this defensive front is going to be special.

Now onto this secondary and this group isn’t any slouch either. While there are question marks, more so at CB than S, I feel hopeful for what this group can be. Having a 2nd year Tyler Nubin and newly added FA Jevon Holland flying around making plays behind this pass rush should be absolutely game changing for this team. These guys are both really solid athletes that can make plays on the ball will most definitely flip games throughout this season for them. 

 The CBs on the other hand is where I start to have some worries/questions. Deonte Banks, while I don’t think fully his fault, had a pretty rough year last year. He had his moments where he flashed what we all saw at Maryland. His physical style of play paired with his unique athletic traits (4.35 40yd dash, 42” vert, 11’4” broad) is just something that you can’t bet against so while it’s been rough here and there I know he has the tools and now especially the teammates to bring the best out of him but it’s still a wait and see. Opposite of him you have Paulson Adebo who when he’s healthy is a maybe not a top end CB in the league but certainly is someone you feel comfortable being one of if not your best CB out there… certainly more than the guys they had out there last year (Cor’Dale Flott and Adoree Jackson). The question with him is what he looks like coming off his injury last year (broken femur). Breaking a femur is obviously a huge injury for anyone but especially a NFL CB. So while I feel great about Adebo as a player it’s a little in the air as of what type of play you’ll be getting out of him, at least this year. Dru Phillips is solid Nickel CB and probably the one guy that you know exactly, for the most part that is, what you’re getting out of. The depth is okay but nothing really to point out but I will say I did really like Korie Black (7th Round Pick of out Oklahoma State) coming out this year. I don’t know that he’ll have an impact this year but I think he has a chance to make the team as back end of the roster CBthat provides plus tackling on special teams and some real attitude when competing at CB.

Overview 

• This Giants season will be very interesting for many of reasons. The question marks at the QB position and what that will look like at the beginning vs the end of the year, what they get out of their rookie class, and how special this defense can be but what stands out over everything to me is how much pressure will be on Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen. If John Mara has some sort of outlandish expectations for this season and is in a rush to fire Daboll and Schoen I think we could see some troubling things pop up out of pressure to keep their jobs. Things like starting Dart too early, if even at all this year, reaching to make a trade or forcing some sort of deal to be done to fix a problem that pops up through camp, or just overall any reach for immediate improvement could not just set them back this year but especially the following ones. All I want to see from John Mara is for him to take a step back and realize that this isn’t something you can just fix immediately. He’s a huge reason they signed Daniel Jones to that ridiculous contract in the first place and because of that you’ve put your coach and GM who in my eyes, while not perfect, have done a good job here so far with little to nothing to work with, especially Daboll. These past two draft have been moving the right way and I think if you give Daboll a year to work with Dart and get him ready this team will be ready to go either by the end of this year or next for sure. You really can’t blame Joe Schoen or Brian Daboll for letting Saquon Barkley go to the Eagles or Xavier McKinney going to the Packers and both having great years because if you hadn’t signed Jones to that deal you could have kept those guys and had a QB room similar to this 2 years ago. At some point we have to stop placing blame on every HC and GM in NYG for failing because they’re incompetent and look at the man who seemingly plays a role in every single decision they make, that being John Mara. Let these guys play out the season without their jobs looming over their heads at every single sign of struggle and I can almost guarantee you’ll see more success that way. Let them build this football team the right way and if by the end of the season it doesn’t work, oh well. Then you can move on. 
• Sorry for the rant on ownership but now that it is over I’d like to point to what I think this team is capable of being and doing this season. This Giants team has some truly special pieces and positions groups across the roster. It really comes down to what they get out of the QB position and just how dysfunctional this HC, GM, and owner situation gets. I think they’ll be a 7-10 win football team that may scratch and claw their way into the wild card if everything were to go right and if things go wrong or they get off to a slow start.. this team could go completely sideways and end up making some firings and end up having another top 5 pick. It’s truly one of the most up in the air teams for me and I’m very intrigued to see how it all plays out.