Big Blue View
Is a “B” grade a fair mark?
The New York Giants offseason work deserves a “B” grade, according to ESPN NFL analyst Seth Walder.
How did Walder reach that conclusion? Here is what he wrote:
The Giants entered the offseason needing a quarterback. They acquired three. In free agency, they brought in both Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston for a combined $14 million in cap space. It was a good bargain.
At the time, they didn’t know whether they’d be able to draft a first-round QB. Wilson raises the floor and Winston the ceiling. Even though neither is the team’s future quarterback, why not try both at that cost?
The real investment was made in the draft by trading back into the first round to select Dart at No. 25 (after picking edge rusher Abdul Carter at No. 3). To move up from No. 34 to No. 25, the Giants dealt the Texans No. 99 and a 2026 third-round pick ...
This was a risk well worth taking. Dart might not work out, but the Giants gave themselves a chance to find a franchise quarterback.
Their most expensive free agent acquisition was [Paulson] Adebo. I was not a fan of the move. Adebo, who suffered a broken femur in Week 7 last season, had strong on-ball numbers over the previous two seasons combined, with minus-49 EPA allowed as the nearest defender, per NFL Next Gen Stats. But on-ball production isn’t stable from year to year, and metrics that I would consider more important — such as target rate and yards per coverage snap — are more worrying. In his limited sample last season, Adebo was targeted 21% of the time (most by any outside corner with at least 250 coverage snaps) and had a high 1.6 yards per coverage snap allowed.
New York’s other major secondary signing, safety Jevon Holland, was better. That the Giants landed Holland for $15 million per year — roughly the same as Camryn Bynum and less than Tre’von Moehrig — despite his being considered by some to be the best safety in the free agent class, was encouraging.
They re-signed receiver Darius Slayton at $12 million per year ... I think it’s a fine move to bring him back at this cost, considering the team’s need at outside receiver.
I recently wrote that the Giants had to be considered an offseason winner even if the schedule will make it difficult for them to prove it.
Walder’s work does nothing to convince me otherwise.
Some of what I wrote at the end of June bears repeating here:
In my position by position “better or worse?” series this offseason, I found that an argument can be made that the Giants have improved at every single position.
*On defense, the Giants added potential game-changing players in Abdul Carter, Paulson Adebo and Jevon Holland. They added front seven depth with Chauncey Golston, Roy...
