New York Giants: Ranking the three best positional groups

The New York Giants are looking to bounce back in 2020 after three straight losing seasons. For this to happen, several players and positional groups will need to step up and improve.

Here are the three strongest groups for the New York Giants going into the season:

1.Running backs:

The Giants have arguably one of the best running back cores with Saquon Barkley, Dion Lewis, and Wayne Gallman. Barkley, going into his third season, is coming off of two straight 1000 rushing yard seasons. He is currently regarded as a top-five back in football and is the only returning Giant that was featured in the NFL Top 100. Dion Lewis will be the second string back in East Rutherford. His elusiveness and pass-catching ability make him one of the league’s best backup running backs. His 2400 scrimmage yards over the past three seasons is his proof of this.

Wayne Gallman rounds out this talented trio and is also a solid backup behind Barkley. While his production in his first three years has been minimal, he is a talented young prospect who is a former fourth-round pick. Gallman has been a star during training camp and was one of the best players during New York’s Blue vs. White scrimmage, where he scored two touchdowns. Gallman, with two proven contributors, makes this squad leave little to be desired. It should no doubt be the best positional group on the Giants and one of the best in the league.

2.Wide Receivers/Tight Ends:

Another very solid department for the Giants is their pass catchers. The team has three very capable receivers out of Darius Slayton, Golden Tate, and Sterling Shepard. 

Slayton is going into his second season on a high note. He was Daniel Jones’ favorite target last season and is the Giants’ resident redzone threat. Last season, Slayton turned 48 receptions into 780 yards and eight touchdowns. He will look to build on this performance in 2020. 

Golden Tate is the veteran in the receiver room. Entering his 11th year, Tate has had an illustrious career so far, recording 660 catches for 7,890 yards and 44 touchdowns. Tate has yet to show signs of slowing down as last year, he recorded 676 yards and six touchdowns in 10 starts. And over the last five seasons, the Notre Dame product leads all wide receivers with 1,003 yards after the catch. Having someone who can make plays with the ball is something a young, developing quarterback needs, and Tate is that man for the Giants.

Rounding out the top three is Sterling Shepard, who has been on the New York Giants longer than any other pass catcher. While it has only been four seasons, he is actually the longest-tenured Giant, period. In his time in East Rutherford, Shep has played very consistently. He has posted 55+ catches and 550+ yards in each of his four seasons. He is a great locker room presence and a very solid receiver number two or three for the Giants and Daniel Jones.

New York is also very comfortable with their talent when it comes to tight ends. The Giants have a top 12 tight end out of Evan Engram along with two solid backups, Kaden Smith and Levine Toilolo.

Evan Engram is entering his fourth year in the league and is poised for a breakout year. After an injury-riddled start to his career, which caused him to miss 14 out of his first 48 games, Evan Engram is finally healthy. This is good news for Daniel Jones as Engram was one of his favorite pass catchers as he recorded 113 yards and one touchdown in Jones’ first start. Engram should be more involved in the offense this season with Jason Garrett’s love for tight ends, and may finally be able to put all the pieces together.

Engram will be complemented with Kaden Smith and Levine Toilolo, both of which are giants in the literal sense. Standing at 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-8, respectively, the duo should be useful in the run blocking game, something that Engram has lacked. As tall pass catchers, the two should also be good resources to use in the red zone for Jones to throw to.

With all these options, pass catchers are also something Daniel Jones and the Giants will likely not need to worry about in 2020.

3.Defensive Line:

Finishing off the top three positional groups for Big Blue is their defensive line. This group is something that has been a major focus for the Giants throughout the history of the franchise featuring superstar players like Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Leonard Marshall, and Michael Strahan. New York is looking to get back to this focus with a trio of hog-mollies upfront.

First off at nose tackle, the Giants have Dalvin Tomlinson. Tomlinson is entering his fourth year as a pro and has been a man of consistency. He has never missed a start in his three-year career and has averaged about 50 tackles a season. This helped earn Tomlinson a Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade of 78+ in each of his first three seasons. The Alabama graduate has also improved each of his three years as in his most recent season, he recorded career highs in tackles for loss (nine) and sacks (3.5). This made Tomlinson the Giants’ highest-graded defensive player of 2019 by PFF. With new schemes and more help outside, Tomlinson will look to improve on these totals.

Dexter Lawrence will be one of the players looking to help Tomlinson and the Giants’ defensive line this upcoming season. Lawrence had a very strong rookie year, where he was actually ranked the ninth-best rookie by PFF. In his debut season, Dex recorded 38 tackles (24 solo), 2.5 sacks, and three tackles for loss. He was primarily a threat in the run game, where he ranked 21st out of the 117 qualifying interior defensive lineman. And while his pass rush was not awful, 30 quarterback pressures and nine hits, it is something that he is looking to improve on this season. Lawrence has slimmed down from his 342-pound playing weight of last season, and he thinks that this will help him be more effective in the pass rush. 

The final member of the Giants’ starting defensive line is Leonard Williams. Williams had a roller coaster of a season last year. He was traded from the Jets midseason and ended up recording a career-low, 0.5 sacks. This placed Williams in a prove-it year for the Giants as he is currently franchised tagged. It will be a career deciding season for Williams, and this is something that should definitely motivate him. The former first-round pick is still very talented and has been among the league’s best interior defensive lineman since entering the league. Since 2015, Williams (82 QB hits) only trails 2× NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Aaron Donald, when it comes to hitting the quarterback. It is clear that Leonard Williams possesses the skill to be elite. If he can put it all together, he can make the Giants’ defensive line dangerous in 2020.