Revisiting Our Multistep Offseason Plan for NY Giants Success

Suppose there’s one trend I’m starting to see with general manager Joe Schoen. In that case, it’s that he’s not necessarily in a rush to dump high-priced contracts owned by players who probably don’t have a future with the team until such time he has a definitive option in place to replace said veteran.

That could explain why, despite my prediction that the Giants would trim defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches from the roster for a $3.6 million savings, they haven’t, even though they loaded up on veterans and added Darius Alexander in the draft.

I also mentioned possibly doing something with Graham Gano’s contract, but thus far, the Giants haven't touched that deal. About the only thing the Giants did to open up cap space was to restructure Brian Burns’s deal, though I suspect another restructuring is potentially on the horizon.

2. Decide on the option years for Evan Neal and Kayvon Thibodeaux.

This was an obvious one. I said way back when I thought the Giants would pick up Thibodeaux’s option and decline Neal’s, and that’s exactly what they did. It was a no-brainer; Thibodeaux, despite his drop-off in production, plays the run as well as anyone on that team, so if he can just find a way to finish more of his pass rushes, he could develop into the player the Giants hoped he would be.

As for Neal, there was zero chance that his option year would be picked up, simply because he is making a position switch. While this appears to be progressing well, it is not a certainty that he will land in the starting lineup.

3. Get a veteran bridge quarterback.

Another “Captain Obvious” move, though to quote what I said, “That starter will be a veteran currently under contract to another team who has a history of winning games and performing in clutch situations.”

Sounds a lot like Russell Wilson, who, at the time I wrote the plan, was under contract to the Steelers.  

I also poo-pooed the idea of the Giants trading for Kirk Cousins, who remains with the Falcons, or Derek Carr, who ended up retiring from the Saints. But I did mention Wilson as a likely candidate.

4. Get a No. 1 Cornerback.

I think it was obvious the Giants were going to move on from Adoree’ Jackson and get a new cornerback to pair with Deonte Banks, one who would become CB1 and would allow the coaches to take some of the pressure off Banks after a disappointing second season.

I was hoping for D.J. Reed, formerly with the Jets, but the Giants instead were able to get former Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo for that role. 

Adebo was coming off an injury-shortened season, so perhaps the fact that they were able to get him at a decent rate due to that factored into the decision. Either way, the Giants presumably now have a legitimate CB1.

5. Get Offensive Line Depth.

This was something I had been advocating for for several years. The Giants always seemed to go the veteran route for this position unit, and while there’s nothing wrong with veterans, at some point it behooves a team to draft and develop for this all-important unit. 

That’s sort of what the Giants did. They added youngster Arcus Mbow, who could potentially be the starting right tackle if the team decides to move on from Jermaine Eluemunor after the season. 

They have second-year man Jake Kubas, who continues to cross-train at guard and center. And they have undrafted free agent Jaison Williams, whom they’re going to find out about this summer.

It’s a start for a unit that, in all honesty, has been sort of flying by the seat of its pants for several years, with zero long-term vision and development of future starters.

6. Decide on the Play Caller.

Head coach Brian Daboll hasn’t announced if he or assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Mike Kafka will call plays this year, but just based on visual evidence, that decision might have already been made.

Kafka called plays throughout the spring, and it made sense for him to do so as it freed up Daboll to spend every moment possible with rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, whom Daboll hand-picked as the next potential Giants franchise quarterback. 

Because Daboll hand-picked Dart, he’s likely going to continue to remain very involved with the rookie’s development, leaving no time to call plays every week.

7. Add to the defensive front.

This position group got the heaviest talent infusion of all, as the Giants are undoubtedly hoping to have found a player or two who can help take some of the onus off Dexter Lawrence.

Interestingly enough, the Giants, who opted for youth last year, took the opposite approach this year, loading up on veteran depth. They drafted rookie Darius Alexander as a potential long-term replacement for Lawrence.

The bottom line is that the Giants added numerous veterans who possess position flexibility, a quality that the youth on the roster lacked last year.

8. Draft Better.

We won’t know how much of an impact Schoen’s fourth draft class will have for a year or so, but on paper, it looks like he hit another home run.

Abdl Carter was a no-brainer at No. 3. Moving back into the bottom of the first round for Jaxson Dart is a promising move as well, though we won’t know the true impact for at least two years. 

Alexander was a man among boys at Toledo. Marcus Mbow offers position flexibility at guard and tackle, and Cam Skattebo potentially gives the Giants that “thunder” element that’s been missing from their game for some time now.

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