The New York Giants went 5-11 in 2018. What a mess. Odell Beckham was traded this offseason for a 1st round pick, 3rd round pick and safety Jabrill Peppers. The Giants took a QB at pick 6 (Daniel Jones) to replace Eli Manning in Round 1. Former Panthers GM David Gettleman is really mixing it up in the Big Apple. Pat Shurmur returns as head coach looking to turn things around but it seems like a rebuild.
Strengths
Running Game
Saquan Barkley was the rookie of the year. He is an amazing player and had 1,307 yards at 5.0 YPC with 11 TDs rushing. He added 721 yards receiving and 4 receiving TDs. He is the Giants offense and is such a great player from Penn State. Wayne Gallman and Paul Perkins are mid-round picks from previous years and decent backups, but this is the Saquan show.
Secondary
Janoris Jenkins is a solid number 1 CB. They did lose Landon Collins but added a young talent in Jabrill Peppers (former Browns 1st round pick). Antoine Bethea is a veteran safety and DeAndre Baker was added in Round 1 of the draft. Sam Beal looks to develop as a supplemental 3rd round pick last year. Grant Haley is an average nickel and Julian Love was taken in Round 4 out of Notre Dame. The secondary is a good mix of youth and veterans and could have success with the right pass rush.
Weaknesses
QB
Eli Manning had a 92.4 QB rating in 2018 and this could be his last hurrah for the Giants. Daniel Jones was drafted at pick 6 but may take time to replace Eli. Eli does have some weapons at his disposal with Golden Tate, Sterling Shephard, Evan Engram and Barkley.
Weapons
Golden Tate was traded to Detroit mid-season to the Eagles last year because they didn’t want to pay him. The Giants did one to pay Tate and he will have big shoes to fill to replace Beckham. Sterling Shephard is a solid number 2 WR and Engram still has potential as a first round TE. Bennie Fowler, rookie Darius Slayton (5th round), Cody Lattimer and Corey Coleman bring up the 3rd WR spot and depth. They haven’t really excelled in the NFL but there is talent there. Rhett Ellison is a decent backup TE but more of a blocker.
Offensive line
The Giants improved on their offensive line by trading Oliver Vernon for guard Kevin Zeilter from the Browns. Nate Solder was a disappointment at left tackle for the Giants on a big contract. Mike Remmers was added after failing for the Vikings last year. Will Hernandez can be a good guard though at of Round 2 in 2018. Jon Halapio and Spencer Pulley are the weak link at center. Eli might be running for his life despite better guard play in 2019.
Defensive Line
The defensive line is being rebuilt and is very young. Dexter Lawrence (DT) was added at pick 17 from the Beckham trade. Dalvin Tomlinson is a solid player and BJ Hill showed promise as a rookie. Markus Golden had some good years with the Cardinals but can’t be the Giants top pass rusher. Lorenzo Carter has potential as 2018 3rd round pick. Rookie 3rd round pick Oshane Ximines out of Old Dominion will need a role early but is coming from a small school. Plenty of young talent here but it will be a work and development in progress in 2019. The depth is terrible though.
ILB
Alec Ogletree and BJ Goodson can be solid ILBs but the depth lacks with Nate Stupar and rookie Ryan Connelly.
Schedule
The Giants host the Vikings in Week 5 and the Packers in Week 13. New York travels to the Lions in Week 8 and the Bears in Week 12. The Giants have talent but are still pretty weak. The entire North should beat New York.