Giants Fall in Final MMQB NFL Power Rankings, But There is Hope for Future

The Giants dropped in the MMQB NFL Power Rankings after a 20-13 loss to Philadelphia; however, there is room for optimism in 2025.

Scott Salomon | 22 Hours Ago

New York Giants co-owner John Mara (left) and New York Giants General Manager Joe Schoen speak with New York Giants Head Coach Brian Daboll at MetLife Stadium. / Kevin R. Wexler / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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New York Giants

The MMQB final 2024 NFL regular-season NFL power rankings are in, and to no one’s surprise, the 3-14 New York Giants landed in one of the bottom spots of the weekly series.

The Giants, who dropped a 20-13 finale to the Philadelphia Eagles’ backups on Sunday in a game at the Linc where they have not won since 2013, fell three spots to No. 29 in the final rankings, a fitting end to their worst season in their 100-year franchise history.

Only the Raiders, Titans, and Browns finished lower than the Giants.

At this point, there is not much more that can be said about the Giants’ dismal season, in which everything that could have gone wrong did.

So Conor Orr, the compiler of the rankings, instead chose to look ahead, starting with his sentiments about co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch’s decision to retain coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen.

"The Giants made the right move to retain Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen Monday," Orr said.

"Ignoring the screaming of a few fans, it was never going to hurt to give Daboll a crack with a real veteran quarterback of his choosing and another high first-round draft pick."

Orr might need to do a little bit more convincing of the decision being the right move to some of the fanbase who took part in our Patricia Traina’s poll.

Okay folks. So now that the Giants verdict is in your thoughts?
— Patricia Traina (@Patricia_Traina) January 6, 2025

That said, there is no question that quarterback is the top priority on the Giants’ to-do list this offseason. The question, though, is will the next quarterback be a veteran bridge guy, or will he be a draft pick?

The Giants, who are drafting third, should be able to get one of quarterbacks Cam Ward (Miami) or Shedeur Sanders (Colorado). They could also go for Heisman Trophy Award winner and two-way star Travis Hunter (Colorado).

The cornerback/wide receiver could be a solid complement to Malik Nabers and serve in the nickel package on defense. He is also a very dangerous return man.

The other option if Hunter is off the board and the Giants don’t care for the quarterback they’re left with between Ward and Sanders is to trade down to acquire more picks, including capital for 2026 that they could use if they opt to hold off on drafting a franchise quarterback this year.

That approach could actually make some sense. If the mulligan Schoen and Daboll received from ownership this year produces similar results next season, wouldn’t it make more sense to sweep everyone out and let a new regime pick its franchise quarterback?

John Mara, one of the Giants' owners, has vowed to be patient with Schoen and Daboll, even though his patience is clearly running out with year after year of fruitless football that leaves his beloved franchisee a laughing stock in the league.

That said, team ownership still has confidence in Daboll’s ability to work with quarterbacks. Orr believes that retaining Daboll was a smart move, given that the franchise is at a crossroads at its most important position.

“As evidenced by a lot of other teams holding on to their coaches—we’re at just five vacancies right now—many teams viewed this coaching class as top heavy with a back end full of coaches who could use some more seasoning," Orr said.

“If it doesn’t work out? The Giants will likely have a high draft pick the following year with a better quarterback class on tap.”