The New York Giants have made a number of moves this season to clear cap space in hopes of adding players and supplementing injuries. However, they have little room to work with in 2022, with the salary expected to rise by $30 million.
This past off-season, they presented massive contracts to Leonard Williams, Kenny Golladay and signed a bevy of smaller deals, including Devontae Booker and Kyle Rudolph. However, they currently have just $3.5 million available to spend next off-season, which isn’t even enough to sign their first-round picks from the 2022 NFL draft (they have two picks).
The Giants’ front office took an extremely odd route building the team, overspending at position players instead of essentials like the offensive line and pass rush. In fact, they have more than $25 million tied up in two receivers, both of which are considered injury-prone.
Golladay will count $21.15 million against the salary cap next season, with Shepard earning $12.5 million. Those are monstrous numbers when looking at the offensive line, who are making just a fraction of their cap hits combined.
The New York Giants have taken an ugly approach toward building their roster:
Total OL cap allocation for 2022: $20,229,049
Total WR cap allocations for 2022: $38,681,791
There is no better way to doom a team than invest salary, and draft picks at wide receiver, a position that becomes useless when your offensive line isn’t blocking appropriately. Injecting more talent at WR should be the very last thing you do after building a strong offensive line, in which a young quarterback can sit behind and wait for his receivers to create separation.
Currently, the Giants’ line ranks 31st in the NFL in pass-blocking, just one year after ranking dead last in the same category. Unfortunately, quarterback Daniel Jones has been unable to develop properly due to constant pressure and poor situations.
Looking at teams with more prominent offensive lines, it is clear that they invest heavily in the trenches. Just take a look at the Dallas Cowboys, who have made a living with fantastic players protecting their QB. While they fail in other areas, they are routinely competitive because of their line, with two of their lineman earning upwards of $37 million combined next season.
Successful teams invest considerably in their OL, and the Giants have failed miserably at doing so. Until they solve that problem, they will remain in the dark ages. With general manager Dave Gettleman preparing to retire, according to reports, the front office needs to find a replacement that has a strong history of investing properly in offensive line talent. Gettleman rarely spent high draft selections on bolstering the unit in the past, with Andrew Thomas being his first-ever selection in the first round to bolster the OL (with the Giants and Panthers).