Five Potential Giants Fits from Players Whose Fifth-Year Options Were Declined

Here is a look at five players whose rookie contract option years were declined, but who could be a fit for the Giants.

This year, 20 NFL first-round draft picks from the Class of 2020 had their option years declined by their teams. Often when a player has their fifth-year option declined, it’s perceived as a negative, as the public perception becomes that the drafted player didn’t live up to their draft selection and that the team was unhappy with their performance.

But that isn't always the case, and for proof of that, look no further than the New York Giants' own Daniel Jones, who found that his fifth-year option being declined turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Had Jones had his fifth-year option exercised, he would have made $22.4M for the 2023 season before hitting free agency in 2024. Fortunately for Jones, he instead had a strong season in 2022 and was rewarded with a four-year, $160M contract.

That brings us back to the 20 players whose fifth-year option declined this year. We've picked out five such players who, if they do become available at some point, we feel would be excellent additions to the Giants roster, and we believe that most, if not all, of these players, would likely be available for a fourth- or fifth-round pick.

LB Patrick Queen

Current Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale was the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens in 2020 when the team drafted LSU linebacker Patrick Queen in the first round. It makes sense that the team is looking to move on if Queen isn’t a fit with what current Ravens DC Mike Macdonald wants to do.

Throughout his NFL career, Queen has been one of the best pass-rushing off-ball linebackers in the league, but his surrounding skillset isn’t up to par. On 290 pass-rush attempts in his career, Queen picked up 57 pressures and 12 sacks, giving him a pressure rate of 19.7 percent.

Queen’s elite speed and explosiveness make him a perfect candidate to return to the defense he played in during his first two seasons in the NFL. It also gives the Giants a player that is a light investment with a high ceiling - even though he has three seasons under his belt, Queen is still incredibly young at just 23 years old, turning 24 in mid-August.

OT Austin Jackson

For versatility and athleticism alone, Austin Jackson could likely garner interest from multiple teams in the trade market. Jackson’s 2022 was demolished by consistent ankle injuries, but before that, he remained relatively healthy for most of his career.

The career arc for Jackson is an interesting one. He started as a left tackle at USC who would always be a project player, then he played left guard in 2021 and right tackle in 2022 before injuries derailed his season. As a depth player, the versatility to play three positions at the NFL level is an enticing option that could allow the Giants to have more depth at other positions, counting Jackson as a backup at multiple offensive line spots.

It’s also a possibility that Jackson could come in and compete for a starting spot at left guard with Ben Bredeson, Shane Lemieux, and Joshua Ezeudu. Jackson’s athletic profile is still elite, so banking on an athlete turning his career around and reaching his ceiling isn’t a bad idea here.

CB Noah Igbinoghene

Sticking with the Miami Dolphins' bad 2020 Draft, let’s get this part out of the way now: Noah Igbinoghene hasn’t lived up to his draft status, but he was also drafted considerably earlier than he should have been. Igbinoghene was realistically worth a mid-second-round pick but was drafted early because of his youth (still just 23 years old), ceiling, and dominant performance against an Alabama team that featured Henry Ruggs III, Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith, and Jerry Jeudy.

Injuries have played a part in Igbinoghene's development stunting, but expectations were too high on him coming out of Auburn. Igbinoghene’s strength as a corner has always been his ability to work in press-man coverage, making him a seamless connection to work with Wink Martindale.

Even now, Igbinoghene still has a high ceiling as someone with just five years of experience playing cornerback after being a receiver early in college. With the current Giants cornerback room comprising generally undersized players, that won’t be a factor in keeping the Giants from pursuing Igbinoghene.

Given the likely late-round investment for a player that is still just 23 and can compete for significant playing time early, Igbinoghene could come in as a low-risk, high-reward option.

IOL Cesar Ruiz

Cesar Ruiz was an interesting selection coming out of Michigan in 2020. As clean as his tape was and as promising as his athletic profile was, he was a complete size outlier being way undersized as an NFL offensive lineman. While he hasn’t been a bad draft pick, he hasn’t lived up to the hope that he would overcome his size concerns and compensate for them with his athleticism.

Ruiz has been able to hold his own as a pass protector for the most part, allowing just eight sacks so far in three seasons as a starter or key rotational lineman. For the record, Mark Glowinski and Jon Feliciano allowed five and four sacks, respectively, in 2022 alone.

There are enough similarities regarding blocking schemes between the Giants and the Saints to reasonably expect that Ruiz could seamlessly transition into this line group. The ability to play any spot on the interior of the offensive line adds value to Ruiz as a depth piece at the absolute worst but could also get him some starter snaps if rookie John Michael Schmitz isn’t ready to be a starter on Day 1.

LB Kenneth Murray

Coming out of Oklahoma in 2020, Murray was considered the best pure linebacker in the draft, with Isaiah Simmons being evaluated as a safety/linebacker hybrid. In the three seasons since he was drafted, though, Murray hasn’t made the development expected of him as a high-ceiling linebacker.

Murray still presents the same physical tools he had before the draft -- an elite athlete with less than ideal size for the position. Those physical tools alone would be enough to justify the Giants trying to add Murray to their linebacker room. With the current room, there’s a lack of athletic ability and ceiling in there that could be improved with Muray’s skillset.

Murray is an average cover man, but he excels operating as a downhill linebacker who should’ve been used more as a pass-rusher but was sharing that responsibility with Drue Tranquill, another player I wanted the Giants to pursue. Like the Giants, the Chargers defense asked their linebackers to be used as a consistent part of the pass-rush plan.

The biggest difference is that Bobby Okereke will likely be the backer to operate more in coverage while allowing Murray to excel as a downhill, aggressive player. On just 53 pass-rush opportunities in 2022, Murray had 15 pressures and two sacks, good for a pressure rate of 28.3%

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