Mason Thompson | June 15th, 2020
The Giants have undergone another coaching carousel during the offseason. Pat Shurmur is now out the door and in Denver and the Giants have brought in Joe Judge to lead the team. The offense has an intriguing trio of receivers and an improving offensive line to bring a new explosive offense to New York. The defense, meanwhile, has some issues. Let’s dive in and take a look at the Giants.
Make sure to check out all of our in-depth power rankings here.
- Overall – 74.787 (28th)
- Offense – 75.98 (26th)
- Defense – 73.345 (31st)
- Coach and Culture – 75.75 (27th)
- Home Field Advantage – 72.5, 30th (4% Defense, 2% Overall)
Quarterbacks – 70.5, 27th (36% Offense, 27% Overall)
Yes, Daniel Jones did show some flashes in the 12 games he started. He threw 24 touchdowns to 12 interceptions last year and threw for over 3,000 yards. He led the Giants to two game-winning drives as a rookie, so why is this rating so low? Jones has all the intangibles to become a star quarterback, but will force throws and will fumble the game away, literally. Jones had 18 fumbles last year and twelve interceptions. If it weren’t for Jameis Winston, Jones would’ve had the most turnovers in the league.
Behind Jones is Colt McCoy and Cooper Rush. McCoy has started some games in relief of injuries and has done a decent job. Rush is another developmental project who follows his former head coach to New York as Judge hired Jason Garrett as his offensive coordinator.
Running Backs – 94, 2nd (4% Offense, 3% Overall)
Saquon Barkley is one, if not the best running back in the league. He still managed to get over 1,400 all-purpose yards in 13 games played. With an improved offensive line and a more explosive passing attack, Barkley could be even better this year. Dion Lewis was brought in to take some of the pressure off of Barkley and will factor in more on third-downs whenever Barkley needs a break.
Wayne Gallman is back for another season and will be the third back in the rotation after scoring three touchdowns in Barkley’s absence. Jonathan Hilliman and Javon Leake will battle for the last running back spot. Leake is an intriguing option as he split time at Maryland with third-round pick, Anthony McFarland.
Pass Catchers – 79.5, 20th (17% Offense, 8% Overall)
The Giants run three deep at receiver with Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard, and Golden Tate. The trio combined for 1,892 yards and 17 touchdowns, while also missing eight games between the three of them. Slayton should take another step forward in his second year after a surprising rookie year. Evan Engram and Barkley add to the trio and had over 900 yards between themselves while also missing 11 games between the two of them.
Behind the big three at receiver, things get ugly, and that’s the reason this ranking is lower than many would think. Corey Coleman and Cody Core are the next two on the depth chart but could get cut to get younger players such as David Sills and Binjimen Victor more snaps. Kaden Smith is the second option at tight end and showed a few flashes last season.
Offensive Line – 77.5, T-16th (24% Offense, 12% Overall)
After the offensive line was one of the worst for years, the front office finally invested in it. Nate Solder will be the man at left tackle until first-round pick, Andrew Thomas is ready enough to take over that spot. Will Hernandez is a bully at left guard and has a nasty side to him. Kevin Zeitler hasn’t lost a step since being traded from Cleveland to the Giants and is now surrounded by solid players instead of him being the only bright spot on the offensive line. Thomas will slot in at right tackle until Solder’s eventual retirement or until his contract expires. Spencer Pulley is the only question mark at the center spot.
Matt Peart was a spectacular selection during the draft and him and Thomas could be the tackle duo once Solder is gone. Another rookie, Shane Lemieux could battle with Pulley for the center spot. Cameron Fleming was brought in as veteran insurance if something were to happen with Thomas during the preseason.
Run Defense – 83.5, T-10th (6% Defense, 2% Overall)
The Giants have invested heavily in the defensive line. Even with Dalvin Tomlinson and Dexter Lawrence, New York traded for Leonard Williams. Those three are the starters on the defensive line. Austin Johnson and B.J. Hill are two young, developmental backups that come into games regularly in short-yardage situations. R.J. Mcintosh and Chris Slayton are the fifth and sixth men in the rotation and show just how deep the defensive line is.
Blake Martinez was brought in on a monster deal from Green Bay. The box score insists that he should help the run defense, while in actuality, he hurts it, which was shown in the San Francisco game. We’ll get to Martinez again in the linebackers section.
Pass Rush – 68.5, 31st (21% Defense, 10% Overall)
Williams will likely be the number one option for the pass rush, which isn’t great as it’s mostly coming from the interior of the defensive line. Lorenzo Carter and Kyler Fackrell are the two starting edge defenders. Fackrell fell out of the rotation in Green Bay due to the Smith brothers and Carter is still developing. Oshane Ximines had a solid rookie year gathering four-and-a-half sacks but could revert back to the third option due to Fackrell. The interior pass rush is impressive with Tomlinson getting four-and-a-half sacks last year as well. Cam Brown and Carter Coughlin were drafted as hybrid outside linebackers who can also play in the slot to cover and could be a factor in certain formations.
The Giants should’ve addressed the pass rush more in free agency and the draft. The pass rush will be lacking and could hurt a secondary that also needs work itself. A trade for Yannick Ngakoue would come in handy.
Linebackers – 67, 32nd (15% Defense, 4% Overall)
As a Packer fan, I saw Martinez at his worst. He stacks up in the stat sheet, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. He isn’t an elite run defender and is a complete liability in coverage. San Francisco worked their whole entire gameplan against Martinez twice and exposed him in both games in the run and pass game. Maybe he will be better in a different system, but Martinez could’ve been signed for much less than he was. David Mayo is a sound number two linebacker who was given a new contract by the team heading into this season.
Ryan Connelly played well in a limited role last year as a rookie and could play more in a hybrid role. Tae Crowder and T.J. Brunson were brought in and will be competing for roster spots as rookies.
Secondary – 78, T-21st (26% Defense, 17% Overall)
The young secondary will be put to the test this year as the pass rush won’t be giving them any favors. The Giants paid James Bradberry to come in and be their number one corner after spending time in Carolina. DeAndre Baker had an abysmal rookie year and followed it up with a troubled offseason. Grant Haley currently slots in as the slot cornerback and is extremely underrated. The team gave a third-round supplemental pick up to acquire Sam Beal who hasn’t shown much potential thus far. Darnay Holmes was a solid selection on day two who could battle with Haley for the slot role. Corey Ballentine had an interesting draft weekend last year, to say the least, but couldn’t figure it all out in his rookie year.
Julian Love figures to start at the free safety spot after a great end of the year last year after a switch from cornerback. Xavier McKinney was drafted in the second round and will line up opposite of Love, while Jabrill Peppers will play everywhere on the field as a strong safety or dime linebacker, similar to what Landon Collins was during his time in New York.
Coach and Culture – 75.75, 27th (19% Offense, 28% Defense, 15% Overall)
Jones has a ton of weapons this year and an improving offensive line. He needs to show improvements and learning a new system under the highly-criticized Jason Garrett could be a challenge. Garrett wasn’t able to provide a spark in Dallas while calling plays with similar skill players as he has here in New York. The Giants come in 23rd for offensive coach and culture.
Patrick Graham is the defensive coordinator for the Giants this year. Last year, he was the coordinator for the 32nd-ranked Dolphins defense. Though the Dolphins defense was far less capable than this Giants defense, Graham has his work cut out for him again. He was also the linebackers coach for the Packers in 2018, explaining why the team brought in Martinez and Fackrell. Judge and Graham will work together on the defense who has a ton of young, talented players who will need to step up in key roles. The Giants rank 29th for defensive coach and culture.
The Giants have a young, exciting roster. The turnovers with Jones are still a major concern coming into his sophomore season. The offense has improved around him and he, as well as Garrett, should have no excuses. The defense is extremely young and is run by their front three. The linebacking core, as well as pass rush, drags the defense down. The secondary has their work cut out for them as well as Baker needs to keep his head on straight or else he could be out of the league in the next year or so. New York is working in the right direction but seems another year or two away from being considered playoff contenders.
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