The New York Giants often seems to be far superior to their defense of unit, based on their number of playmakers. Talent like Saquon Barkley, Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard, and Golden Tate all represent a bevy of options Daniel Jones can utilize in the pass and run game.
New offensive coordinator Jason Garrett will draw up a diverse game with plenty of pre-snap motion to distract opposing defenses and create more unpredictability. One player that will need to have a stellar season to remain with the Giants until 2022 is Golden Tate, who has an out after the 2020 season.
Tate has been one of the more effective and productive receivers after the catch over the past few seasons. Between the 2014-18 seasons, Tate lead the league in yards after the catch, showing off his versatility and shifty skill-set. He lead the category in three of the last four years during that time span. He also had the second-most third-down receptions since 2014, when he joined the Detroit Lions.
The Giants saw some of that playmaking ability in 2019 in his first year with the team, but Jones was young and inexperienced, which resulted in some poor throws and bad decisions. I believe he will have a more productive year in 2020, but age will begin to take its toll on his physical abilities. He will be 32 years old next season, and for a physical receiver that depends on his lateral mobility, he could soon begin to fall off, and the Giants have the leverage moving forward to release him.
If the Giants cut him after 2020, they will save $6 million in cap space. He has a projected cap hit of $11 million in 2021, and a dead cap hit of $5 million. That additional money could be utilized to address the pass rush or bring in another wide receiver with more talent. Ultimately, the Giants are going to have to allocate money toward the unit eventually, since Sterling Shepard is one more concussion away from potentially ending his career and Darius Slayton can’t handle the load on his own.
Alternatively, if the Giants have a tumultuous campaign, they could be in line to land Ja’Marr Chase out of LSU, one of the best wide receivers over the past few draft classes.