Is the Giants’ 2024 roster better than the one Joe Schoen inherited after the 2021 season?

Is the New York Giants’ roster today better than the one Joe Schoen inherited from Dave Gettleman when he took over as general manager in 2022?

There are 11 players on the current 90-man roster who were drafted or signed by Gettleman. They are:

WR Darius Slayton, LT Andrew Thomas, DT Dexter Lawrence, edge Azeez Ojulari, CB Aaron Robinson, PK Graham Gano, LS Casey Kreiter, RB Gary Brightwell, LB Carter Coughlin, CB Darnay Holmes, QB Daniel Jones.

The genesis of this post comes from a question sent to the Big Blue View Mailbag by Bob Donnelly. He suggested placing each position group into one of three buckets — better, neutral, worse. So, that’s what I will try to do.

Quarterback

Final 2021 roster — Daniel Jones (IR), Mike Glennon, Jake Fromm
Current roster — Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, Tommy Devito

We might as well get right into the meat of the discussion.

Daniel Jones is still Daniel Jones. If you want to look at Jones’ 2022 season you might say he’s better than he was. If you look at last year, you might say worse. I’ll just say Jones is Jones, and call that “neutral.”

Lock and DeVito are an upgrade from Glennon and Fromm.

Overall score: Better … at the backup spots.

The problem with “better” is that unless Jones plays to his 2022 level or above, the Giants are not better where they really need to be. At QB1.

There is a lot of fuss about Drew Lock potentially beating out Jones for the starting job. That could happen, I suppose. Lock will get most of the work in the spring, and Jones probably won’t play in preseason. Lock could look good enough to convince coach Brian Daboll to roll with him. Problem with that is, well, Lock is Lock. He has already failed at two NFL stops. I will believe he can be more a backup or a placeholder when he actually shows it.

The best guess here remains that the Giants’ 2025 quarterback is not on the current roster. In my view, Jones is the only one who could change that.

Running back

Final 2021 roster — Saquon Barkley, Devontae Booker, Cullen Gillaspia, Elijhaa Penny, Gary Brightwell (IR), Sandro Pltzgummer (PS)
Current roster — Devin Singletary, Gary Brightwell, Eric Gray, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Jashaun Corbin, Deon Jackson, Dante Miller

The Giants are set to begin their post-Saquon Barkley era this season.

Barkley, of course, is a tremendous player. Fully healthy and productive, Barkley is one of the game’s best backs. In 2021, he wasn’t that. He gained only 593 yards in 13 games, as he came back from his 2020 knee injury and also missed time with another leg injury. Devontae Booker also gained 593 rushing yards. The Giants also, weirdly, carried two fullbacks.

The 2024 roster will not have a player as talented as Barkley. Devin Singletary, though, has been a quality back throughout his career. He has three straight 800+ yard rushing seasons and a 4.6 yards per carry average that bests Barkley’s 4.3. Singletary was successful on 47.7% of his runs for the Houston Texans last season, while Barkley was successful on 40.1%, per Pro Football Reference.

Fifth-round pick Tyrone Tracy Jr. and second-year man Eric Gray, a player who did not receive much of an opportunity on offense in 2023, are wild cards.

Overall score: Worse

I would qualify “worse” by saying that this is the type of running back room I believe GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll have wanted. Not that they minded having a great player, but I have always felt they didn’t want to have a running back chewing up a big portion of their salary cap.

Now, they have a good player in Singletary who costs far less than Barkley leading that room, in addition to a couple of interesting young players in Gray and Tracy as part of a committee.

Tight end

Final 2021 roster — Evan Engram, Kyle Rudolph, Kaden Smith (IR), Levine Toilolo (IR), Rysen John (IR)
Current roster — Darren Waller (considering retirement), Daniel Bellinger, Chris Manhertz, Jack Stoll, Theo Johnson, Lawrence Cager, Tyree Jackson

Sadly, Evan Engram was never the player he should have been for the Giants. Or, that he has been for the Jacksonville Jaguars the past two seasons. Engram, the Giants’ 2017 first-round pick, has had his two best seasons since leaving the Giants — 73 catches for 766 yards in 2022, and 114 catches for 963 yards in 2023. Maybe he is just better off out of the glare of the New York spotlight.

Whether Darren Waller plays or not, it looks like the Giants should be fine at tight end in 2024. Daniel Bellinger is a good player who was under-utilized in the passing game last season due to Waller’s presence. Stoll and Manhertz are quality block-first tight ends, something the Giants did not have in 2023. Some believe fourth-round pick Theo Johnson could one day be at least a reasonable facsimile of what Waller — and for that matter, Engram — were supposed to be for the Giants.

Overall score: Better, slightly … Engram never became the difference-maker for them that the Giants hoped he would. Bellinger is not as dynamic, but is reliable. There is also improved depth.

Wide receiver

Final 2021 roster — Kenny Golladay, Collin Johnson, John Ross, David Sills, Darius Slayton, Kadarius Toney, Sterling Shepard (IR), C.J. Board (IR), Dante Pettis (IR)
Current roster — Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton, Wan’Dale Robinson, Jalin Hyatt, Isaiah Hodgins, Miles Boykin, Chase Cota, Bryce Ford-Wheaton, Dennis Houston, Isaiah McKenzie, Gunner Olszewski

The Giants have tried for years to upgrade the receivers Jones was throwing to. Signing Kenny Golladay to a mega-contract and selecting Kadarius Toney in Round 1 was the big 2021 swing. A washed Golladay caught just 37 passes, barely saw the field in 2022 and is out of the league. Toney showed flashes, catching 39 passes. He didn’t play nearly enough, though, was a headache from the start and was an ex-Giant by the middle of the 2022 season.

The current iteration of the Giants’ receiving corps, fortified by No. 6 overall pick Malik Nabers, “should” be the best group of the Jones era. I put should in quotes because, of course, we have entered seasons thinking that before.

You might even be able to argue that even without Nabers the Darius Slayton, Wan’Dale Robinson, Jalin Hyatt, Isaiah Hodgins group is better than what the Giants fielded in 2021.

Overall score: Better

Offensive line

Final 2021 roster — Ben Bredeson, Korey Cunningham, Will Hernandez, Wes Martin, Billy Price, Matt Skura, Nate Solder, Andrew Thomas, Nick Gates (IR), Shane Lemieux (IR), Kyle Murphy (IR), Matt Peart (IR)
Current roster — Andrew Thomas, Jon Runyan Jr., John Michael Schmitz, Jermaine Eluemunor, Evan Neal, Jalen Mayfield, Jimmy Morrissey, Josh Ezeudu, Marcus McKethan, Austin Schlottman, Aaron Stinnie, Matt Nelson

The 2021 season is when Andrew Thomas became one of the league’s best tackles. That was the only good news on the offensive line. Joe Judge couldn’t see past his Patriots-colored glasses to give Matt Peart a full chance at right tackle, instead preferring an over-the-hill Nate Solder. Nick Gates and Shane Lemieux were injured early in the season — in Lemieux’s case, early in training camp. The interior of the line, much as it was in 2023, was a disaster.

The 2024 line is a projection. Despite not selecting any offensive linemen in the 2024 NFL Draft, the pieces are available (I won’t say in place, because we don’t know what those places are going to be) for the line to be improved.

Thomas is healthy after missing half of last season with a knee injury and playing the rest of it compromised. Schmitz is in his second season, and should show improvement. There are two new, capable veteran starters signed in free agency in Jon Runyan Jr. and Jermaine Eluemunor. There is some veteran depth, with players like Tyre Phillips and Justin Pugh still potential additions at some point. There are a couple of young interior line players in Josh Ezeudu and Marcus McKethan who could still prove helpful.

There is, of course, still the Evan Neal dilemma. With Eluemunor, Nelson, perhaps Phillips and a number of guard options should Eluemunor have to move out there, the Giants appear to be in a better spot to adjust should Neal once again fail to look like a capable NFL right tackle.

The Giants also have a new offensive line coach, with Carmen Bricillo replacing Bobby Johnson.

Overall score: Better … potentially

Defensive line

Final 2021 roster — Dexter Lawrence, Leonard Williams, Austin Johnson, Raymond Johnson, Danny Shelton
Current roster — Dexter Lawrence, Ryder Anderson, D.J. Davidson, Timmy Horne, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Jordan Phillips, Jordon Riley

Dexter Lawrence is still the anchor, but the 2024 version of Lawrence is superior to the 2021 version. Lawrence has 12.0 sacks the last two years and back-to-back Pro Bowl honors after 9.0 sack and no Pro Bowls in his first three seasons.

The big difference is that Leonard Williams is now a member of the Seattle Seahawks, traded for a second-round pick that helped the Giants acquire edge defender Brian Burns. On the line, the Giants have adequate veterans Rakeem Nunez-Roches and Jordan Phillips, and promising youngsters in Jordon Riley and D.J. Davidson. None, though, is the kind of running mate for Lawrence that Williams was.

It remains a bit surprising that the Giants did not add to the defensive line in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Overall score: Worse … Trading Williams was understandable — and correct — under the circumstances, and it enabled the Giants to land Burns, but it unquestionably weakened Lawrence’s supporting cast. Improvement from Riley would go a long way toward fixing that.

Inside linebackers

Final 2021 roster — Tae Crowder, Benardrick McKinney, Reggie Ragland, Jaylon Smith, T.J. Brunson (IR), Justin Hilliard (IR), Blake Martinez (IR)
Current roster — Bobby Okereke, Micah McFadden, Isaiah Simmons, Darrian Beavers, Carter Coughlin, Dyontae Johnson, Darius Muasau, Matthew Adams

Is there any discussion to be had about this position? Blake Martinez is probably the only linebacker on the 2021 roster who would even make the 2024 roster.

Overall score: Better … by a wide margin

Outside linebackers

Final 2021 roster — Cam Brown, Lorenzo Carter, Azeez Ojulari, Quincy Roche, Oshane Ximines, Elerson Smith (IR)
Current roster — Kayon Thibodeaux, Brian Burns, Azeez Ojulari, Boogie Basham, Tomon Fox, Jeremiah Martin, Benton Whitley

Another position where there really isn’t any question that there has been improvement. Azeez Ojulari, a rookie in 2021, was the Giants’ most impactful edge defender at the time. Now, he’s a backup who might be entering his last season as a Giant.

Overall score: Better … again by a wide margin

Cornerbacks

Final 2021 roster — James Bradberry, Keion Crossen, Adoree’ Jackson, Aaron Robinson, Jarren Williams, Darnay Holmes (IR), Rodarius Williams (IR)
Current roster — Tae Banks, Cor’Dale Flott, Nick McCloud, Tre Hawkins III, Andru Phillips, Aaron Robinson, Stantley Thomas-Oliver, Kaleb Hayes, David Long

James Bradberry and Adoree’ Jackson gave the Giants an excellent pair of boundary cornerbacks in 2021. Darnay Holmes was adequate in the slot. Aaron Robinson showed potential in nine games after being a third-round pick.

Looking ahead to 2024, Bradberry is long gone. Jackson, too, is gone. Holmes is fighting for a roster spot with Cor’Dale Flott, Andru Phillips and David Long as slot options.

The Giants have 2023 first-round pick Tae Banks expected to step into the CB1 role. Is he ready for that? He will have to be. Who starts on the opposite boundary?

There is talent and potential, but a lot of unanswered questions about the 2024 group. This group could be good. We just have to see it.

Overall score: Worse

The Phillips pick might work out fine, but I remain confused about why the Giants didn’t select a pure outside cornerback in the draft.

Safeties

Final 2021 roster — Logan Ryan, Xavier McKinney, Julian Love, Steven Parker, J.R. Reed, Jabrill Peppers (IR), Nate Ebner (IR), Joshua Kalu (IR)
Current roster — Jason Pinnock, Tyler Nubin, Dane Belton, Jalen Mills, Gervarrious Owens

The 2021 group had Logan Ryan, Xavier McKinney, Julian Love and Jabrill Peppers. The 2024 group has the play-making of Jason Pinnock, the potential of second-round pick Tyler Nubin and third-year player Dane Belton, and the experience of Jalen Mills.

Overall score: Worse … Until/unless Nubin proves to be a difference-maker. Like the cornerback group, we have to see it before we can score it “neutral” or “better”.

Final thoughts

By my scoring, the Giants are better at six of 10 positions.

Better

QB
TE
WR
OL
ILB
OLB

Worse

RB
CB
S
DL

The roster, overall, is somewhat better than it was. As Tony DelGenio pointed out in his look at ‘how bad NFL teams become good,’ circumstances have not put the Giants in position to make dramatic moves that could lead to a quick, noticeable turnaround.

The Giants haven’t had the assets to be able to trade for a package of draft picks that would turbo charge their roster building efforts. They haven’t been positioned to draft a quarterback they were in love with to take over from Daniel Jones, so they are doing the best they can to prop him up.

You can argue that, long-term, the 2022 playoff season may have slowed the rebuild. It forced some decisions, like keeping Daniel Jones, that Schoen probably didn’t intend to make when he became GM. I will always say winning is worthwhile, but you can argue that those three victories last season with Tommy DeVito at quarterback, fun as they were, took the Giants out of position to draft the quarterback they appeared to be in love with, Drake Maye.

So, I think the roster is better. Marginally. I think Schoen has a more cohesive plan than Gettleman, who seemed to know talent but not necessarily how to put the puzzle together or maximize his assets. I think Schoen has perhaps not been able to make some of the truly big swings it might take to really jump-start the Giants and turn them from bad to good, at least consistently. I also think a big part of his first two offseasons were spent simply trying to get into position where he could financially and strategically begin to try making the moves he wanted/needed to make.

Are the incremental improvements the Giants have made going to show up in the win-loss column during the 2024 season? Maybe, but it is the quarterback play that ultimately will be the biggest factor.