The New York Giants may win or lose on the backs of youth this season and according to NFL.com, they had one of the better rookie classes in the league last year. Of course, that wasn’t enough last season to get the team very many wins and put them in a position to compete in the standings for a playoff spot, but it may end up being one of the deciding factors in whether or not the Giants win in future years.
The class was of course headlined by Daniel Jones, who the Giants took with their first pick in the draft to much controversy – Jones spent most of the season in the starting lineup, replacing Eli Manning after the Giants opened up with a couple of losses, but he wasn’t the only one to make it into the lineup as time passed.
Darius Slayton made a big impact at receiver and despite coming in late, Julian Love proved that he’s worth considering for the rotation this year when the Giants set their starters at the various secondary positions… DeAndre Baker had a rougher time as a starting cornerback from day one, but will likely remain in the job going into his second year thanks to the Giants not having another option yet.
The collection of players was enough to earn the team an A- grade on the class from NFL.com, which ranked the top rookie classes of the previous year.
The Giants, in fact, made it all the way to the fourth spot on the list – it’s probably the best the Giants have been ranked in anything over the past unsuccessful year or so.
The Giants made the most of their haul from the Odell Beckham trade, which landed them, in part, the 17th overall pick, by selecting Lawrence, who had a solid rookie season. New York also might have found its franchise QB in Jones, answering a huge question for the team’s foundation. Baker had a tough start but finished strong and stands to make a significant improvement in Year 2. Ximines was effective in his first season despite making just two starts, recording 4.5 sacks. Love is an exciting young player for the back end of New York’s defense. Darius Slayton was an excellent find in the fifth round. Ballentine struggled with a position change to the slot, but he could improve with more time.
The team does have a chance to add some more young talent to what they already have soon enough. The Giants hold the fourth overall pick in the draft and may decide to take a player rather than trading down for more selections.
It’s still unclear which first year players will join during the draft… But easy to say by now that if there’s one area that will help the Giants in 2020, it’s their current youth which is far more promising than most of the team’s veteran players.