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Revealing PFN's Ranking of the New York Giants' Roster Ahead of 2021 Season

Originally posted on FanNation Giants Country
By Patricia Traina | Last updated 7/18/21

The New York Giants might have poured a lot of resources into upgrading their roster this off-season, but it isn't enough in the eyes of Pro Football Network's Dalton Miller.

Miller, who recently unveiled his NFL team power rankings in which he grouped all 32 teams into one of four tiers--Super Bowl favorites (Tier 1), conference championship contenders (Tier 2), possible division winners/playoff contenders (Tier 3), and flawed or rebuilding rosters (Tier 4)--put the Giants in Tier 4, his reasoning being as follows:

It all comes down to the quarterback. The Giants are low on the totem pole of the NFL power rankings for that reason. The turnovers are a massive issue, and the offensive line still appears to be a struggle for the Giants in 2021. The G-men certainly aren’t short on offensive skill position talent. The addition of Kenny Golladay gives them a WR1, and they have talent and depth with the rest of the group. It made the Kadarius Toney selection a curious one. The defense looks good on paper, and in Year 2, Patrick Graham should get the intended results. It all comes down to Daniel Jones and Jason Garrett.

The Giants, who ranked 21st overall and who were only behind the Denver Broncos before the next tier, certainly have some question marks that need to be answered on the offense, which will only be as good as the offensive line.

And indeed, Miller isn't alone in wondering if the year the young offensive linemen will be able to get the job done.

The Giants have doubled down repeatedly in expressing their confidence that the young group, which includes second-year men Andrew Thomas at left tackle, Shane Lemieux at left guard, Nick Gates at center (second year starting at that spot), and first-time starter, second-year man Matt Peart at right tackle plus four-year veteran 9but first-time-right guard starter) Will Hernandez will benefit from the year they had working together.

That's a lot to expect, though from a unit that last season relied on a rotation to get everyone experience and thus really wasn't able to build up as strong of continuity as one might like to see. That's also a lot to ask of the unit that ESPN recently ranked as the league's worst pass-blocking unit based on pass block win rates.

But the good news is that most people do get better at their jobs as they gain experience. So perhaps the Giants' brass, which has benefited from seeing the offensive line's development under the watchful eye of new offensive line coach Rob Sale, really do have a reason to be optimistic when it comes to that unit.

Meanwhile, the question marks about quarterback Daniel Jones are legitimate, not just as they relate to his past ball security issues, but because Jones's fate is tied in with that of the offensive line's performance. Jones has shown in the past that if he has decent protection, he indeed looks like a legitimate NFL franchise quarterback.

That said, Jones also needs to start operating a little quicker out there in realizing he can't hold the ball indefinitely while waiting for something to open up down the field. That and being better aware of the conditions of the passing pocket around him were two of Jones' most significant shortcomings in his first two seasons.

The hope is that with this being his second year in the same offense, he'll finally take that big step forward the organization has been patiently waiting for.