While all the focus around the Giants’ offseason has centered on the third overall pick and whether they’ll draft a quarterback, New York already took some smart steps to improve the position.
Bringing in Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston wasn’t the headline move many fans hoped for, but it might be exactly what the Giants needed — especially given how unreliable quarterback play has been in recent years.
Russell Wilson Brings What Daniel Jones Couldn’t
Daniel Jones has had moments, but explosive plays have never been his calling card. His deep ball has consistently held the offense back, limiting what Brian Daboll could do schematically and forcing the Giants into predictable, conservative play designs.
Last season, Jones attempted just 31 passes of 20 or more yards downfield. He completed only eight — a 25.8% completion rate — for 266 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Worse yet, 8.3% of those attempts were deemed turnover-worthy. In a league that thrives on chunk plays, those numbers are brutal.
Enter Wilson.
At 36, Wilson is no longer the magician he was in Seattle, but his deep ball hasn’t gone anywhere. He attempted over 50 passes of 20+ yards last season, connecting on 27 of them — a 54% completion rate — for 851 yards, seven touchdowns, and just two interceptions. His turnover-worthy rate on those throws was just 1.8%, one of the best in the league.
That’s not just a difference — it’s a whole different planet.
Finally, a Quarterback Who Can Stretch the Field
Wilson has long had one of the prettiest deep balls in football. It arcs perfectly, drops in a bucket, and gives receivers a chance to make plays. That’s the kind of weapon Brian Daboll hasn’t had in New York.
Instead of running an offense chained to short-yardage concepts designed to avoid disaster, Daboll can finally open things up. With Wilson under center, the Giants can threaten defenses vertically, create more space underneath, and force teams to actually respect the deep part of the field.
That changes everything — from how safeties play, to how the run game functions, to how play-action is deployed.
No Guarantees, But a Step in the Right Direction
Wilson may not be the long-term answer, and the Giants still have every reason to consider a top quarterback in the draft. But for 2024, they got significantly better at the position.
And if nothing else, they gave Daboll a quarterback who can finally take the top off a defense. That alone could breathe new life into an offense that’s been stuck in the mud for far too long.