With a paltry four wins to their name last season, it might not seem like there’s very much to be excited about when it comes to the 2020 New York Giants. However, a few less than flashy acquisitions, on top of some core talent that can be built around, may make you want to bet the over on their win total this year.
Firstly, and most importantly, Gettleman and the Giants’ front office spent the better part of their draft capital beefing up their offensive line. Again, although not a fireworks show of a draft, they took some important pieces such as Georgia OT Andrew Thomas, UConn OT Matt Peart, and Oregon G Shane Lemieux with their 1st, 3rd, and 5th picks respectively. They also picked up former Cowboy and Patriot OT Cameron Fleming in free agency, who has worked with Joe Judge before, and has been a solid rotation piece in both units, and can hopefully fill the same role in New York. A good offensive line is the backbone of any good offense, and hopefully this new blood up front can help make room for Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley to shine, or at least run an offense that actually moves.
The Giants didn’t neglect the other side of the ball either, spending their 2nd round pick on Alabama S Xavier McKinney, a fine compliment to Jabrill Peppers, as well as taking UCLA CB Darnay Holmes with their fourth-round pick. Along with a number of late round linebackers and Carolina veteran CB James Bradberry, and an extra year of development for the slew of secondary players the G-Men drafted last year, hopefully this lackluster unit has filled some of its holes, and won’t be a top 5 worst defense against the pass again this year like in 2019 when they gave up a whopping 264 passing yards per game on average.
However, the Giants have a lot of pieces left to build upon. On the offensive side of the ball, the departure of OBJ has created a void at wide receiver, which has yet to be filled by Sterling Shepard or Evan Engram, due to both promising young pass-catchers having nagging injury problems, as well as coaching and roster turnover throughout their careers. Darius Slayton impressed many in the latter half of last year but has more to prove to be considered a true first option.
The Giants’ pass rush, the cornerstone of any good defense (and the major catalyst to both Giants’ Super Bowls of the last decade) is still quite weak as well. The addition of Leonard Williams will more than likely not be enough to move the needle in any considerable way, and so this unit will likely stay where they were in 2019 when Markus Golden and the boys were part of a defense that ranked 31st in pass DVOA (defensive-adjusted value over average).
So, though not a super bowl contender, Big Blue has added many necessary pieces to a core that on paper seems like they can put a competitive product on the field. With a little luck, the fledgling Giants under the Judge-Jones leadership can blossom into something that can defy our expectations, or at least have you want to bet the over on their win total.
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