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A 3-step plan for the New York Giants to fix their offensive line

by
New York Giants, Daniel Jones

If you’re a New York Giants fan, you’ve likely experienced pain, depression, and even a bit of resentment this season. Whether it be the inexcusable timeout usage from Joe Judge or Nate Solder doing his best turnstile impression, the team is soon to be renamed “The Big Apple Circus.” I want to say that’s a dramatic response, but the fact Dave Gettleman remains the Giants’ general manager after four consecutive losing seasons speaks to the inept of ownership and their desire for nepotism than building a functioning team.

However, they do have talented players, even if they spend more time riding injured reserve than their qualities to victory. Judge continues to justify the retention of his job by claiming he’s building a culture, which by all accounts, seems to be a losing one. Maybe the players haven’t given up, but the fans see through the BS and know his words amount to four wins and multiple blow-out losses.

“I’m very happy with the support the ownership gives,” Judge said regarding his job security.

Judge clearly has a concept of what “do this the right way” looks like, but other teams have expedited a rebuild in far less time, focusing in on essential player groups. Maybe Gettleman convinced Judge that the offensive line he built for the offense would hold up, but at this point, Joe is the one taking the brunt of the blame for his ineptitude.

“I’ve said this from the beginning, I’m not interested in coming and having some kind of quick flash, I’m not interested in shortcuts, I’m not interested in quick fixes. I want to do this the right way and when I took this job, I made it very, very clear that I was only going to do this if we were all committed to doing this the right way and that’s been something that’s been very clear from ownership on down,” Judge said.

Yes, injuries have had an impact, but the team’s foundation is flawed. Overspending on interior defenders and a lack of resource allocation toward the offensive line stand out like a sore thumb. To be fair, the team did unload a massive deal for Nate Solder, spend the 4th overall pick in 2020 on a left tackle, and a bevy of mid-round selections on interior linemen. It wasn’t enough, not even close for a general manager that spent the first two years making empty promises to a fan base that was craving success. Most bought into the coach-speak, but it wasn’t until this season where everything hit the fan.

Nonetheless, the first step in correcting Gettleman’s mess is fixing the OL, which is entirely possible this upcoming offseason.

Three-step plan for the New York Giants to solve OL problems:

Step 1: Draft an offensive tackle top-10

For the 2nd time in three years, the Giants will have to spend a top-10 pick on an offensive tackle. Otherwise, any quarterback worth a damn will be under duress. Andrew Thomas seems to be blossoming into an elite left tackle, but they need a complement on the right side, whether that by Evan Neal out of Alabama or Ikem Ekwonu from NC State.

That’s the first necessary step in putting the OL in the right direction. The Giants will be paying $4 million in a void year to rid themselves of Nate Solder, and to be quite honest, I’d be willing to spend more to catapult him via trebuchet into the stratosphere. Finding a young replacement with elite potential is the perfect start to this 3-step plan.

Step 2: Trade back with 2nd top-10 pick and take best interior guard available

The Giants need to asset-up for a run at Bryce Young in the 2023 NFL Draft, so trading back is a step in the right direction. Similar to their plan this past year, a team will see a QB like Kenny Pickett dropping and decide to take a chance. The Giants are in a perfect position to potentially trade back twice in the 1st round and cash in big time.

If they can settle in the 13-17 range, there are plenty of solid interior linemen to take a chance on. If a top edge rusher isn’t on the board at that point, stick to solving the trenches in the 1st round and take a high-upside defender in the 2nd round. Iowa’s Tyler Linderbaum may be available in the 10-15 range given the fact he’s a traditional center, and most players at that position don’t go top-10. Another player to keep an eye on is Kenyon Green out of Texas A&M, who’s being mocked in the 15-20 range.

Step 3: Clear cap space to sign Andrew Norwell at guard

The Giants initially missed out on Andrew Norwell back in 2018, who signed a five-year, $66.5 million deal with Jacksonville. He never lived up to the monster contract, but he’s a solid option on the market who will likely come at a discount given his age (30). He’s been a consistently great pass-blocker throughout his career, and the No. 1 priority for the Giants is protecting their quarterback.

There will be other targets on the market, and the Giants can clear upward of $40 million by cutting several players. The dead money will hurt, but at the end of the day, they will need to sacrifice to put their offense in a position to grow.

What do you think about this 3-step plan? Comment here!

New York Giants: Joe Judge continues to defend team going in “right direction”

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new york giants, joe judge

New York Giants head coach Joe Judge doesn’t seem too worried about losing his job. At least, that’s the perception that he would seemingly like to give off. Despite the Giants being on their way to a fifth straight losing season, Judge insists that they organization is moving in the right direction and doing things “the right way.”

Judge’s statements about the future of the Giants

The subject came up when the media questioned Judge’s future and the current direction of the team – reasonable topics considering the recent uncompetitive losses and the general state of affairs. But Judge hasn’t commented on if he’ll be back next year. He’s only said that the Giants are still headed in the right direction, in spite of all the evidence otherwise.

His reasons for believing this? Young players turning the corner, having the right kind of players, developing a culture, and the way the team fights and prepares.

This, of course, isn’t going to win Judge any fans at this point.

The Giants indeed have some young players turning the corner, such as Azeez Ojulari and Xavier McKinney. But currently, their talent is wasted in losing efforts because the team overall isn’t talented and well-coached enough to compete. They may have team-first players, but that hasn’t been enough to make up for lack of football talent compared to other teams.

And the only culture to develop under Judge has been one of losing. The team’s current standing of 4 wins is far from good enough to talk about building a culture this season.

It’s understandable why Judge is making statements like this, of course. He’s pitching his narrative to ownership, that he should keep his job after this season.

But, as the wheels fall off more and more in 2021, it looks less and less likely that a future GM after Dave Gettleman will see it worthwhile to keep Judge around.

How the New York Giants can create cap space this offseason

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new york giants, sterling shepard

The New York Giants‘ season is all but over. After a miserable loss to the Chargers on Sunday, the Giants fell to 4-9. They currently hold two first-round picks, both of which are projected to land inside the top ten. All eyes are on the offseason at this point for Giants fans. However, this upcoming free agency period is bound to be far less exciting than the last as the Giants are projected to go into 2022 with only $3.5 million in cap space (OverTheCap).

The Giants currently hold eleven total picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. This should bring some excitement to the Big Apple. But as things currently stand, the Giants do not even have the money to afford a draft class that large. With only $3.5 million in cap space, the Giants are going to need to make some serious moves to afford a draft class or any free agent acquisitions.

It will not be easy, but there are ways for the New York Giants to create cap space this offseason.

How the New York Giants can create cap space this offseason

The New York Giants are strapped for cash and projected to have only $3.5 million in cap space this offseason. However, there are ways that the team can increase that number by over $40 million:

Making the following moves would clear over $42 million in cap space for the Giants this offseason:

  • Releasing James Bradberry: $12.1M
  • Releasing Blake Martinez: $8.5M
  • Releasing Sterling Shepard: $4.5M
  • Releasing Kyle Rudolph: $5M
  • Releasing Riley Dixon: $3.25M
  • Releasing Devontae Booker: $2M
  • Trading Saquon Barkley: $7.2M

Of course, featured on this list are some of the Giants’ best players. New York is bound to cut some fan favorites this offseason if they want to stay afloat financially. But a new general manager is likely to take over the Giants’ front office. Whoever succeeds Dave Gettleman will have a tall task ahead of them. But the new general manager will be faced with and forced to make some difficult decisions in order to create some cap flexibility for the Giants.

Report: Giants lose DL Leonard Williams to ‘significant’ elbow injury

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New York Giants, Leonard Williams

In the first half of Week 14 against the Los Angeles Chargers, New York Giants interior defender Leonard Williams walked to the sideline and into the tunnel. Williams didn’t have a limp or a ginger step, but held his arm in pain, returning later on with a brace on his elbow.

Williams was eventually ruled out with injury. For the first time this season, the Giants lost their star interior lineman. Having never missed a game of his entire career due to injury, Williams is projected to miss the rest of the season with the elbow issue, which was coined “significant” by NFL reporter Ian Rapoport.

Williams signed a three-year, $63 million deal this past off-season, counting $9.4 million against the salary cap and $27.3 million against the teams salary in 2022. The deal includes an out in 2023 which would count $8.3 million in dead money, a nice parting gift from general manager Dave Gettleman, who is expected to retire at season’s end.

Despite the Giants playing less than adequate football, Williams has tallied 62 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 10 QB hits, and four tackles for a loss this season. Natural regression affected his play after posting 11.5 sacks, 30 QB hits, and 14 tackles for loss in 2020, but he has still been effective for the most part.

The Giants’ defense doesn’t deserve the brunt of the blame, considering the offense is averaging below 18 points per game for the second consecutive season and once again looking toward a major overhaul this upcoming off-season.

At this point, Joe Judge and the coaching staff are simply trying to press the fast-forward button to the end of the year, with the majority of the team’s playmakers missing significant time.

New York Giants: Daniel Jones to head for more neck tests on Monday

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New York Giants, Daniel Jones

The New York Giants have clinched their fifth straight losing season, but they may have a larger problem on their hands than just the rest of this season. That problem is at the quarterback position, as the neck injury that Daniel Jones is suffering from is unlikely to be resolved soon. Following the team’s loss to the Chargers, Jordan Raanan reported that Jones is headed to see Dr. Frank Cammisa for further tests on his neck.

At this point, we can’t make a judgement on the state of Jones’ health. The team hasn’t announced those details yet, and we can see from the fact that Jones is headed in for further tests that even the team is likely missing some answers.

But the fact that we haven’t heard a positive update yet isn’t encouraging.

At this point, with the Giants guaranteed to have a losing season, we’ll probably see Jones shut down for the year. Neck injuries, after all, can be a larger deal than they sound on paper. Giants fans might remember that David Wilson’s career ended due to a neck injury. Even if Jones isn’t at that point yet, there’s no sign that this one will have a quick and easy recovery.

Larger problems for the New York Giants

If Jones has to rehab from a major neck injury, that presents a problem for the Giants. Confidence was shaky in Jones already headed into this season, after all. It’s safe to say that no one wants to see the Giants go through the same ups and downs at quarterback next season, but this time with a QB that is coming off a major injury.

With that being said, the injury situation does highlight larger problems that are already present in the organization.

Jones would have had a far lower chance at getting injured in the first place if he’d been properly protected this season. That didn’t happen largely due to the way the roster was constructed, leaving the Giants with little depth on the O-line and one of the worst lines in the league following early season injuries.

It’s hard to argue Jones has played behind a good line at any point in his career, and his current injury and him potentially being shut down for the season are two things that Dave Gettleman should definitely be held accountable for following this season.

New York Giants lose miserably to Los Angeles Chargers, fall to 4-9

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new york giants

The New York Giants were handed their second loss in a row on Sunday. New York traveled across the country to play the Chargers in Los Angeles. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert put together a monstrous performance to propel his team to a 37-21 victory over Big Blue, pushing the Giants’ record down to 4-9.

Key stats and takeaways

  • LAC QB Justin Hebert – 23-21, 275 YDS, 3 TD
  • NYG QB Mike Glennon – 17-36, 191 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT
  • NYG RB Saquon Barkley – 16 CAR, 64 YDS, 3 REC, 31 YDS, 1 TD
  • LAC RB Austin Ekeler – 12 CAR, 67 YDS, 1 TD

For the second time this season, the Giants were blown out so badly that the opposing team put in the backup quarterback. New York played with its own backup quarterback all game. Mike Glennon got the start for the second straight week and struggled immensely. Glennon completed only 47% of his passing attempts.

The Giants struggled, as usual, on the offensive side of the ball. They totaled only 316 yards of offense compared to the Chargers’ 423 yards. Defensively, the Giants got lit up by the Chargers’ explosive passing attack. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert accounted for 275 of those yards as he completed 23 of his 31 passes and tossed 3 touchdowns, including this beauty:

The Giants’ season is all but over at this point. Fans are checking out and beginning to look ahead to the offseason. The Giants are expected to make a major change in the front office and replace Dave Gettleman as general manager. Looking ahead to the NFL Draft, the Giants own two first-round picks and eleven picks in total, which should make April an exciting time for New York Giants fans.

New York Giants: Russell Wilson quickly shoots down rumors about trade

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Will the New York Giants pursue a potential trade for Russell Wilson?

The rumors about the New York Giants being willing to trade for Russell Wilson will probably persist, but they’ve taken a major blow for now. That’s because the Seahawks quarterback himself has come out to deny the claims about being willing to waive his no-trade clause for one of three teams. The Giants, of course, were rumored by some to be one of those teams.

“That’s not in my head right now at all,” Wilson told reporters on Friday. “I didn’t say that… I’m focused on what we’re doing here. Obviously, I love Seattle.”

Those aren’t the words the Giants want to hear if they are hoping to make a move for Wilson. Of course, there will certainly be a counter-narrative that Wilson is just saying what he has to say. Right now, he’s with the Seahawks and it would be unwise to stir the pot during the middle of the season.

Furthermore, the trade rumors were weak to begin with. The Giants are in a terrible salary cap position going into next season, even if the Seahawks would accept a trade. They simply lack the room to add a premier quarterback as things stand right now.

It’s also debatable how much Wilson would want to come to New York. Their current O-line play, after all, has left Daniel Jones out for an undetermined amount of time with a neck injury. At 33 years old, it doesn’t seem like Wilson will have much desire to stick around for a rebuild at the position group.

All in all, the Wilson to New York speculation isn’t all the way dead yet. However, from what can be observed right now, it will take some further developments before it looks anything like a likely scenario.

New York Giants: Rookie CB Aaron Robinson seeing increased playing time

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aaron robinson, new york giants

The New York Giants‘ defense is the strength of their roster. The Giants have a handful of talented young players on the defensive side of the ball to build around. The Giants’ veterans keep the defense sturdy, but it is the youth that keeps the defense exciting. Rookie cornerback Aaron Robinson is an exciting young talent featured in the Giants’ secondary.

Aaron Robinson has seen increased playing time in recent weeks. The rookie out of UCF spent a large portion of the season on the PUP list, dealing with a core injury suffered before the regular season began. Robinson was finally healthy and activated to the 53-man roster in Week 8.

ARob seldom saw the field in his first three appearances. However, in the past two weeks, Robinson has seen the field more and more and even played 100% of the team’s defensive snaps against the Miami Dolphins this past Sunday. Starting cornerback Adoree’ Jackson was OUT in Week 13, leading to Robinson’s increased usage versus Miami. But once again this week, Jackson will be out, putting Aaron Robinson in line for another lengthy outing versus the Chargers this weekend.

Aaron Robinson playing 100% of defensive snaps

Aaron Robinson played 100% of the Giants’ defensive snaps in Week 13 versus the Miami Dolphins. The Giants were short at corner with Adoree’ Jackson out, so Robinson took over as the starter. Robinson was targeted 8 times on Sunday, allowing 6 receptions for 65 yards. In Week 12 against the Eagles, Aaron Robinson allowed only 1 reception for 19 yards on 5 targets.

On the year, Aaron Robinson has seen the field for 152 defensive snaps. In that playing time, Robinson has been targeted in coverage 16 times, allowing 9 receptions for 109 yards and 0 touchdowns while also earning 3 passes defended and 14 combined tackles.

Looking ahead to this Sunday’s Week 14 matchup, Robinson has a great challenge at hand. The Los Angeles Chargers possess one of the NFL’s most talented wide receiver corps. Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are both premiere receiving options for the strong-arm second-year quarterback Justin Herbert. Keenan Allen has totaled 929 receiving yards this season and Mike Williams has totaled 854 receiving yards this season. The Chargers like to air it out, and they have the playmakers necessary to do so. This will be an ultimate test for Aaron Robinson as he tries to prove his worth in the final stretch of the New York Giants’ season.

New York Giants worried about “structural damage” in Daniel Jones’ neck

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New York Giants, Daniel Jones

In the latest negative saga for the New York Giants, there’s no clear date when Daniel Jones will be able to play again. Jones was dealt a strained neck in the victory against the Eagles, and after one game of Mike Glennon at quarterback, we know that the injury is maybe worse than initially thought. According to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, Jones had his neck further examined on Monday and there is now a concern about structural damage.

Jones had his neck checked out in Los Angeles on Monday, traveling with Ronnie Barnes, the Giants’ senior vice president of medical services, to see neck specialist Dr. Robert Watkins. The concern is that if Jones plays, he could do further damage to the neck, which suffered some structural damage in the win over the Eagles in Week 12.

While head coach Joe Judge hasn’t indicated that Jones will be out for the season, this does leave the Giants in a bad position for the foreseeable future. Whether you like Daniel Jones or not, it’s simply facts that the team doesn’t have another capable starter right now. And Mike Glennon, who took over last week, picked up a concussion against Miami and isn’t a lock to play against the Chargers on Sunday.

Even if Jones isn’t ruled out for the season, it’s hard to project him coming back soon. At this point in the year, the team is already out of the running for the division and much of the focus has already shifted to the draft. It seems unlikely that the staff will risk Jones by placing him back on the field too soon given the current circumstances and the injury.

A longer-term view of the situation

This season, the narrative was that the Giants would make a decision on Daniel Jones in one way or the other. But it’s been hard to make a verdict like that based on what we’ve seen so far. Much of that has to do with injuries, as the Giants have a very different O-line than expected and have frequently had injuries take skill position players off the field.

If Jones himself ends the season on the note of an injury, he will have finished the year with 10 touchdowns compared to 7 interceptions. His performance this season has been inconsistent and isn’t enough as it stands to solidify his position as the franchise QB going forward. With that being said, the injury situation complicates things more if it does result in Jones missing a large amount or all of the remaining season.

Just like the injuries to the offensive line and skill positions, it’s another outcome that throws a wrench into the plan to make a decision this year. But as the Giants likely head into the offseason looking for a new GM, it’s uncertain how much more time Jones will get to prove himself even if the results are inconclusive from this season.

All in all, it’s not a good spot for the team to be in if this neck injury keeps Jones out for more than a few weeks.

New York Giants: Russell Wilson puts NYG on his shortlist

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Will the New York Giants pursue a potential trade for Russell Wilson?

The New York Giants have been brought up in one of the NFL’s most exciting trade rumors of the year this week. Future Hall of Fame quarterback Russell Wilson could be on his way out of Seattle. The Seahawks legend is mulling a trade request and has put together a shortlist of teams for which he would waive his no-trade clause. The New York Giants happen to be on that short-list.

According to NBC Sports, Russell Wilson would consider waiving his no-trade clause for three teams: the Denver Broncos, the New Orleans Saints, and the New York Giants. ESPN insider Adam Schefter also stated that he believes Wilson would waive his no-trade clause for the Philadelphia Eagles.

This is a different list than the one Adam Schefter reported on Russell Wilson’s behalf back in February. At the beginning of this year, Russell Wilson’s shortlist included the Cowboys, Saints, Raiders, and Bears. The Cowboys and Bears can be removed from this list with Dak Prescott back under center for Dallas and Justin Fields taking the reigns in Chicago.

With this new trade rumor development, a question begs to be answered: should the Giants entertain a trade for Russell Wilson?

Should the Giants try to trade for Russell Wilson?

The New York Giants are at a new, giant crossroads. At 4-8, the Giants’ season is practically over. Fans are now looking ahead to the offseason, which should be an exciting one for New York. The Giants hold two first-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft and are likely to bring in a new general manager. But could these draft picks be shipped away in exchange for Russell Wilson?

Daniel Jones has failed to win the fans over and prove to the coaches that he is a franchise quarterback. With this in mind, New York could be a landing spot for Russell Wilson. However, the possibility becomes far less likely once the Giants’ salary cap situation is evaluated.

Simply put, the Giants have a horrible salary cap situation ahead of them in 2022. As bad as some fans might want them to trade for Russell Wilson, they need to realize that it will be nearly impossible for the Giants to make that happen.

Russell Wilson is 33-years old and probably has another half-decade of football left in him. Before his thumb injury this season, Russell Wilson was playing at an All-Pro level completing 90-125 (72%) passes for 1,196 yds, 10 touchdowns 1 interception, with a 125.3 rating. Trading for the seven-time Pro Bowl signal-caller would transform the Giants overnight and make them playoff contenders. But their lack of money would cause the Giants to fail to build a decent offensive line and competent roster around Russell Wilson, likely wasting the last years of his career.

One of Russell Wilson’s chief complaints about the Seattle Seahawks is their offensive line. The Giants have arguably the worst offensive line in football. It is unlikely that issue would be resolved if the Giants had to give up one or both of their first-round draft picks to acquire Russell Wilson. Even though fans would love to see this dream come true, it is unlikely, pipe dream that the New York Giants simply cannot afford to make.