Franchise Building Blocks: New York Giants
By Jon Dove
It was a disappointing end of the year for the New York Giants but the future looks bring thanks to the emergence of some young stars.
The New York Giants Super Bowl window with Eli Manning has a few years left until he either retires or sees a major decline in play. Luckily, New York appears committed to taking the necessary steps to add enough talent to make a run.
Last offseason saw the Giants spend a ton of money on the defensive side of the ball. High priced free agents such as Damon Harrison, Olivier Vernon and Janoris Jenkins all lived up to expectations. Their play and the development of Landon Collins made New York’s defense one of the better units in the league.
The secondary as a whole played a major role in the team’s success. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Eli Apple and Janoris Jenkins are a talented and versatile group that should get better over time.
New York will have a tough time keeping the entire unit in place with Jason Pierre-Paul and Johnathan Hankins hitting free agency. Both players are going to get big-money contract which might be tough for the Giants to match.
Offensively, the Giants put a lot of pressure on Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. to produce. They are the team’s playmakers and need to show up every week. We saw in the team’s playoff loss that when Beckham doesn’t play his best football the team struggles.
Secondary pieces like Sterling Shepard and Shane Vereen are a part of the future, but won’t replace Beckham as the go-to guy. The running back position as a while could use a talent upgrade with someone capable of carrying the every-down load.
Things along the offensive line are in flux based on the fact that the Giants have some high draft picks failing to play at an elite level. The biggest problem is Ereck Flowers playing left tackle. He’s better suited to work on the right side.
Finding a new left tackle could be the team’s top priority heading into the offseason. The other could be finding a playmaking tight end. Will Tye is an excellent No. 2 tight end, but lacks the explosiveness to be a difference maker.