The New York Giants just completed their best season in six years, posting a 10-8-1 overall record, qualifying for the postseason, and winning their first playoff game since Super Bowl XLVI over a decade ago.
That doesn’t mean the turnaround is complete. There is still much work to be done.
Here are the five most pressing needs the Giants need to address this offseason.
Center
I’m an old baseball guy where the rule of building a team is from the middle out. On defense, the Giants have Dexter Lawrence in the middle. That’s a good start.
On offense, they have, uh…uh… Yeah. No studs. And they will need one or two. Jon Feliciano, Nick Gates, and Ben Bredeson are not centers by trade and although we commend their efforts, they should never snap the ball again for the Giants. They can be guards or backups.
A solid start would be to draft a center in the upcoming draft. One who lists center as their primary position. If they don’t, they will continue to have instability in the middle of their line and the offense will continue to sputter.
Inside linebacker
Right now, the Giants’ depth chart at inside linebacker reads as follows: Jaylon Smith, Jarrad Davis, Micah McFadden, Carter Coughlin, Cam Brown, Landon Collins, and Darrian Beavers.
Smith, Davis, and Collins are all scheduled to become free agents.
The Giants like Beavers, who never saw the field after blowing out his knee in the preseason. So, he will be in the mix come training camp this year and the others will get their shot as well but more is needed.
The Giants need a ‘presence’ at inside linebacker not an overachiever or reclamation project. The position is too important to leave to chance.
Tight end
If you look at the four teams remaining in the playoffs, you’ll see they are all strong at the tight end position.
The Giants have rookie Daniel Bellinger, who showed flashes of becoming a solid contributor this season, but they could use another either just like him — or better.
Currently, Bellinger’s backups are Nick Vannett and Lawrence Cager. That’s not going to do it. Big Blue needs a ‘weapon’ at tight end to get to the next level.
Cornerback
This is likely to be higher on other analysts’ lists and rightfully so. But I like their corners more than others do right now. Enough not to use a first- or second-round pick on one.
Adoree’ Jackson is a solid No. 1 and there’s still a candle in the window that Aaron Robinson will develop. Darnay Holmes and Cor’Dale Flott have played well at times and free agents such as Fabian Moreau have also been solid.
That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t add two or three more to that mix this off-season. Corner should be on every GM’s off-season shopping list every year, anyway.
Wide receiver
A lot of people would have this as their top need this offseason and I can understand that.
But if you listened to Joe Schoen’s year-end presser you heard him say two things. First, he loves Sterling Shepard, so there’s a good chance the Giants are bringing him back. Second, Schoen doesn’t believe a team needs a ‘No. 1’ wideout to win.
Looking at the depth chart, it’s not great but not bad either. The emergence of Isaiah Hodgins has been a pleasant surprise and he will be returning in 2023. So will Wan’Dale Robinson, who tore his ACL halfway through the year.
Richie James Jr., Darius Slayton, and Marcus Johnson are all free agents — as is Shepard — but if the Giants want any (or all) of these guys back, they can do it on the cheap.
Then, there is the Kenny Golladay situation, which they can either deal with or ignore. If they deal with it by cutting Golladay they save $7 million or so. If they keep him and his $21.4 million cap hit, he’s got to produce more than he did in 2022, which wouldn’t be hard to do.
I see them drafting two and signing anywhere between three and four receivers before camp.
