Coaching
Joe Judge made the jump from special teams/wide receiver coach for the Patriots in 2020 to New York’s head coaching. He went 6-10 in his first season. Judge worked in New England system since 2012. Over the previous 11 years, he was part of three Super Bowl wins (2014, 2016, and 2019) and two National Championships (2009 and 2011) for Alabama.
Jason Garrett returns for his second season as the Giants’ offensive coordinator. He went 85-67 over 10 years as the head coach for the Cowboys with three trips to the postseason, which included three NFC East titles (2014, 2016, and 2018). Garrett has been a coach in the NFL for 16 years.
New York finished with a disaster offensive season in 2020, leading to a 31st ranking in yards and points (280) allowed. In addition, the health of Saquon Barkley has been a problem in back-to-back seasons.
Assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and the Giants defense were the unquestioned strengths of the 2020 team. The unit, which had undergone significant personnel changes in the 2020 offseason with additions such as cornerback James Bradberry, safety Logan Ryan, and inside linebacker Blake Martinez, finished 12th overall and in the top 10 league-wide in rushing defense and sacks; and second in the redzone (50.85%) after finishing the 2019 season ranked 25th, 20th 22nd and 20th respectively.
Free Agency
The top signing by New York in the offseason was WR Kenny Golladay. He gives the Giants a deep threat with upside in scoring ability. His role should be the WR1 while expecting a career year in his new home.
They brought in Kyle Rudolph to upgrade the tight end depth. Mike Glennon takes over the backup role at quarterback. WR John Ross adds speed to the passing game. They also threw three darts (Devontae Booker, Ryquell Armstead, Corey Clement) to compete for the backup running back job.
The Giants lost DT Dalvin Tomlinson to the Vikings. He played well in his four years in the NFL against the run while delivering 49 tackles and 3.5 sacks in each of the past two seasons.
New York signed CB Adoree Jackson to upgrade the secondary. He missed almost all of last year with a knee injury.
New York Giants Mailbag: Post Minicamp Musings
Draft
With the 20th overall selection in the first round, the Giants invested in WR Kadarius Toney. He came to the Gators as a quarterback before transitioning to wide receiver. Toney missed time in two seasons with injuries, which restricted his development. His route running has a running back feel where he relies on head and shoulder fakes to create space and separation. His play grades well in the open field, thanks to his wiggle in space.
Over the next three rounds, New York focused on improving their defense with the additions of DE Azeez Ojulari (2.18), CB Aaron Robinson (3.7), and DE Elerson Smith (4.11).
Ojulari brings fire to a defense when attacking the run. His strength and quickness set the tone for his success while owning the commitment to push even higher. His next step is developing his pass-rushing moves and improving his vision and the timing of his attack.
Robinson grades well in coverage over the short areas of the field while owning an upside foundation to handle press coverage. His skill set works well in a trail position. Robinson gets in trouble off the ball when peaking into the backfield, leading to missteps on ball fakes and double moves by receivers. He plays hard in run support with some risk in the deep passing game against elite speed players.
Smith gets off the ball quickly with the acceleration to disrupt. His base remains a weakness despite adding more bulk and strength. Smith competes through the whistle and shows up on every down. Beating the big bodies on the offensive line will be an issue if his first step doesn’t create an edge. He will need time to develop.
New York added RB Gary Brightwell and CB Rodarius Williams with their final two picks in the sixth round.
Brightwell attacks the line of scrimmage with the mindset to win with power or hit on a cut-back lane. Once in free space at the second level of a defense, he lacks separation skills in the open field. His vision and patience hold him back from reaching a higher ceiling. Brightwell has limited experience in the passing game with questions about his ability to pass protect.
Williams had work to do to become a viable press coverage player. His speed grades well with a chance to win in jump ball situations. He will struggle against top-tier receivers in man coverage. Williams gains value in his red zone assignments with the talent to limit the damage in the deep passing game when using off-the-ball coverage.
More New York Giants Coverage from SI
Offensive Line
The Giants finished 19th in rushing yards (1,916) with 13 rushing touchdowns and only nine runs over 20 yards. Their ball carriers gained 4.4 yards per rush with 24.9 attempts per game.
New York dropped to 29th in passing yards (3,336), with a league-low 12 touchdowns plus 11 interceptions. They gained only 6.5 yards per pass attempt while allowing 50 sacks.
LT Andrew Thomas
No one on the Giants starting offensive line struggled more than Thomas, the team’s first-round draft pick in 2020 and the fourth overall pick (and first offensive tackle) selected in the draft. Thomas, facing some of the NFL’s top pass rushers early on, allowed 44 pressures in his first nine games before finally settling down and allowing just 13 in the remaining six contests, including two games in which he pitched back-to-back shutouts (Weeks 12 and 13).
LG Will Hernandez
After an impressive rookie campaign in 2017, Hernandez has been struggling to build momentum in his growth. A powerful man mountain, he is at his best working in a phone booth, but cracks in his game included struggles in handling stunts and twists and lacking the footspeed to execute timely pulls as required in the offense. He tested positive for COVID-19 and missed two games, ultimately losing the starting left guard duties to rookie Shane Lemieux. Despite his struggles last season, the Giants aren’t about to give up on him and have him penciled in to compete for the starting right guard job which opened after the team released Kevin Zeitler in a salary-cap related move.
C Nick Gates
After holding his own off the bench in 2019, Gates made 16 starts last year. He finished the year with minimal pressure allowed while ranking as a below-par run blocker. However, Gates improved as the season moved on, pointing to him winning the starting role again this year. New York signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2018.
RG Matt Pearl
Due to weakness at guard, the Giants may ask Pearl to move inside this year. In limited snaps in 2020 after getting drafted in the third round, he came up short in pass protection with some flashes in run blocking.
Peart has the look of an upside tackle, but he needs to add more fight and strength to his game. Peart moves well for a big man (6’7” and 320 lbs.), and his frame should accept more bulk without losing a step in his game. His quickness and footwork set the tone for a developing skill set in pass protection. Peart needs to improve his vision, hands, and decision-making in space to secure a long-term job in the league.
RT Andrew Thomas
With Nate Solder skipping 2020, New York had to start Thomas at left tackle. Unfortunately, he allowed too many sacks and pressure, suggesting his home this year will begin on the right side.
Thomas brings a power/vision combination to the offensive line. His foundation technique grades well while having the quickness to handle his responsibilities outside his blocking area. Thomas can lose his edge when making the first move, and a defender doesn’t attack off the snap. His hands help his wins while needing to improve his base when attacked by quick-moving pass rushers with follow-through in strength.
The Giants addressed some of their offensive line issues in last year’s draft. They need all of their young talented players to play at a much higher level in 2021. The outside of the line is in much better shape than the guard position. New York must band-aid one guard position, and I don’t expect the center position to be an area of strength. This offensive line projects to below the league average.
