The New York Giants took a significantly different approach to rebuilding the roster this off-season.
Every year, one can expect an NFL roster to look different than it did the year prior. However, in terms of gauging a roster’s potential success, it often comes down to the personnel and the approach behind the moves.
Here’s a look at some of the approaches Giants general manager Joe Schoen took this year that varied significantly from a year ago on a roster ransacked by injuries and melted into a 6-11 mess.
Building from the Inside Out
How many more years of watching the Giants get absolutely thrashed in the trenches would it take for the brass to realize that the trenches had to be prioritized if it wanted to take that all-important first step toward closing the talent gaps with the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles?
The message was finally received loud and clear. Schoen, realizing that it’s pointless to have a fancy running back, a one-time stud tight end, and a promising speedster at receiver if the offensive line doesn’t do its job, made it a point this off-season to address the weakest areas of the team through free agency so that hopefully, that group would be able to hit the ground running.
Start with the offensive line, a unit whose interior linemen combined to allow 64.8 percent of the total quarterback pressures surrendered as part of last year’s historically bad showing. Schoen added Jon Runyan Jr and Jermaine Eluemunor to the line, two veterans projected to be the favorites to fill the starting left and right guard spots.
Adding those veterans will allow new offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo to work with youngsters Joshua Ezeudu and Marcus McKethan, two draft picks entering their third seasons whose lack of consistency, mixed in with injury histories, have stunted their development.
Besides the interior, the question remains if Bricillo can finally bring out the best in third-year right tackle Evan Neal. Schoen appears to still think that Neal can be successful at this level playing tackle, but that remains to be seen as to whether Bricillo agrees or if he feels that Neal might be better at left guard with Elueminor moving in at right tackle.
On the other side of the ball, Schoen finally did something to address a pass-rushing unit that last year had Kayvon Thibodeaux and then everyone else. Adding Brian Burns gives the Giants a legitimate Batman-Robin dup that, if healthy, should force opponents to pick their poison.
This includes potentially having to choose how many resources are necessary to stop Dexter Lawrence, who can also rush the passer but saw some of that production drop off after Leonard Williams was traded.
If the Giants can keep Azeez Ojulri on the field in this, his contract year will be even better, as a healthy Burns, Thibodeaux, Lawrence, and Ojulari group would give the Giants their best and deepest pass-rushing unit since the “NASCAR” and “Four Aces” packages rule the field during the Giants two championship seasons.
Staying Away from Guys With Recent Injury Histories
Last off-season, the Giants decided to roll the dice by bringing in some new faces with recent prior injury histories. That list included receiver Parris Campbell, tight end Darren Waller, tight end Tommy Sweeney, and defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson.
Other than for Robinson, who had his season cut short the year prior due to a knee issue, the Giants didn’t get much out of Campbell (admittedly by choice), Waller, or Sweeney.
The Waller acquisition, hailed by many as a coup considering it only cost the Giants a third-round draft pick and that the promise a healthy Waller offered was so enticing, blew up in the Giants’ faces when, after getting through the off-season and training camp unscathed, Waller suddenly appeared on the Week 1 injury report and would later end up on injured reserve again with a hamstring issue.
Now? Waller is still contemplating retiring while the Giants have gone about restocking the position. But it also needs to be noted that when the Giants acquired Waller, they immediately restructured his contract so that they would have dead money to eat unless Waller played out the rest of the contract (unlikely).
This year’s acquisitions have a better history regarding missed games due to injury. Runyan hasn’t missed a game yet in his career, Eluemunor has only missed three games over the last three seasons, and Burns two games over that same period. This group of new faces checks that all-important box if the best ability is available.
Setting up for a Potential Transition at QB
One of the many reasons there are still questions about quarterback Daniel Jones is that the Giants did him no favors after they drafted him sixth overall in 2019.
That year, they rushed Jones into the starting lineup after just two games despite the lack of a solid offensive line or quality receivers. Although Jones had a solid rookie campaign, between injuries and the team’s failure to build around him, he didn’t have much of a chance.
This time, the team is committed to strengthening the talent around the quarterback position, whoever that guy might be. I mentioned that the offensive line was being upgraded with veteran depth so the unit could hit the ground running.
With Saquon Barkley having moved on, the Giants are moving toward a committee approach rather than hanging their hat on a bellcow. And while their receiver corps from last year wasn’t horrible, just think of how much better it will be if Schoen can add a legitimate No. 1 to the mix (which it is anticipated he’ll do).
In short, the environment around whoever the quarterback will be moving forward—Schoen has said the expectation is it will be Jones once he’s healthy—is definitely going to be in place. What Jones, or whoever ends up being the quarterback of this team, does with it is another story.
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