Dave Gettleman

New York Giants: Dave Gettleman receives poor rank among veteran GMs

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New York Giants, Dave Gettleman

General Manager is one of the most important positions within a football team, and the New York Giants have had Dave Gettleman in that spot for the past few years. Gettleman’s time with the franchise has been a polarizing issue that has produced both supporters and harsh critics. Some have even shifted from one stance to another as this Giants offseason has felt different from the last few.

However, in a recent ranking of GMs from NFL Network, Gettleman was ranked as the second worst. To his credit, not every GM was listed in the rankings. Those with less than two drafts were excluded, effectively giving some GMs a grace period that Gettleman doesn’t fall into. The critics will likely agree with this take, but is it true?

What the rankings had to say about Gettleman

It’s early, but selecting tackle Andrew Thomas at No. 4 overall last year when three standout tackles were taken after him is a troubling sign. Meanwhile, the jury is still out on No. 6 overall pick Daniel Jones. Less so for fellow 2019 first-round pick DeAndre Baker, whom the Giants traded up for but who’s no longer on the team. (New York’s other first-rounder from two years ago, Dexter Lawrence, is a nice contributor.) It’s not Saquon Barkley’s fault he tore his ACL, but an offense built around him in 2018-19 had its limitations. Gettleman wants a team full of large humans who can run the ball and stop the run, an approach that’s out of step with the current NFL. There is a ticking clock on Gettleman’s plan coming together in time.

The take here is one that most critics of Gettleman can agree with, and even many fans that don’t lean too strongly in either direction on this issue. It’s an objective fact that Gettleman has underperformed and made moves that haven’t panned out how the Giants hoped. The case of DeAndre Baker was a clear cut mistake, either in the Giants trading up for the player in the first place or the way they handled his exit depending on how you look at things.

And, while Barkley is one of the most popular Giants, Gettleman’s decision to rely on a running back by taking one at number two overall caused some to raise their eyebrows at the time – especially when injuries came into play during Barkley’s last two seasons.

The article doesn’t go into Gettleman’s free agency decisions, but those have been just as much of a mixed bag as his draft history. While Gettleman has brought on players like Blake Martinez, James Bradberry, and now Kenny Golladay, many fans were ready to see him go by the time those additions were made.

In the defense of Gettleman

We’ve seen the reasons why Gettleman was ranked as one of the worst GMs in the league, but it’s only fair to look at things from the other point of view also. Joe Judge has gotten much of the credit for high profile free agents joining the Giants, and while the head coach does influence free agency to an extent, it’s still the job of the General Manager to negotiate and close deals.

A great head coach doesn’t always mean great free agents, and credit can’t be removed entirely from the one in charge of actually making deals with free agents. This offseason, we also saw the cap situation handled relatively well. The Giants did lose Dalvin Tomlinson, but Nate Solder’s massive deal was successfully restructured and the Giants were able to bring on multiple important free agent additions despite their tricky spot with the cap.

Also, Joe Judge has been the biggest factor in the team’s turnaround, but it’s safe to say the Giants organization wouldn’t have taken a chance on Judge in the first place if he didn’t work well with the existing GM that the franchise has shown a commitment to keeping around.

The GM is often involved in the coaching search, and while we don’t know if that was the case with the Giants and Judge, the possibility that Gettleman was involved in some way or another in bringing Judge on board shouldn’t be ignored.

The verdict

Gettleman is far from a perfect GM – and there’s some entirely valid reasons why a lot of fans have called for him to be fired. However, based on the last offseason and the upwards trend for the Giants, it’s a bit of an outdated take to call him the second worst veteran GM in the league.

After all, even if the Giants are largely having success behind a head coach that’s turned the culture around, you can’t just discount the impact of the work behind the scenes in the front office on that process. The GM position exists for a reason, and has its own duties that are supportive of, but separate from, those of a head coach.

New York Giants: Is it safe to say Dave Gettleman has improved?

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When the New York Giants moved on from Pat Shurmur, much of the fanbase wanted to see Dave Gettleman gone as GM too.

And understandably so. Sure. he’d made some moves like drafting Saquon Barkley, the team’s best weapon. But Barkley’s injuries have held back his progress and kept him from being as much of a slam dunk pick as he would have been healthy. Also, Barkley was the obvious pick – it doesn’t take a genius to take the best player on the board.

Gettleman also drafted Daniel Jones. And the verdict isn’t out yet on whether Jones is for real or a stepping stone. The pick didn’t do much to endear him to many, especially when neither the selection nor the free agency class would save the Giants from another bad year.

Many attributed Gettleman keeping his job to the Giants simply being a patient franchise, rather than skill. But has the situation changed since then?

A high level offseason

It’s hard to say things are the same as before. After all, the Giants are doing something they haven’t done in the past few years and welcoming a top free agent at a premier position, with wide receiver Kenny Golladay. They were counted out in the race for him earlier in the offseason, but the team management was able to make it happen and, while it’s said the Giants overpaid, they were still able to bring in another big addition to help the team.

That other big addition is Adoree’ Jackson, who looks like the team’s second corner and will finally fill the big gap left when the Giants moved on from DeAndre Baker. Also, Baker had a shaky track record when he was a Giant and Jackson represents an upgrade from the previous standard.

On the other hand, there’s decisions that some won’t agree with. Giving a big deal to Leonard Williams, most notably, overpaying Golladay, and watching Dalvin Tomlinson walk because of these decisions.

And it’s not quite possible to say yet, before we’ve seen just how well Gettleman’s judgement is here, whether these are good decisions or not.

So really, at the end of the day, the question of whether Gettleman has improved or not depends on how much you trust his view of things in this offseason’s biggest flashpoints.

Has he become savvy, adding premier free agents the Giants need for a quicker turn around after a sluggish rebuilding process? Or simply out of touch and throwing big money at players that don’t deserve it?

We’ll find out the answer this season – but the fanbase will likely be divided about that until then, and even going into it.

New York Giants: Steve Smith harsh on Dave Gettleman’s free agency

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New York Giants, Dave Gettleman

The New York Giants have started making moves in free agency and there will be varying takes about just how good or bad those moves are – and one of the harsher takes is coming from a veteran of the NFL, Steve Smith. Smith, of course, has a shared history with Giants GM Dave Gettleman due to their time in Carolina. And because of how Smith’s time there ended, it isn’t a friendly relationship.

Smith has some harsh words for how Gettleman has made choices so far in free agency, specifically when it comes to his own position of wide receiver. You can be the judge of whether there’s merit here or if Smith is just still worked up over a past grudge.

Steve Smith’s harsh take

“They don’t want an alpha… So what they want are robots who aren’t going to make a stink, who are gonna fall in place, which will end up stunting the growth of your franchise quarterback because you either want a robot or 6-foot-2, 215 or above wide receiver. You don’t want a playmaker. You want cheap. You want people that aren’t gonna make a stink in the locker room,” Smith said on NFL Network, where he works as an analyst now.

This comes after the Giants made the decision to bring in Bengals receiver John Ross, who was considered a draft bust by many but will have a one year deal to prove himself. Ross does have potential due to his fast physical attributes but the signing will of course leave fans wanting for more at the playmaking positions due to the sluggish offense last season.

Some might say that Smith is just continuing his grudge with Gettleman, and that might be true, but the Giants do need to continue adding to their list of playmakers if they want to step forward next season – relying on John Ross proving himself isn’t going to be enough.

And whether or not they can do that might be the defining factor in whether or not this take from a former Gettleman player about this year’s free agent class is actually correct.

New York Giants: Daniel Jones called “everything we want” by Dave Gettleman

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New York Giants, Daniel Jones

In case you didn’t believe the New York Giants were committed to Daniel Jones going forward, GM Dave Gettleman would confirm that once again while speaking on Tuesday. The Giants have expressed that Jones is their future multiple times, but since this is the offseason when roster moves are being made, it needed to be said one more time. And if you believe Gettleman here, there’s really no chance we end up with a different QB anytime soon.

Gettleman claims there’s no need to look at QBs

“We’ve done the evaluation on him and we really believe he’s the guy. No reason to go look,” Gettleman said, denying that the Giants might look at free agent quarterbacks. “What we’re doing isn’t fantasy football, we’re not playing, we’re not doing that. We’ve got a conviction on him, he’s everything we want, he’s got all the physical skills and again I say this all the time, the kid just finished his second year of NFL football.”

Gettleman stressed that it takes time and that most aren’t the best at their job after two years. He reaffirmed once again that the team believes in Daniel Jones.

But it remains to be seen how far out this order of things will last if Jones doesn’t make the big step forward that many are hoping for in 2021. He’ll have some advantages compared to 2020 if the Giants can do what everyone is hoping, and add better weapons to the offense this year. But as we saw with the team’s losing streak in the first half of last season, patience will wear thin quickly if that doesn’t bring quick results.

Still, it really looks like the Giants are unlikely to change course anytime soon, and they’ve practically said it themselves on a number of occasions, both head coach Joe Judge and GM Dave Gettleman. We’re going to have Daniel Jones as the QB for the future, whether or not the fans believe the Giants can win down the line with him.

New York Giants: 3 major takeaways from Joe Judge, Dave Gettleman press-conference

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New York Giants, Dave Gettleman, Joe Judge

The New York Giants have a ton of moves to make in the near future, especially with the franchise tag deadline on March 9 at 4 PM and free agency starting on March 17.

With plenty of action to come over the next two weeks, head coach Joe Judge and general manager Dave Gettleman hosted a press conference to answer questions. The Giants have already made several moves, including the release of Golden Tate and David Mayo. The Giants have also restructured the contract of Levine Toilolo and are preparing to tag Leonard Williams.

Three major takeaways for the New York Giants:

1.) Gettleman tips cap on tackle situation

With veteran RT Cam Fleming hitting free agency, the only serviceable player on the roster they can start at the position is Matt Peart, former 3rd round pick from the 2020 NFL draft. Gettleman affirmed that he would feel comfortable with Andrew Thomas and Peart starting at both tackle spots in 2021. He mentioned that the former UConn product showed enough and that he had some good reps last season before being diagnosed with COVID-19.

This could be a tip of the cap from Gettleman, but I am under the impression the Giants will roll with an extremely young offensive line 2021.

2.) Evan Engram isn’t going anywhere

The Giants seem to be enamored with TE Evan Engram, who was a direct result of multiple turnovers in 2020 and dropped a multitude of passes. Head coach Joe Judge remained positive and confident arhat EE can bounce back in a big way moving forward. He detailed his work ethic and discipline to improvement, which is something that Judge loves to see in his players. If EE can alleviate those drops, there’s no question he can be one of the best receiving TEs in the NFL.

3.) Building through the draft

Successful teams don’t build through free agency, they need to consistently draft well. That is something that Judge understands greatly and is focused on putting together a strong scouting department and phenomenal coaching staff to maximize their selections. With only a minimal amount of money this season, the Giants will undoubtedly have to rely on the 2021 NFL draft to solve some of their problems.

 

New York Giants: What are the odds the Giants get Deshaun Watson or Matthew Stafford?

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Deshaun Watson, New York Giants

Will the New York Giants be trading for a quarterback this offseason? It’s highly unlikely after head coach Joe Judge firmly committed to Daniel Jones, but not impossible. General Manager Dave Gettleman can be unpredictable at times.

Gettelman traded away the face of the Giants’ franchise just a few seasons ago. It is not crazy to think Gettleman makes a move to acquire a player like Deshaun Watson or Matthew Stafford.

On Monday, BetOnline released odds on the potential destinations for both Watson and Stafford. The Giants were a 28/1 for Watson and 35/1 for Stafford. Vegas oddsmakers are not sold the G-Men will sit this one out.

The Giants are not the favorites to acquire one of these two quarterbacks. New York would have to give up valuable assets to acquire one of these quarterbacks, especially Watson.

What are the favorites?

The New York Jets are considered favorites to land Watson at 15/4, while the Indianapolis Colts are considered favorites to land Stafford at 3/1.

Watson came out publicly saying his preferred landing spot would be the New York Jets. Why not go to a team that has a more built-up roster, and there are still in New York, the Giants?

Ultimately, do not expect the Giants to be serious players for either Watson or Stafford. However, it would be foolish if Gettleman didn’t at least put a call in to see what the asking price is on both.

New York Giants predicted to select Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle in mock draft

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New York Giants, Jaylen Waddle

The 2021 NFL Draft is a few short months away. But as this offseason begins to ramp up in intensity, the New York Giants will begin looking for ways to improve their offense. Uprgading the offense, more specifically, upgrading the offensive playmakers, is a major point of emphasis for the Giants this offseason. Co-owner John Mara and general manager Dave Gettleman vowed to improve the offense this offseason.

Giants fans have quickly turned their attention to the 2021 NFL Draft and free agency periods. Both free agency and the draft will feature rich wide receiver classes filled with talent for the Giants to acquire. At the top of the NFL Draft, there are a few intriguing options for the Giants at wide receiver.

Ja’Marr Chase and Devonta Smith are two exciting wide receiver options that might not make it to pick number eleven in April. So many Giants fans and analysts have turned their attention towards the draft’s consensus third-best wide receiver, Jaylen Waddle.

Jaylen Waddle is the less talked about wide receiver out of Alabama in this year’s draft class. Devonta Smith, the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner, has gotten most of the media attention. There is a good chance, though, that Smith is selected inside the top ten picks of the 2021 NFL Draft. Same goes for the electric Ja’Marr Chase out of LSU. This leaves Jaylen Waddle as the likely next-best option for the Giants in round one.

Jaylen Waddle stats and highlights

Jaylen Waddle has been mocked to the New York Giants in countless mock drafts recently. It seems like a perfect situation where elite talent meets extreme need. The assumption is that the Giants will draft the best receiver on the board in April. This is contingent on what happens in free agency, though.

If the Giants are able to sign a big-name wide receiver in free agency, they could go another direction in the draft. But one of the Giants’ biggest current needs is at wide receiver, so Jaylen Waddle at eleven overall makes sense.

Jaylen Waddle has game-changing speed combined with crafty route running and impressive receiving skills. It is entirely possible that Waddle runs a sub-4.3s forty-yard dash at his 2021 Pro Day. Waddle’s speed makes him a killer deep threat and also makes him highly efficient on shallow or deep crossers. Waddle is able to create plenty of separation through solid route running combined with his elite speed.

Waddle averaged 11.2 yards after the catch per reception over the past two years at Alabama, per PFF. He also averaged a shocking 21.1 yards per reception in 2020. Jaylen posted 28 receptions, 591 yards, and 4 touchdowns in only six games this year at Alabama. Waddle dealt with an ankle injury that kept him sidelined for most of the year, but showed great heart and competitive nature by recovering from that injury and returning for the National Championship Game in 2021.

Throughout the course of Jaylen Waddle’s collegiate career, he played alongside extremely talented offensive teammates. Alabama has been producing first-round wide receiver talents for years, along with NFL quarterbacks and superior offensive linemen. Despite playing in this loaded offense, Jaylen still put up impressive numbers, totaling 1999 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns since 2018, averaging 18.9 yards per receptions over the course of his collegiate career.

Jaylen Waddle is the definition of a playmaker. He is a reliable receiver with the ability to create huge game-changing plays. If the Giants draft Waddle, they will have the choice of moving him inside to slot receiver or playing him off the line of scrimmage in the outside “Z” receiver position. Either way, Waddle dominated at both of those positions in college. If Jaylen Waddle is on the board for the Giants with the eleventh overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, it will be hard for them to pass upon his elite speed and talent.

The Giants should consider tagging and trading Leonard Williams

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New York Giants, Leonard Williams

The New York Giants have a lot of key decisions to make this offseason, and one of them is what to do with their star defensive linemen Leonard Williams.

After acquiring Williams from the Jets via trade midway through the 2019 season, which was largely seen as a controversial move amongst Giants fans, general manager Dave Gettleman ended up using the franchise tag on Williams for 1-year and $16 million dollars after failing to come to terms on a long-term contract.

Looking back on it now, the Giants probably regret not locking up Williams long-term, as he went on to have a monster year this season. Williams was a Pro Bowl snub after racking up 57 total tackles and 11.5 sacks for the Giants and is sure to command a massive contract on the open market as a free agent.

There is no doubt that the Giants want to keep Williams in blue, but it might be difficult for them to do so. As good as Williams was this season, it was the first season in his career where he’s had more than 7 sacks, and that was back in 2016. In the three seasons between his 2016 season and this season, Williams only manages to put up 7.5 sacks total.

The questions surrounding whether Williams can maintain this elite level of play going forward could and probably should cause the Giants to have some reservations about how much they would be willing to pay him. If they can sign him for around $17-$18 million dollars per year, then they should bring him back. But, even with the shortened salary cap this offseason, it’s entirely possible Williams will command $20 million dollars per year, or maybe even more.

If the number goes that high, it would make more sense for Giants to let go of Williams. However, an alternative to simply letting him walk away for nothing is to tag and trade Williams, which is something that hasn’t been talked about much but would make a lot of sense for the Giants.

It remains unclear what the franchise tag salaries are going to look like this offseason and whether or not Williams would get tagged as a defensive end or a defensive tackle. A year ago, Williams got tagged as a defensive tackle, but that could change this season. Either way, the franchise tag salary isn’t likely to increase from last season and might even decrease due to the limited salary cap. Even if does increase, it likely won’t reach $20 million, so it would be worth it for the Giants.

Another huge bonus in tagging and trading Williams is the ability to get a potentially great draft pick in return, one that’s better than the third-round compensatory pick they would receive by letting him walk, which is basically a fourth-round pick in disguise. Williams will definitely draw interest around the league after the season he had, and if a team is willing to offer a second-round pick or even a first-round pick, it’s a no-brainer for the Giants.

This is probably an unlikely scenario for the Giants, even though there’s no reason for them not to do it if the opportunity presents itself. They would likely either pay up for Williams to keep him long term or let him walk for a compensatory pick.

But, tagging and trading Williams would be a creative and smart route the Giants could potentially take in order to add another early draft pick and spread out their cap space across multiple players rather than tying most of it to one player.

Leonard Williams had a phenomenal year and has earned himself a massive payday, whether that’s from the Giants or someone else. We shall see what the Giants choose to do in the coming months, but they would be wise to consider going in the direction of tagging and trading Williams if his price tags exceed what they’re willing to pay.

New York Giants: 3 wide receivers Dave Gettleman could target during the 2021 offseason

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New York Giants, Kenny Golladay

The New York Giants were the second-worst team in the league in passing. The Giants averaged only 189.1 yards per game through the air. Quarterbacks Daniel Jones and Colt McCoy combined only threw for 12 touchdowns. The G-Men need to get another weapon or two on the offensive side of the ball.

The injuries with Jones this season a lot to do with the Giants’ lack of air attack combined with offensive coordinator Jason Garrett’s short passing scheme, which did not fit with Jones’ skill set.

Big Blue has some talented skill players on offense in Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, Golden Tate, and Evan Engram, but the Giants need to get another weapon. The Giants need to get Jones an No.1 receiver if the Giants want to see Jones’ full potential.

Here are three wide receivers the New York Giants need to consider in free agency:

Allen Robinson:

The 28-year-old wide receiver Allen Robinson will be the most highly looked receiver on the open market in March, that’s if the Chicago Bears let Robinson walk.

Robinson has been one of the most reliable receivers over the past two seasons with the Bears. Robinson has caught nearly 200 passes for 2,400 yards over the last two seasons. Robinson also racked up 13 total touchdowns with the Bears.

Robinson would come in and instantly become the New York Giants No.1 receiver and will instantly make Jones a better quarterback. This signing could be one of the biggest reasons why the Giants find themselves in the playoffs in 2021.

Kenny Golladay:

The same issue with Robinson is with Kenny Golladay. Golladay will be one of the most highly looked at receivers on the open market in March, that’s if the Detriot Lions let me walk.

The 6-foot-4 receiver has been hurt all season long, and with the NFL cap space decreasing by $20 million, it will be very difficult for the Lions to retain Golladay long term. If Lions could franchise tag him, but if not, Golladay will hit the open market.

Golladay has the sort of size and athleticism the New York Giants will want to give Jones. He will provide Jones with a big red zone and end zone target.

If Golladay hits the open market, he will not be cheap.

Curtis Samuel:

The Carolina Panthers have a surplus of wide receivers, there is no need for them to retain Samuel long term. Samuel and Dave Gettleman both have ties with each other as well.

Gettleman drafted Samuel in his last draft in Carolina. Gettleman signed James Bradberry last offseason, and Gettleman drafted him as well. Maybe, we could see Gettleman re-unite with another former draft selection.

Samuel will be a little cheaper than Robinson and Golladay but is not a true No.1. But getting Samuel and maybe drafting a receiver will significantly help this offense.

Samuel is coming off his best year as a pro with 851 receiving yards and over 200 yards on the ground. He is a playmaker, which the Giants need on this offense.

New York Giants: Dave Gettleman to remain general manager, according to reports

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New York Giants, Dave Gettleman

The New York Giants are continuing with Dave Gettleman as the team’s general manager, according to Paul Schwartz of the NY Post. Schwartz notes that the decision came from ownership, as they believe the Giants are “heading in the right direction.” Paul Schwartz also says that ownership also believes “Gettleman is the right man to continue the building process alongside head coach Joe Judge.”

This will undoubtedly be a controversial decision amongst Giants fans. The New York Giants hired Dave Gettleman in 2018 and the team has not seen much success over the past three seasons. With Dave Gettleman as the general manager of the Giants, the team has gone 15-33 in three years. They have also seen two head coaches hired during the Gettleman era.

Prior to the 2020 offseason, Giants’ co-owner John Mara made it clear that Dave Gettleman was on thin ice. Mara mentioned that Gettleman’s “batting average” needed to go up. Certainly, it did, with great signings in the 2020 free agency period like Blake Martinez and James Bradberry having a huge impact on the Giants this season.

The Giants also saw improvements week-to-week by Gettleman and company’s 2020 draft class. And, most importantly, second-year quarterback Daniel Jones showed tremendous progression through this season. Jones was Gettleman’s most important selection as general manager of the Giants and his success largely determines the success of Dave Gettleman as a general manager.

Granted, while the Giants fought for a playoff spot until the final game of the 2020 season, they still finished the year below .500 with a 6-10 record. The team is improving and this is the best record they have posted during the Gettleman era. After this season of improvements, Dave Gettleman now officially bought himself at least another year as the general manager of the New York Giants.

John Mara and Dave Gettleman will meet with the media this week to discuss the state of the New York Giants and “the factors that went into retaining Gettleman.” Schwartz’s post indicates that this was largely a John Mara decision and that Mara feels “the arrow is pointing up” towards success in the Giants’ future with Dave Gettleman.