NFL
By: Rick O’Donnell
The New York Giants beat the Indianapolis Colts to eliminate them from the playoffs. In doing so, they dropped down the draft board and angered fans hoping they’d get the first pick to take their franchise quarterback. Now the Giants sit at the 4th pick behind the Pats, Titans, and Browns. Did the Giants already show their hand when it comes to their offseason plans?
Fans won’t get the insight of HBO’s Hard Knocks this season to discover what the Giants were thinking. A meaningless win in December when you had the first pick in the draft seems silly from a fan perspective, but this is the NFL. These guys are paid to win and paid to put up stats. They have incentive-based contracts and every single one of them is going to try and get their bonuses. To the casual fan, the game is meaningless but to the players, there could be thousands or millions of dollars on the line.
Yet, that’s probably not the only reason the New York Giants walked away with the upset victory. All of a sudden there are more options at QB. There’s an abundance of free agents that might be able to help them out and all of a sudden, they might not need to pull the trigger on a QB with their first pick. Could that be the reason they wanted to win against the Colts? As of right now, they’ll play Philly in their last game of the season, and the Eagles are locked into the three-seed with nothing to play for. Winning their final two games could get fans excited for next year but instead, they’re already whining about draft placement.
Fans worry about draft picks way more than teams do. No one’s naive enough to think no team in history has tanked for a better draft pick. However, it’s not just the draft that restocks a team’s talent. They still have to go out and lure veteran free agents to make their way to NY. How good is it going to look for a team if they give up on the season for one player in the draft? Would they have the strength to lure anyone in if they just threw their hands up and said forget it?
Sure, it comes down to free agents who want big contracts, but New York already has something working against them, taxes. Some teams win or lose the offseason based on the contracts that players are given and the taxes that offset it. In order to make it more lucrative to play in NY, the Giants have to look like they’re offering something to play for as well.
With that being said, maybe the New York Giants have shown their hand. There are options in free agency that allow them to be more creative in the offseason. Sam Darnold might have played his way back into Minnesota but Kirk Cousins being benched opened up an avenue for a veteran QB to come in and be a bridge. The same could be said of Justin Fields in Pittsburgh. If they want to dig deeper in the free agent pool, players like Andy Dalton, Joe Flacco, Carson Wentz, Jameis Winston, and Case Keenum are available.
None of those guys strike fear into opposing defenses, but who’s to say that in the right circumstances, some of the younger guys couldn’t be the next Sam Darnold? If the Giants go out and get Fields, or Mac Jones and put them on a team with Malik Nabers, Tyrone Tracy, and Devin Singletary and draft a top 5 player for their offense to make an immediate impact it could be a quick turnaround.
If the New York Giants go out and get a young veteran QB in free agency, they’re probably not going to get a QB with their first pick. Unless they pull an Atlanta Falcons, they’ll more than likely get a star player in round one. They’ll be able to pick high enough in round two that they could easily wait. Despite the hype of these players, maybe they feel the top two players aren’t day-one starters. Could they pick a QB early in the second to develop behind a vet knowing they still have a ton of holes to fill?
Imagine the Giants going out and signing Justin Fields or Mac Jones. Hitting free agency hard and signing away one of the top WRs such as Stefon Diggs, Tee Higgins, or Keenan Allen. Drafting a young running back like Ashton Jeanty to fill out their backfield. Then get a QB such as Quinn Ewers if he’s still available in the second round and go with a local guy like Jackson Meeks out of Syracuse to round out their later rounds.
Yes, that is an offensive-heavy offseason, but that’s just a small portion of what they can do. If they lock in at QB1 with a young veteran, then they can focus their offseason on defense and later rounds in the draft to fill out their depth. They’re in great shape to have a top offseason compared to other teams.
That’s the beauty of it. While this season might have been a struggle for Giants fans it wasn’t for nothing. Sure it was tough watching a bad Washington Commanders team make such a quick turnaround and the Eagles blow up the division the past few years, but the potential is there.
If the New York Giants end up with an offense of QB: Fields/Ewers, RB: Singletary/Jeanty/Tracy, WR: Nabers/Higgins/Meeks nothing is saying they can’t compete next season. Too many fans are focused on the QB aspect of their problems to see they’re in the perfect position to succeed without over-drafting a QB who may not come in and make an immediate impact. In a simple meaningless game, the New York Giants may have shown their offseason plans while not focusing on one position.
