For anyone wondering if the New York Giants are short of confidence heading into the 2024 NFL season, they can rest easy knowing that the team’s franchise quarterback Daniel Jones is not.
Jones recently came out and declared that this iteration of the Giants is better than the team they were ready to field at the same time last summer ahead of the 2023 NFL campaign. Per SNY’s Robert Sanchez, the Duke University product had this to say to reporters on Wednesday about his confidence in this team’s fabric (h/t YardBarker’s Zac Wassink):
“I think we’ve improved in a number of areas,” Jones explained. “I think across the board we’re better. We’ve had a good training camp and we’re ready to go. It’s always important to stay healthy and making sure we’re taking care of our bodies and doing everything we can to stay healthy. Yeah, I feel good about where we are.”
The Giants are slated to boast an improved offensive line in 2024
An area where Jones will almost certainly be proven right in is the Giants’ offensive line. Their unit allowed the second-most sacks in a single season in NFL history with 85 last season. This time around, they have placed more of an onus on their pass and run protection in the offseason, which could lead to more protection for Jones, who tore his ACL in Week 9 of the previous campaign due in part to their ineptitude.
Giants QB Daniel Jones could line up next to an improved wide receiver unit in 2024
Jones may have also hit the nail on the head when it comes to their receiving game. New York has the same wide receiver room they did a year prior, just without No. 6 overall pick Malik Nabers in the fold. Though the LSU product only mustered up one reception for five receiving yards through New York’s first two preseason games, he has impressed in practice and is one of the most talented pass catchers out of college in recent years.
The rest of their wideouts, Wan’Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton, and Jalin Hyatt, will all have another year under their belt working to their advantage in 2024. Robinson will bring reliable hands, Slayton volume receiving, and Hyatt big play gains, to the Giants offense if all goes well.
Giants running game will be one to watch without superstar Saquon Barkley
Nevertheless, Jones’s assertion may be offset by the departure of superstar running back Saquon Barkley. The Giants did compensate for his absence by bringing on Devin Singletary in hopes that he will pick up where he left off from his 898 rushing yards campaign in 2023, but what Barkley brings to the gridiron from a talent perspective is a tall task to replicate.
His numbers in 2023 did not prove that, but Barkley was a weapon that the Giants could use in the rushing and receiving game, and rely on to gain first downs, break tackles and generate scintillating runs for the bulk of his career in town.
- Should the Giants trade for the Panthers’ recently-benched former 1st-overall QB?
- Giants sign new kicker to supplement loss of Graham Gano
- Giants’ Malik Nabers nominated as Rookie of The Week for 2nd straight week
New York’s defense is also much improved heading into 2024
The Giants’ elite defense has been elevated by the addition of star defensive end Brian Burns and the recent signing of cornerback Adoree Jackson. They’ve inherited an elite sack artist in Burns who has brought down opposing quarterbacks 20.5 times over his last two seasons with the Carolina Panthers and has never produced less than 7.5 in any season for his career. They also brought back a reliable pass disruptor in Jackson who notched 23 passes defended and two forced fumbles in his last three seasons, all with the G-Men.
Thus, the Giants are better on paper than they were at the same time in the summer of 2023, and evidently, on the field from what their QB1 has gathered this summer. Now, the Giants will have to turn that deduction into a reality once the season kicks off on Sunday, Sept. 8 at MetLife Stadium against the Minnesota Vikings.
