The New York Giants were one of the NFL’s worst offenses in 2023, averaging just 15.6 points per game (30th) and finishing 29th in yards per game (280.0).
Injuries to the quarterbacks and offensive line were major factors in the team’s poor offensive output but it was also clear they just did not have enough playmakers. Head coach Brian Daboll calls them “generators.”
The Giants used their first-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft on one of this year’s top playmakers, LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers.
“Generators,” Daboll told reporters on Saturday. “People that can do stuff with the ball in their hands.
“Whether that’s take a jet sweep and go 30 yards or whether that’s running a double move and catch it 50 yards down the field to help you score points. You know, just to go back to Malik, I feel that he is that.”
Daboll was quick to pump the brakes on the high expectations for Nabers by saying he’s got “a lot of work to do” before he can become a factor.
“There’s a big playbook to learn. You’ve got to try to slow it down for these young players when they get in,” he said. “But anyone that can touch the ball — and linemen can be generators, too, in a different way, by keeping the pocket clean, by getting movement at the line of scrimmage.
“So I wouldn’t say that it’s necessarily — you’ve got to wait to see what you have and then try to move pieces around and see where — Theo, where he fits it in, where Malik fits in, there are different positions to play. There’s five eligible players on every play and you try to use those guys the best you can. But they have to come in here and prove it and earn the right to play.”
The Giants also selected interesting players in the fourth and fifth rounds who they hope will become generators as well — tight end Theo Johnson and running back Tyrone Tracy.
Tracy is a player the Giants hope will help them generate some big plays on kickoff returns now that the rules have changed.
“He’s an athlete who has played receiver and then played running back and has some good production,” said Daboll. “We’ll throw him in the mix. Whether that’s in the kickoff return game or whether that’s at running back or the receiving part of it, we’ve got to do a good job of getting him in here and seeing where he’s at and then trying to fit him into the things that he can do well.”
One thing is for certain — the Giants added plenty of speed and athleticism to the offensive side of the ball over the previous three days.
