Promises, promises, promises. That is all New York Giants management feels necessary to provide fans these days. Whether it be guaranteeing the solution to fixing the offensive line or that they will allocate resources toward offensive playmakers, nothing has seemed to come to fruition.
Of course, this off-season could be telling, simply based on the fact that head coach Joe Judge has changed the narrative surrounding the team the last few years. The culture has taken a massive shift, the Giants have one a few games to prove they are on an upward trend, and the coaching has been superior compared to the recent past.
However, drafting must improve significantly if the Giants wish to be an adequate team moving forward. They rank among the worst in the league when it comes to the number of wins produced by spending in free agency, which also indicates poor draft selections.
Brilliant graphic: Money spent in free agency vs. team record (2017-2020).
Very few high spending teams got above .500.
(via @Jason_OTC) pic.twitter.com/eFJBFUYx16
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) February 28, 2021
Last season we saw a bit of a shift, as even late-round picks were contributing toward the Giants’ production. Whether it be in an injury-riddled outside linebacker unit or in the secondary, we finally witnessed youth performing well.
This off-season, though, the Giants don’t have much money to work with and don’t have a fifth-round pick, which they sent to the New York Jets in exchange for Leonard Williams in 2019.
General manager Dave Gettleman believes that the Giants do you have money to spend this off-season, and he’s depending on Kevin Abrams to find it.
“We’ve got cap space, we’ve got room,” Gettleman said during his post-season press conference. “You never have as much room as you want to have. We’ve got cap space, we’ve got room to do the things we feel like we need to do initially. A lot of it is going to be about the drop it’s going to take. How far of a plunge is it going to take? We don’t know. They’re talking 175, who knows. We’ll plan and then once we know the number, we’ll get moving.”
With the cap expected to be no less than $180 million, the Giants have a bit more leeway than previously expected. They still need to allocate resources toward a wide receiver, and with Allen Robinson and Kenny Golladay projected to be franchise tagged by their respective teams, only Corey Davis of the Tennessee Titans and Curtis Samuel of the Carolina Panthers makes sense.
Should the New York Giants target Davis in free agency?
This leads us to our main topic, is Davis worth signing to be the Giants WR1? Davis had his best season in 2020 opposite AJ Brown, recording 984 yards and five touchdowns. He averaged 15.1 yards per reception and a catch rate of 70.7%, both being career highs.
However, you could make the argument that the attention Brown demanded allowed Davis to realize his potential. That argument would lead us down a path that justifies him being a high-end WR2 and not a premium WR1.
Nonetheless, the Giants don’t have a plethora of options to choose from, so Davis could be a solid option to add to the receiving corps. At 6’3” and 209 pounds, Davis is capable of being a solid possession receiver with above-average route running abilities. He can high point catches well and use his strength to muscle balls away from corners.
Realistically, any upgrade at the WR position will help Daniel Jones excel in 2021. To be quite honest, I would be ecstatic if the Giants fulfill that promise and allocate resources toward the position, one that desperately needs help.
