Dissecting the New York Giants and how to improve the team heading into the 2022 NFL Draft.
Welcome to the offseason! With the NFL Draft coming up in April, I wanted to take a look at the NFC East and evaluate how each of the four teams; New York Giants, Washington Football Team, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys, should approach their off season before the NFL Draft.
First, I wanted to look at the team that needs; that in my opinion, help the most. The New York Giants will be looking for a new head coach and GM to come and replace the previous regime. As of January 24th, the hunt for the new GM of the Giants is over with the hiring of former Bills’ Assistant GM Joe Schoen.
The New York Giants have begun the interview process for the HC job, as Schoen has been a part of the HC interviewing process. The first interviews have been done as Dan Quinn, Leslie Frazier, and Brian Daboll have all interviewed for the position. Whoever they bring in will be up for a challenge before this team can compete.
The Salary Cap Problem
The first issue the new regime will need to deal with is the salary cap. According to Spotrac, the Giants have 51 players under contract for the 2022-23 season, and $5.7 million over the salary cap. They need to look at what players they should trade or cut, and what free agents to bring in to get under the salary cap.
Kenny Golladay is their biggest issue. Golladay is not the answer to the wide receiver position. His 4-year, $72 million contract is not worth the 48.7% catch rate (career low) for 521 yards (fewest yards per game of career) and 0 touchdowns (fewest of career). If I were the Giants, I would be looking to move on from the most expensive of their seven wide receivers who are currently under contract.
That is unlikely to happen though, as this was Golloday’s first year under contract. I think a player that could likely be on the move is Kyle Rudolph. Rudolph’s contract will cost the Giants $7.425M this year. His dead cap hit is only $2.425M. Moving on from the 33-year old tight end will save them $5M and help lower their salary cap problem.
Another player who could help the Giants lower their cap would be Blake Martinez. 2021 was the first season Martinez missed time since his rookie year. If I were the Giants, I’d look to trade Martinez to the Bengals in a trade that helps both teams.
Free Agency
The New York Giants biggest need is to improve the offensive line. According to Pro Football Focus, the Giants’ offensive line ranked 28th. They need to address this issue if they want to see if Daniel Jones is truly the answer at quarterback. They should look to improve on the O-Line in the draft and free agency. That said, the best free agents for a team like the Giants would include Germain Ifedi and Ethan Pocic. Both are coming off of contracts valued at less than $4.5M, and could improve the offensive line in terms of depth if the Giants look that way in the draft as well.
The New York Giants need to find the answer at the tight end position. Evan Engram had a great rookie year, but has been lackluster since. Kyle Rudolph is a player who is better for the team’s salary cap if Engram were no long on their roster. The top free agent tight ends include names like Maxx Williams, O.J. Howard, and David Njoku. Howard and Njoku both came from the same draft class as Engram, but have performed better since their rookie years. If the Cardinals do not look to re-sign Williams, the Giants should be the first in line to sign him.
Another major issue for the Giants is the safety position. The primary route they should take is signing Jabrill Peppers to a long-term deal. Peppers has been one of the best players on their defense. At only 26 years old, he’s recorded 4 interceptions and 5 fumble recoveries in 61 games played. While that may not seem like a lot, it’s impressive for a safety to have that kind of impact in the secondary. Add to that his 13 QB hits, 21 tackles for loss, and 333 total tackles, you get a player on the defense known simply as a difference maker.
2022 NFL Draft
If the New York Giants address the salary cap and traverse free agency by moving on from expensive players like Rudolph and Martinez and signing players like Williams and Peppers, then the biggest issue is the offensive line.
The Giants also need to improve on their defense by targeting an edge rusher or a linebacker as well. While players like Ifedi and Pocic are great depth, they could be better mentors for rookies the Giants draft. Pro Football Focus offers a great tool in their NFL Mock Draft Simulator.
Pick 5
Using the Mock Draft Simulator, I spent an afternoon running simulations; sorting the data by position for the first three rounds of their draft picks. With the fifth overall pick, the Giants drafted Kyle Hamilton (safety), more than any other player. The next highest was Derek Stingley Jr., the cornerback. Both of these players are the highest ranked at their position and could drastically change their defense.
Pick 7
With their second pick in the first round, the New York Giants drafted Tyler Linderbaum the most through the simulator. The center out of Iowa is my second highest ranked offensive lineman in this draft behind Evan Neal. Should the Giants have the opportunity to draft either, or both O-Lineman, they should take the chance to improve their line and protect their future QB.
Both Charles Cross, OT, and George Karlaftis, defensive edge, were drafted in 20-30% of the simulations. Adding a pair of Hamilton, Stingley, and Linderbaum with their first two picks is better for the Giants than drafting Cross or Karlaftis.
Day 2 & Day 3 of NFL Draft
This draft class is deep at offensive lineman; one of the deepest we’ve seen in awhile. As a result, the Giants can make drastic improvements later in the draft with OTs like Max Mitchell and Bernhard Raimann.
Interior O-Lineman like Dylan Parham is expected to be a Day 2 pick in the NFL Draft. Parham stands at 6’3″ and weighs 285lbs. He played guard in college at Memphis. Parham could easily slide to the center as a strong lineman who is quick on his feet and helps opens holes for the run game. A trait Saquon Barkley is sure to love!
Summary
The New York Giants are facing a difficult situation this offseason. Between salary cap struggles and the new regime taking shape, this offseason could change the face of the Giants franchise. The new regime will need to make the correct decisions, and fast. The draft is less than three months away. Joe Schoen and the next HC will need to build up a team that is ready to compete.
The Giant’s owner has already gone through four head coaches since 2015. He seems to be ready for a competitive team and wants it now. Most of the pieces are there, but they need to strengthen the offensive line and the defense. There are plenty of free agents and draft prospects who can help the Giants succeed. It’s up to the new regime to put together this puzzle.
Hunter Greene
Hunter started writing for The League Winners in the summer of 2021. Hunter has been playing fantasy football for about a decade, starting in middle school. Now he’s a professional landscaper and avid Colts and Purdue fan.