10 things that could change the perception of the Giants’ roster

There won’t be many fireworks for the New York Giants in 2024 if their roster is as bad as many national pundits seem to believe. Everywhere you look it seems a different list pops up with the Giants ranked as one of the league’s worst rosters, and maybe the worst of all 32 NFL teams.

Could that be true?

I don’t believe it is. The problem, I think, is that when national analysts look at the Giants they don’t see tangible proof of improvement.

They see that Daniel Jones, coming off his worst year and a knee injury, is still the quarterback. They see that Saquon Barkley, Xavier McKinney, Adoree’ Jackson and Darren Waller are no longer Giants.

What they don’t see, and it is understandable because you have to look under the hood and study the possibilities rather than take a cursory glance, is how the offseason may have helped set the Giants up for improvement.

Before we go any further, here are some of the rankings:

Pro Football Focus (No. 31)

The Giants will get their starting quarterback back from injury and added Brian Burns to fill out their defensive line, but their offensive line was in shambles last season and their secondary lost its best player. They also gained Malik Nabers but lost Saquon Barkley. There is a world where the Giants’ defense keeps the team in a lot of games, but their offense is reliant on a ton of young players and a quarterback who struggled last season before tearing his ACL.

ESPN (No. 32)

Biggest strength: Defensive front. The Giants have many major roster concerns, but they certainly have some star power up front. Dexter Lawrence (second-team All-Pro each of the past two seasons) is one of the league’s best defenders, and while New York is extremely shaky behind him at DT, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux form a potentially dominant edge rusher duo. We know Burns (46.0 sacks in five seasons) is great and while Thibodeaux is still progressing, the 2022 first-round pick made a big leap with 11.5 sacks last season. — Clay

Biggest weakness: Secondary. With Xavier McKinney and Adoree’ Jackson gone, the Giants have what is arguably the league’s shakiest unit at both cornerback and safety. Deonte Banks (a 2023 first-round pick) will need to make a leap forward in Year 2 and carry the CB room. The likes of Cor’Dale Flott, Nick McCloud, Tre Hawkins III and third-round rookie Dru Phillips are among those competing for the other starting jobs. At safety, Jason Pinnock has proved to be a competent starter, and he’ll be joined by some combination of second-round rookie Tyler Nubin, Dane Belton and Jalen Mills. — Clay

X factor for 2024: Right tackle Evan Neal. It’s make-or-break time for the 2022 No. 7 overall pick. As it stands, he represents one of many weaknesses on the Giants roster; he ranked 54th out of 69 tackles in pass block win rate last season. If he can live up to his draft stock, he would form an exceptional tackle duo with Andrew Thomas, but so far in his young career, it hasn’t happened. — Walder

33rd Team (No. 31)

Losing Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney this offseason won’t help the Giants get back on track. The additions of Malik Nabers, Jon Runyan, Brian Burns, and Tyler Nubin are considerable, but there is still a lot of pressure on an underwhelming offensive line and QB Daniel Jones.

New York has little depth at receiver and no standout tailback, and it is banking on Evan Neal to take a giant leap for the offense to be sustainably average.

The roster’s foundation is at least interesting, with Nabers, Andrew Thomas, Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and a promising cornerback room looking like capable leaders for the future. It’s just not enough right now, though.

Changing the narrative

Big Blue View contributor Tony DelGenio recently did a post showing that — analytically speaking — the Giants might have one of the most-improved rosters in the NFL. Here is one of the graphics accompanying that post, showing ‘Unexpected Points’ ranking the Giants with the fourth-most improved roster in the league:

The problem is proving that on the field.

Tony wrote this in his piece:

The Giants were not the NFL’s worst team in 2023 (the proof is that if they were, they’d have a new quarterback this year). They beat two playoff teams, Green Bay and Philadelphia, and barely lost three other games against playoff opponents (the Rams, Buffalo, and Philadelphia a second time). Yes, they lost Saquon Barkley, Xavier McKinney, and Tyrod Taylor in free agency. On the other hand, they signed several free agents who should help and found some intriguing players in the draft. How do you weigh the gains and losses?

I think this is a case where the Giants could be better in a lot of areas, or at least better than many analysts think, but we’re going to have to see it for those analysts to believe it. Here are some of those things:

• Daniel Jones is going to have to play as well, and maybe better, than he did in 2022. Is that possible? Sure. If the Giants have done what Schoen thinks they have — improve at wide receiver and the offensive line and do enough to be adequate at running back.

Schoen’s “This is the year for Daniel” statement on Tuesday’s ‘Hard Knocks’ episode was clear. Jones has one final opportunity. If he doesn’t grasp it, there will be a new quarterback for the Giants in 2025.

• Malik Nabers has to be what the Giants drafted him No. 6 overall to be. That, Giants fans know, is the first true No. 1 wide receiver the team has had since Odell Beckham Jr.
• By extension, the other wide receivers Schoen drafted — Wan’Dale Robinson in Round 2 of the 2022 NFL Draft and Jalin Hyatt in Round 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft — need to become what Schoen hoped they would be. I think at least one, probably Robinson, will have a big 2024.
• The Giants have to be effective at running back. They don’t have to be spectacular, but they need to be productive. Can they? There are analytics that tell you Devin Singletary, the veteran back signed to replace Barkley, has been as good or better than Barkley in some areas the past three seasons — albeit in fewer touches. There is excitement about fifth-round pick Tyrone Tracy Jr. Being good enough at this position is possible. Again, though, we will have to see it.
• The offensive line needs to be competent. It doesn’t need to be great. Competence would be a massive upgrade over the disastrous play of the line a year ago. Is that possible? Absolutely. A healthy Andrew Thomas and a second-year leap from John Michael Schmitz would go a long way. Free-agent signees Jon Runyan Jr. and Jermaine Eluemunor should be upgrades.

The wild-card, of course, is Evan Neal. Can he be competent at right tackle? If not, will the Giants be stubborn and keep playing him or will they pull the plug. Even if Neal struggles, if the rest of the line is competent or better the Giants might be able to cover for some of his deficiencies.

• Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns need to be difference-makers. They can’t be expected to be Lawrence Taylor and Carl Banks, but they need to change games. That is absolutely possible. Maybe even likely. Again, though, perhaps under-appreciated because we have not seen it yet.
• Tae Banks needs to step up. The Giants need the 2023 first-round pick to play like the No. 1 cornerback they drafted him to be. Can he? The Giants know he has the physical traits. Will he maximize them? I am not as worried about the second cornerback spot. Adoree’ Jackson was adequate, at best, last season. The bar for replacing him isn’t that high.
• They need to adequately replace safety Xavier McKinney. If second-round pick Tyler Nubin is what the Giants think he is, they will.
• Can they replace Darren Waller? No, Waller wasn’t what the Giants hoped he would be last season. The Giants still need production from Daniel Bellinger, rookie Theo Johnson and whoever else lines up at tight end to make up for the 50+ passes Waller caught.
• Graham Gano needs to be Graham Gano. The injury to Graham Gano, and his ineffectiveness prior to going on IR, left the Giants riding a placekicker merry-go-round in 2023. If the 37-year-old is healthy and still the reliable kicker he was before last season’s knee injury, that’s another box checked for the Giants.