Who Was New York Giants’ Best Off-season Acquisition?

At the start of the 2024 off-season, the New York Giants had so many roster holes to address that it was fair to wonder if they could make some impact additions.

They did just that, adding two potential game-changers on both offense and defense.

On the offensive side of the ball, the best move, hands down, was the addition of receiver Malik Nabers, their first-round draft pick and Bleacher Report’s choice for the most dangerous new addition in 2024. 

In Nabers, the Giants added a legitimate No. 1 receiver who is much more than a speedster. Nabers, simply put, is a “game changer” who should be able to allow the Giants to get better at doing what they’ve been doing concerning the general shape of their passing game.

The Giants’ passing offense tends to be run about 5-7 yards downfield, using play design to create space for receivers and allow for safe catches and catch-and-run opportunities. Nabers fits well within the existing structure of the Giants’ passing offense.

Although Nabers is not a particularly physical receiver and struggled, at least on tape against man coverage and in contested catch situations, he excelled in the underneath area of the field, finding voids in zone coverage and picking up yards after the catch. He is adept at finding the soft spots in coverage and has the vision to pick out running lanes and turn a short catch into an explosive play.

Nabers’s presence could also open up more downfield opportunities for Darius Slayton and Jalin Hyatt. More importantly, Nabers, whose presence could force a change in how opposing defenses play against them in that they’ll likely want to guard against the deep plays, should open things up underneath where if the Giants can beat those coverages, should be able to find success in moving the ball.  

On the defensive side of the ball, the addition of outside linebacker Brian Burns is by far the biggest move made by the Giants this past off-season. Acquired in a trade with Carolina Burns is The Atheltic’s Mike Sando’s favorite move made by the team, not just because of what Burns can potentially bring to the table, which we’ll get to in a moment.

Sando praises the Giants for not having to give up a small king’s ransom to acquire the edge rusher, who has never had fewer than 7.5 sacks in his NFL career. This is especially true after the Los Angeles Rams were reportedly willing to offer two first-round picks and a third-round pick in 2022.   

The Giants, who for years have lacked a formidable pass rush, did experience a bit of a breakout last season after Kayvon Thibodeaux exploded for 11.5 sacks in his second season, and interior defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence produced 4.5 sacks and 21 quarterback hits. 

Adding Burns, whose best season came in 2022, when he had 12.5 sacks, 22 quarterback hits, and 30 pressures, now gives the Giants a three-headed monster that opponents must find a way to slow down. It also gives the Giants a unit that last year finished 11th in ESPN’s team pass-rush win rate (45 percent).

We think both additions are strong enough candidates for the favorite. But if we have to pick one, we lean more toward adding Nabers as our favorite (and most impactful) off-season move.

The reason is simple. The Giants’ passing offense was putrid last season. They finished 31st in total passing yards with 3,351, just ahead of the last-place Panthers (3,245 yards). 

While injuries were a part of that, the lack of a legitimate No. 1 receiver capable of opening things up for the passing game was also a glaring missing ingredient that, now that the Giants have, will get the offense closer to being the explosive unit the coaches are thought to want.