Hogs Haven
It’s week 1 of the NFL season, and Washington Commanders will be facing the New York Giants at Northwest Stadium in Landover, MD this Sunday at 1:00 pm EDT. In 2024, the Commanders went 12-5 and competed in the NFC Championship game, while the Giants went 3-14 and earned the 3rd overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, yet the Commanders didn’t beat the Giants by more than a single score in either of their two 2024 matchups. With an offseason to heal and improve, this Giants team could be significantly better than last year’s team.
On offense, New York’s biggest offseason changes were at QB. The Giants granted Daniel Jones’ request for release in November of last season. They signed Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston in free agency, then traded back into the 1st round of the 2025 draft to pick Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart. Although Dart has looked confident and capable in limited preseason action, Russell Wilson has been named the starter to open the season. Preseason action indicates HC Brian Daboll has installed two different offenses: a more pro-style offense featuring heavy use of play action to set up shots downfield for Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, and a more college-style offense featuring heavy use of RPOs for Jaxson Dart.
On defense, the Giants built on strength by adding Abdul Carter to their talented DL. Carter has drawn comparisons to Micah Parsons as an explosive and supremely-talented edge rusher who started out playing off-ball linebacker in college. Adding Carter to a DL that already featured All Pro DT Dexter Lawrence and Pro Bowl edge rusher Brian Burns gives the Giants a lot of talent to win up front. Although the Giants off-ball linebacker and DB groups don’t have the same high-end talent as the DL, they have solid players and what should be good depth.
I asked Ed Valentine of Big Blue View five questions to better understand the state of the Giants and what to look for in this game.
1) What do you expect the offense to look like under QB Russell Wilson and how will it be different than last year?
Wilson is still one of the league’s best deep-ball throwers. Last year he was second in the NFL in deep ball completion percentage behind Sam Darnold, per Pro Football Focus. In 2024, the deep ball was non-existent for the Giants. Their quarterbacks (Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, Tommy Devito) went 12 of 56 (21.4%) on throws of 20 or more yards. That will change, whether it is Wilson, Jameis Winston or Jaxson Dart behind center.
2) Feel free to disagree, but my impression is that GM Joe Schoen was dismal with most of his 2022 and 2023 draft picks, but did great with his 2024 and 2025 draft picks. What accounts for the improvement and do you think he finally has the Giants headed in the right direction?
Schoen’s first draft in 2022 was done without many of the front office...
