This season, it looks like the odds are stacked against the New York Giants. While additions during the offseason have been a cause for optimism, some of that optimism is going away for parts of the fanbase after a winless preseason and continuing problems with the offensive line. The national media, which hasn’t had much faith in the Giants all offseason, has also observed these problems.
A combination of things has led to the Giants typically being placed in the bottom echelon of the league in overall ranking lists, and it wasn’t a change when five NFL executives worked with The Athletic to create a list of the top teams in the NFC. On this list, the Giants narrowly avoided finishing in last place but still picked up far from a flattering score.
They were ranked the number fifteen team in the NFC, placing them second to last.
NFL executives bearish on the New York Giants
The Giants have won the NFC East three times in the past 20 seasons and not since 2011. Their nine-season run without a division title is their longest since a 22-season gap from 1964-1985. They were 11th in the conference last season, spent big in free agency and didn’t get a vote higher than 13th in this poll, despite a weak division and a defense that can be difficult to play against.
“Their defense has a chance, but without Saquon Barkley, an offense built around Daniel Jones does not,†a voter said. “They do a lot of things with weird special teams formations that take up practice time, but their season is riding on some of the basics, like whether they can protect the quarterback.â€
Of course, the Giants are set to get Saquon Barkley back this season. However, it remains to be seen what state Barkley is in after tearing his ACL last season.
The results in ACL recoveries vary wildly, and it’s unknown if the Giants will be able to rely on Barkley as the most reliable weapon in their offense. And while it looks like Barkley will be back for week 1, there’s a chance that his return is delayed.
Placing the Giants as the second worst team in the NFC is ultimately a take that assumes their offseason additions don’t pan out. While that take does lean on the pessimistic side, it’s also hard to dispute it based on just the information we have now.
With offseason injuries keeping us from seeing much of the biggest additions to the offense, like Kadarius Toney and Kenny Golladay, it’s hard to judge at all where the offense will be week 1 – and whether or not those new weapons will be enough to make up for problems in other areas once the regular season rolls around.