The New York Giants have a long way to go before they can be considered a top team in the NFL, let alone an average one. Management has prioritized the offensive line and ensuring the unit is strong to help Daniel Jones maximize his talents, and Saquon Barkley burst through gaps in the running game. However, the defense remains the weakest link by a large margin. They have allocated plenty of resources toward reinforcing the unit, including the signings of Blake Martinez, James Bradberry, and drafting Xavier McKinney.
Despite these positive movements, the Giants’ defense ranked 30th in the NFL last year, and expecting them to make a significant jump is optimistic. The turnover of upper management and the coaching staff will cause issues for players attempting to adapt to a new system and scheme. The culture of the team and atmosphere will be different than in 2019, and the second-year players will have to learn a new playbook.
There will be hiccups and tumultuous times, but we can expect the Giants to take gradual steps forward as the rebuild process continues. But where should we expect them to rank amongst other NFL teams next season?
In King’s latest power rankings, the Giants don’t look too good:
30. New York Giants (4-12)
Steelers, Niners, Rams, Cowboys in the first month, and Seattle, Baltimore and Dallas in the last month: Welcome to the new job, Joe Judge. The Giants are pretty far removed from being any sort of factor in the NFL. The last playoff win was the Super Bowl trimming of the Patriots nine seasons ago. The Giants appear to be in good shape at the most important position, with Daniel Jones coming off a good freshman season (despite 23 turnovers) as Eli Manning’s heir; Saquon Barkley’s obviously an impact running back. But questions abound everywhere else.
The pass-rush and secondary are both lacking, with or without 2019 first-round cornerback Deandre Baker, a suspect in an armed robbery in Florida. New York allowed the 30th-most points per game last year, gave up a passer rating of 101.4, and their leading returning pass-rusher, Oshane Ximines, had 4.5 sacks. New defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has a big job, figuring out where to get pressure and how to cover up holes in the secondary. The Giants need Nate Solder to play to his late New England level; he slipped last year. It’s likely GM Dave Gettleman drafted New York’s long-term tackles this year—Andrew Thomas and Matt Peart, in the first and third rounds. But if the Giants are this low in the NFL hierarchy come the new year, Gettleman might not be around to see the futures of Thomas and Peart. I trust the Giants to score. I don’t trust them to defend.
As noted in King’s description, the New York Giants are thin on defense and have a few pieces up in the air at this time. With DeAndre Basket still awaiting his destiny in an alleged armed robbery, the secondary is very much in question. The depth at the quarterback position is relatively weak, with Sam Beal the primary reserve option. They also have Julian Love and Darnay Holmes, who was drafted in the fourth round, but neither are suited for an outside corner position due to a lack of size or speed.
Ultimately, all we can hope for is progress, and with the way Judge has implemented his cultural motives, I believe we will see just that in 2020.