Giants Now: The Athletic names Giants ‘biggest roster upgrade’ in free agency

The Athletic names Giants ‘biggest roster upgrade’ in free agency

The Giants were active in the first week of free agency, making several moves on both sides of the ball.

The big splash came with the acquisition of outside linebacker Brian Burns in a trade with the Panthers, a move that has been widely praised by NFL analysts. Now with the first wave of free agency complete, the offseason reviews continue to roll in.

The Athletic’s Randy Mueller recently handed out superlatives to various teams for their moves made during free agency. When it came to which team underwent the “biggest roster upgrade”, he awarded that honor to the Giants.

“The Giants added proven but still ascending players on the offensive line in former Green Bay Packers guard Jon Runyan Jr. and former Las Vegas Raiders guard/tackle Jermaine Eluemunor,” wrote Mueller. “Being able to add two starting offensive linemen who have clear bodies of work is rare. These were two of the top five linemen on our free-agent board. Eluemunor was very good at right tackle for the Raiders in 2023 but can also play guard. That flexibility is valuable, given Evan Neal’s issues at right tackle. Runyan has top-notch initial quickness and the ability to engage his lower body on contact, which you seldom see any more in our world of spread offenses.

“Oh yeah: Adding Brian Burns — who was my top-ranked player before he was franchise-tagged and the closest thing to Micah Parsons I’ve seen on tape recently — for second- and fifth-round picks is like adding a first-round talent on draft day. Any team would make that trade. The Giants struck in an opportune way.”

In addition to Runyan and Eluemunor, the Giants also agreed to deals with offensive linemen Aaron Stinnie and Austin Schlottmann, two veterans that bring versatility and experience to the O-line. All four of these moves should further shore up the depth up front.

Here are all of the players brought in by the Giants so far this offseason:

• Outside Linebacker Brian Burns
• Offensive Lineman Jon Runyan Jr.
• Offensive Lineman Jermaine Eluemunor
• Running Back Devin Singletary
• Defensive Back Jalen Mills
• Quarterback Drew Lock
• Wide Receiver Isaiah McKenzie
• Tight End Jack Stoll
• Tight End Chris Manhertz
• Offensive Lineman Aaron Stinnie
• Offensive Lineman Austin Schlottmann
• Long Snapper Casey Kreiter (re-signed)
• Linebacker Benton Whitley (re-signed)
• Wide Receiver/Punt Returner Gunner Olszewski (re-signed)
• Linebacker Carter Coughlin (re-signed)