Roster And Draft Class Breakdown: New York Giants

Photo from ESPN

The New York Giants are in shambles. In other news, rain is still wet. Let’s head to Ernie with the traffic report. Anyway, once again New York finished dead last in the division and near the bottom of the league resulting in the firing of Joe Judge. Brian Daboll inherits a roster that should be much better, and has a lot of question marks. Can Daniel Jones be a franchise quarterback? Is the coach the missing piece? Can the Giants shock the world? I’m going to go with no, but since we’re here, let’s break it all down?

Offense

This is a make or break year for quarterback Daniel Jones. His fifth year option was declined meaning he will hit the market in the 2023 offseason. Jones missed some time last season due to a neck injury. Those can be career ending, but it looks like he’s going to be okay. Jones had 2,428 passing yards with 10 touchdowns and seven picks. We transition to one sticky situation on the roster to another in Saquon Barkley. Barkley was the second overall pick in 2018. If you follow college football, you know how much of a freak of nature he was at Penn State. Unfortunately, injuries have slowed him down. He was limited to 13 games last year, two in 2020, and 13 again in 2019. In 2021, Barkley only had 593 rushing yards and two touchdowns while averaging 3.7 yards on the ground. For more on Saquon, check out my article about him.

Kenny Golladay is the most overrated receiver in the league. He got paid a monster deal only to give the Giants 521 yards and ZERO touchdowns. Apparently four years for 72 million doesn’t get you what it used to. Sterling Shepard and Kadarius Toney make up the rest of the starting receiver group. It seems like New York gave up on Toney during the year, who was first round pick in 2021. He only had 420 and also didn’t score a touchdown. Darius Slayton also seems to have fallen out of favor with the team. He only had 339 yards and two touchdowns in 2021. Both he and Toney may look for a fresh start in the trends of not being utilized continue. One guy who should get used a lot is Wan’Dale Robinson. Robinson was picked in the second round from Kentucky. He is a slot guy so we’ll see who sits so he can play. Robinson had a school record 104 catches and he averaged 15.9 yards not as a pass catcher, but as a runner - this according to ESPN. Let him work and your team will get results. Ricky Seals-Jones is listed as the top tight end. Daniel Bellinger was added in the fourth round from San Diego State. Some feel he wasn’t used well as a senior, and the hope is that he gets more opportunities as a pro. My favorite guy on the roster is fullback Jeremiah Hall. I wrote a separate article about him so check that out to learn more about him. The short version is that he’s similar to Kyle Juszczyk with the 49ers and Dawson Knox with the Bills, and should be used in different ways like Juszczyk. He was a tight end/H-back in college at Oklahoma and he very well could be the best tight end on the roster.

For the first time in a while, the offensive line doesn’t look terrible. Two rookies will slide in and start right away. First up is Evan Neal out of Alabama. Neal was a first round pick (7th overall) and was viewed as the best tackle in the draft. The Giants desperately needed him and he listed as a right tackle despite mostly playing left. The second is incoming left guard Joshua Ezeudu from North Carolina. The third round pick adds quickness and speed up front. Jon Feliciano, Mark Glowinski, and Andrew Thomas make up the rest of the line. Ezeudu will be joined by fellow Tar Heel Marcus McKethan who was picked in the round five. He is 6-7, 340 pounds with tons of power.

Defense

New York will be using the 3-4. From left to right, Jihad Ward, Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams make up the front lines. They had 11 sacks combined last year, Williams had 6.5 of them. The interior got a boost with fifth round pick D.J Davidson from Arizona State. 6-3, 327 who plays with power and holds his ground. He may be able to crack the rotation this season, but it won’t be easy.

The linebacker group looks really good with one exception which we’ll get into. New York’s first pick of the draft was at fifth overall, that was Kayvon Thibodeaux. At Oregon, he at what point was considered the top pick the draft. He got injured and chose not to play again which made him drop. Either way, he is a dynamic player. Opposite him is Azeez Ojulari who had eight sacks as a rookie. This could be a dangerous pairing. Inside is veteran Blake Martinez and former Mr. Irrelevant Tae Crowder. Give credit to Crowder who came in as the last pick in the 2020 draft as a hybrid backer and safety to earn a starting spot. Martinez has been riddled with injuries since he got to New York and may not be the same. Maybe Micah McFadden was drafted to eventually replace him. He is a fifth round pick from Indiana. McFadden had four picks and eight defended passes and shows he is good in zone coverage in terms of awareness. For now, he’s a special teams player. That’s also the most likely path for sixth round pick Darrian Beavers from Cincinnati. Beavers had 12 tackles for loss and five sacks. He is at his best as a pass rusher.

The jury is still out on the secondary. Adoree’ Jackson is slated to have a rookie across from him. Cor’Dale Flott was a third round pick from LSU. He is versatile and a sound tackler. He could be an option in the slot. Xavier McKinney and Julian Love are the safeties, and they may have more opportunities with new DC Wink Martindale at the controls. To round out the draft picks, we have fourth round pick Dane Belton from Iowa. He can move around and even played outside linebacker for a game. Martindale loves guys like him - he is coming over from Baltimore and he did some really good things there. Look for the defense to excel under tutelage.

Draft Misses

The defense is in much better shape than the offense. With the uncertainty at QB and RB, how the heck are you not drafting anyone at the positions? Sure, Tyrod Taylor is the backup and he is solid. However, he can’t be a starter anymore without getting hurt. Behind Barkley, the names on the roster do not inspire a lot of confidence. Matt Bredia, Gary Brightwell, and Antonio Williams. One word, yikes. There is also no clear cut number one receiver and tight end. Golladay doesn’t count. The only real issues on defense that stick out are the lack of depth at left defensive end and strong safety. Jihad Ward has never been real productive. A defensive end should have been drafted somewhere (besides Thibodeaux who is playing linebacker).

Projection As Of Right Now

The defense has potential, but the offense is going to be tough to watch. The Giants don’t have enough fire power to compete right now. It may not be last in the division this time, but it will most likely be another missed playoff year with Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley moving on when it’s all said and done.