The Giants are officially out of season. On Monday, players will clean their lockers and go home for the off-season.
Many will not return for the 2021 season.
It’s a Giants team that has been on the verge of the national season, even though it ended with a 6-10 record. If a few small things had gone differently for the Giants this season, this week would have been spent preparing for a playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Subscribe to Giants Extra: Get exclusive news, behind-the-scenes observations and the ability to text reporters directly
Instead, they shot the post-season short for the ninth time in ten seasons.
Yet the Giants feel closer than in recent years. With the right changes, Joe Judge may be able to lead them back to the Promised Land in 2021.
But they need the right move.
Here are the changes the Giants need to make to the roster, front office and coaching staff.
(Note: these are people who are currently with the Giants, not external free agents)
Go on from Dave Gettleman: There are just so many different ways to say it. The Giants are 15-33 in their three seasons. If Gettleman had drawn a better rankings, the Giants would have reached the playoffs this season. It’s that simple. They were 6-10 and were still alive when the Eagles chased away their last game, but that should never have come down to it anyway.
The Giants lost five games by less than ten points, where it was clearly surpassed in terms of talent. It took excellent coaching from defense coordinator Patrick Graham – to deal with talent shortages at the back line and the corner – to put the Giants even in the position they were in. Gettleman’s pet project was the attacking line, and the group was inconsistent for most of the year. at best, at worst detrimental. He put all his eggs in the Daniel Jones basket as the sixth pick in 2019, and two years into Jones’ career it is still unclear if he is the long-term solution at quarterback.
Gettleman deserves praise for his offseason in 2020 by getting James Bradberry, Blake Martinez and Logan Ryan as free agents in the building and bringing in a quality concept class. But that would not allow him to escape the mistakes of his first two years, and some of this year. There was generally more missed than hits.
It’s time for a change at the top, and the Giants should be able to attract a good GM candidate as well.
Get a new offensive coordinator: Only the Jets scored fewer points and fewer yards this season than the Giants, and the Jets were 2-14. Jones scored 11 saves in 14 games after scoring 24 as a rookie. The wide receivers fell back. The offense did not develop enough. And Garrett was often too conservative in his game-calling.
The Giants have never scored 30 offensive points this season – they scored 34-3 against the Cowboys in Week 5, but once were defensive – and have not had a single 300-yard pass.
“We need to play much better offensively,” Garrett admitted last week. “There is no doubt about it. But the biggest thing you’re trying to do is focus on the individual improvement of the players, the overall unity. Again, I think we have made progress from the beginning. ”
Not enough.
Sure, the Giants lost Saquon Barkley early this season, but the offense should not have crumbled as it did without him. Be an offense that Relying on a running back who plays 16 games is not a smart approach.
Eventually, Garrett’s hiring looked like a regular marriage to give Joe Judge, a young coach, a veteran caller to help him in his first year. Judge is clearly capable at this point. He does not need Garrett, and the Giants can find someone better suited to build an offense around Jones, Barkley and whatever new weapons the team adds to the off-season.
Maybe Judge Freddie Kitchens will simply elevate the coach of the finish line, but the smarter game would be to find a shiny offensive thought from other teams.
A few names that come to mind – Chad O’Shea (Browns), Mike Kafka (Chiefs), Luke Getsy (Packers) and Ken Dorsey (Bills).
Trade Evan Engram: Engram is only a Pro Bowler in name. In fact, it was perhaps his worst of four seasons with the Giants. It had never been more obvious than on Sunday, when Engram had two bad drops on his face, which hit one of his hands, and one of them bounced in the arms of a Cowboys defender for an interception. . Giant full-backs threw six interceptions this season when they targeted Jones, according to Pro Football Focus.
Judge was asked Sunday what his message to Engram was. His answer was shorter than usual: “Really simple: the ball is smooth, let’s get our hands closer together, we’ll keep throwing at you, so get ready to catch it.”
He is an elite athlete in the close position and has shown gripping flash talent, but his mistakes are simply too detrimental. Just like Nelson Agholor when he left the Eagles, Engram could benefit from changing the scenery. The Giants allegedly refused by the deadline to trade Engram for nothing less than a first round.
Engram’s value has declined, but he’s still only 26 and has a reasonable salary of $ 6 million in 2021. The Giants can use the cap savings – and the draft choice (s) that can come into the trade.
Sign in Leonard Williams again: The ‘Big Cat’ was completely dominant against the Cowboys, got three pockets and interrupted some offensive driving forces. He did a lot of that this season and finished with 11.5 bags. Although he did not make the Pro Bowl – he could still be an All-Pro – Williams is on his way to a significant payday.
When NJ Advance Media announced the idea that Williams would receive $ 20 million a season in free agency, a league source simply replied, “That’s not enough.”
DeForest Buckner ($ 84 million over four years) and Chris Jones ($ 80 million over four years) will be the starting points.
And yet: the giants still have to sign him. Williams was their only crucial pass mask this season. They have already invested assets to get him into the building (two drafts, $ 16.1 million). He’s just 26, very popular in the locker room and an important cog in Patrick Graham’s defense. If he brings him back, it may be difficult to sign Dalvin Tomlinson again, but Williams’ skills as a passenger make him more important.
“I’m not going to lie … it’s never been about money for me,” Williams said after the game. ‘I think I just wanted more respect and to show the reason why I’m in this league. Like I said, it’s just more about respecting me than the contract. ”
Williams may not care about the money.
But he’s going to make a lot of it anyway.
Cap casualties: If the Giants want to re-sign Williams and / or Tomlinson – or add someone new – they will have to clean the hood. It is still unclear what the 2021 cap on Logan Ryan’s new deal will be, but before it is taken into account in the giants, it is currently expected for $ 16.8 million in capital space. Some possible victims to clean space:
– WR Golden Tate: Save $ 6.1 Million, $ 4.7 Million Penalty
– OT Nate Solder: (after June 1) Save $ 10 million, $ 6.5 million fine (2021), $ 4 million fine (2022)
– TE Levine Toilolo: Save $ 2.95 Million
– P Riley Dixon: Save $ 2.675 million, $ 250,000 fine
– LB David Mayo: Save $ 2.3 Million
– WR Cody Core: Save $ 2 Million
If the Giants were to cut all six of these players, it would clear up about $ 26 million in extra space.
Handel Will Hernandez: Before week 8, Hernandez started playing every turn for the Giants on left guard. Then he gets COVID-19. Upon his return, Hernandez permanently became a rotational backup behind newcomer Shane Lemieux. Last week, he played ten snaps.
In Week 17 he was healthy, active … and did not play at all.
He is clearly out of favor with the new Giants staff and there is little reason to believe that will change in 2021.
Hernandez’s value is clearly diminished, but he is a young attacking linebacker with a lot of starting experience and is still considered a solid blocker. The Giants have only six drafts, and they will definitely be able to get another one for him in the trade.
Expand Kevin Zeitler – or trade with him: It’s going to be one of the more interesting decisions the Giants make this season. On the one hand, Zeitler has been the Giants’ best and most consistent offensive lineout for the past two years. On the other hand, he is not a Pro Bowl-caliber player, and if he cut or traded him off-season, it would save $ 12 million.
The Giants’ offensive line is not only good enough to dump constant artists like Zeitler, but it’s also a precious hood that can be used to cater to a bunch of other needs or to put both Williams and Tomlinson under the cap. fit. One way to assemble in the middle is to extend Zeitler’s contract to reduce the cap in 2021, even though he is in March 31st.
If Zeitler does leave, there will be no obvious replacement if Hernandez is traded.
Get Giants text messages: Cut the clutter of social media and text directly with beat writers. Plus exclusive news and analysis. Join now for a free trial.
Please subscribe now and support the local journalism you trust and rely on.
Zack Rosenblatt can be reached at [email protected]. Tell us your coronavirus story or send us a tip here.