Giants' Multistep Plan to Crush the Off-season Roster Building Process Before Draft

New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen and his staff have a lot of work to bring the roster up to speed. Here are a few steps they might take to accomplish that.

The 2022 New York Giants season was supposed to be in a complete rebuild year. Instead, the Giants, left with enough core pieces to their roster, were able to put together a surprisingly competitive season despite a restrictive salary cap situation and injuries and performance woes that exposed the team's deficiencies.

So despite advancing to the divisional playoffs, there is still much work to be done this off-season for general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll. 

But what's interesting about the off-season is that unlike in the past, where it seemed to be more about bringing in new faces, this winter, the Giants, after being able to evaluate their players during the regular season, have a clearer picture of who's part of the solution moving forward and who isn't.

So what steps might Schoen take to continue fixing the roster? Here are the things we would do and in order. 

1. Clean Up the Salary Cap

The first step on Schoen's to-do list is to tighten up the team's salary cap, which is in much better shape this off-season than it was last year.

Per Over the Cap, they have $52.247 million in total cap space of which $42.843 million is effective cap space (money that will count against the salary cap once the Top 51 rule kicks into gear at the start of the 2023 league year on March 15).

One move all but certain to be made is the dumping of receiver Kenny Golladay's contract. Golladay's $21.4 million cap number is currently the second highest on the team's books.

Golladay has a base salary of $13.25 million due in 2023 and a guaranteed $4.5 million roster bonus, so the Giants' cap saving would be minimal if they cut him before June 1 ($6.7 million with a $14.7 million dead money hit).

If they designate Golladay as a post-June 1 cut, they'd increase their cap savings to $13.5 million and only have to eat $7.9 million in dead money (the guaranteed roster bonus as well as the prorated part of the signing bonus). They'd also be hit with $7.9 million in dead money in 2024.

Defensive lineman Leonard Williams's $32.26 million cap hit is another potential target to be addressed. Due to restructuring, 2023 is the final year of Williams's deal, as he was given a voidable year in 2024. 

But Williams, who fought through injuries this past season, is still playing at a high enough level to where if the Giants wanted to extend him to free up money, such a move wouldn't necessarily be catastrophic.

Williams doesn't have any guaranteed money due in 2023, so the team could lower his $18 million base salary to a veteran minimum and convert the balance to a signing bonus as part of the new money in an extension. If they add on two or three more years, they could spread the difference over the new years in the deal.

Daniel Jones / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

2. Re-sign QB Daniel Jones

The Giants found out they could with Jones rather than despite him. Jones delivered with improved numbers, including his first winning season as a starting NFL quarterback (9-6-1).

He also posted new career-highs in completion percentage (67.2 percent), passing yards (3,205), and rushing yardage (708) while posting a career-low five interceptions.

He made all the throws necessary, and his decision-making was solid all year. One might argue that he elevated the play of his "no-name" receivers, who were pressed into bigger roles after the top three of Kenny Golladay, Sterling Shepard, and Kadarius Toney didn't pan out for one reason or another.

The Giants would be foolish not to want Jones back in 2023, and general manager Joe Schoen seems to be well aware of that.

"We’d like Daniel to be here," he said in his year-end press briefing. "We feel like Daniel played well this season. He’s done everything that we’ve asked him to do. Again, there’s a business side to it. We haven’t gone down that road yet. We still have to have our meetings with our staff late in the week, and we’ll devise an offseason plan."

While the money issue needs to be sorted out, getting Jones re-signed should be the team's top priority, if for no other reason than to avoid using the $32.445 million franchise tag on him.

Even with some anticipated cap relief that might come from cutting receiver Kenny Golladay and reworking Leonard Williams' $32 million cap hit, using the franchise tag on Jones would significantly cut into the Giants' current $54.247 million available cap space, lowering that total to $21,802 million (not including the estimated $3,154,039 difference in cap space the Giants will need to re-sign their rookie draft class).

3. Re-sign Saquon Barkley

With Saquon Barkley having given up some negotiating leverage by saying he's not looking to reset the market and that he prefers to remain a Giant for life, what was initially thought to be a tricky contract might have gotten a lot easier.

Or maybe not. As others have reported, Barkley's camp is said to have turned down a deal that would pay him in the $12 million APY range, which would put him in the same company as two-time (2019, 2020) NFL rushing leader Derrick Henry of the Titans, Nick Chubb of the Browns, Joe Mixon of the Bengals and Aaron Jones of the Packers.

If such is indeed the case to where Barkley's camp is looking to be paid more along the lines of the Saints Alvin Kamara ($15 million APY), he might have a tougher time convincing the Giants of that.

The only logical explanation for such a pitch is that Kamara, like Barkley, can serve in a dual role (rusher and receiver). But surprisingly, the Giants, in 2022, despite their woes at receiver, didn't deploy Barkley as heavily in the role of receiver as far as pass targets, which could be a reason for the reported discrepancy in the target APY.

Schoen, who revealed that the two sides weren't close during their bye-week discussions about a contract extension for the running back, didn't sound overly optimistic about getting Barkley back.

"Saquon, he’s a good player. He’s a great teammate. I loved getting to know him this season. He’s a guy we would like to have back," Schoen said.

"Everybody is going to step back, take the emotion out of it, evaluate the roster, and then we’ve got to operate under the salary cap. How are you going to divvy up? How are we going to create the roster? What are the priority positions, and how are we going to move forward? We would like to have Saquon back if it works out."

If the Giants get Daniel Jones signed first, as is believed to be the goal, that frees up the franchise tag to use on Barkley, a tag that will cost $10.1 million versus the $32 million it would cost to franchise Jones.

4. Address the Other Key Free Agents

Jones and Barkley are by far the Giants' biggest free agents that need to be addressed, but there are a few others that Schoen will likely try to get done before March 15.

The first is safety Julian Love, with whom Schoen confirmed that the team held preliminary talks over the bye only to come up short of getting an extension done.

"Julian knows how we feel about him," Schoen said. "We had a good exit interview with him (Sunday). Again, as we start to get into the offseason planning, we’ll talk to the coaches. We’ll see where he fits in. And if we can get something done, that’ll be good."

Love, who said he'd like to return to the Giants, revealed that there was some movement during those bye-week discussions the Giants had with his representatives.

But at the end of the day, he noted that he has to do what's best for him and his future.

“I love this place,” Love said. “The staff has been the best. That’s the stuff you want to return to, but football is not forever. I put my body on the line every game. When I say, ‘I have to do the best thing for me,’ it’s short-term thinking. You have to do the best to secure generational wealth for your family.”

Other unrestricted free agents that are projected to be back with the Giants, though ones who won't necessarily break the bank, include outside linebacker Jihad Ward, offensive lineman Jon Feliciano, running back Matt Breida, and receiver Richie James.

Receiver Sterling Shepard, an organizational favorite, could also be among those returning if his rehab from a torn ACL continues progressing and if he's open to taking a one-year veteran minimum deal.

"Love Shep. He’s one of my favorites here," Schoen said. "We’ll continue to monitor his rehab, coming off the ACL. He had the Achilles before. He’s been a tremendous resource around here for us.

"He’s a guy that we’ll talk about as well at the end of the week and continue to communicate with the training staff (senior vice president, medical services/head athletic trainer) Ronnie Barnes and those guys, on where he is from that standpoint when he’ll be healthy enough to play. Again, that’s something we may or may not entertain."

Dec 25, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at State Farm Stadium / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

5. Acquire a No. 1 Receiver

As noted in the first point, it would be a stunning development if Golladay and the Giants don't go their separate ways this off-season.

That means the Giants will be in the market for a No. 1 receiver in a year where the projected free agent class isn't universally believed to be a strong one and in a year where so far, there has been mixed feedback about the strength of the position in the draft class.

Might Schoen entertain a trade for a No. 1 receiver?

"I know a number one wide receiver can be important, but there are some number one wide receivers that are home right now," he said, noting that the plan is to continue building the entire team.

"You can go through this past weekend; you can go through a couple of weekends ago in the playoffs. A number one receiver doesn’t guarantee you anything. I think it’s important that we continue to build the team, and there are multiple positions where we want to upgrade throughout the offseason.

"I’d love to have a number one wide receiver, but we’ve got to place value on everything we do, and if it makes sense, that’s something we’ll look to do."

Would the Giants consider trading for Cardinals disgruntled receiver DeAndre Hopkins if Arizona made him available? Doing so would mean giving up draft picks, something Schoen has thus far shown a reluctance to do.

But then again, if the price were right, who's to say he wouldn't consider such a move? The Giants are drafting 25th overall, and while there is little to no chance of them giving up their first-round pick, would it make sense to offer one of their two third-round picks and one of their sixth-round picks along with a conditional pick in the 2024 draft?

Schoen said the goal was for the team to show weekly progress. He also didn't push the panic button with regards to trading for a receiver before the trade deadline when the projected starting three guys became non-factors.

"I don’t believe in the ‘You’re one player away.’ I think it’s truly a team game," Schoen said. "I thought it was best just to stay where we were. We have nine picks going into next year’s draft. We do have a little bit more financial flexibility. We thought that was the best thing to do as a group."

Regardless, it would be surprising if adding a legitimate and productive No. 1 receiver isn't high atop Schoen's to-do list.

6. Beef up the Defense

For as good as the Giants defense was at times, some glaring holes will surely be addressed this off-season.

The biggest one is at linebacker. The Giants probably had hopes of an inside linebacker group featuring Blake Martinez and rookie Darrian Beavers.

It didn't work out that way. Martinez was cut and eventually retired, and Beavers suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason.

The Giants were left to scramble at the position due to shaky depth. They tried Tae Crowder, who struggled and was eventually cut. Jaylon Smith came into the picture and stopped the bleeding a little bit, but the same couldn't be said of rookie Micah McFadden, who eventually lost his starting role to Jarrad Davis.

The hope is that Beavers will be healthy and ready to go--and he should be given how early in the "year" he suffered the injury. But even if he is, that doesn't remove the fact that the Giants need depth-- preferably with speed-- at this position.

Another position the Giants will likely look to reinforce is cornerback, where the old saying of never having enough cornerbacks proved true this year. The Giants were left having to plug in veterans Fabian Moreau and Nick McCloud when starters Aaron Robinson and Adoree' Jackson each dealt with injuries.

While both Moreau and McCloud battled, if the Giants want to close the talent disparity with the Eagles and Cowboys, they need to be able to keep up with opposing No. 1 receivers, which was not always the case this year.

The Giants might want to find additional defensive line depth. The Giants tried to address the depth through free agency (Nick Williams) and the draft (D.J. Davidson), but both ended up with their seasons ending prematurely due to injuries.

Meanwhile, when Dexter Lawrence needed a rest, Justin Ellis, the other free-agent addition, had his share of adventures, finishing the year with a 4.2 percent run-stop rate (lowest among interior Giants defenders with at least 100 run defense snaps) and missing 13.6 percent of his tackles, the second highest missed tackle rate among the Giants interior defensive line.

Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II / Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

7. Extend Select Players Approaching the End of their Rookie Deals 

Schoen no doubt has a priority list of things that need to be done when it comes to free agency, starting with securing the future services of those whose contracts are about to expire.

But that doesn't mean he won't look at potentially extending the rookie deals of those players who are fast approaching the end of their respective contracts.

One such player who could see an early extension is defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, who finished as the team's sack leader (7.5) and whose 28 quarterback hits led the Giants defense by a wide margin.

"I would say Dexter’s done enough," Schoen said when asked if Lawrence has earned another contract from the team. "Dexter played well, and we’ve got him under the fifth-year option. And that’ll be part of our end-of-season review regarding how we want to approach that. But yeah, Dexter played well. Happy he’s here."

Lawrence, as Schoen mentioned, is under contract next year, the Giants having exercised his option year on his rookie deal. He currently counts for $12.407 million against the cap, that money fully guaranteed.

If the Giants were to extend him, they could certainly ensure that the first year of his contract would more than cover that amount owed while working to lower his cap hit, which is currently the fourth-highest on the team.

The Giants could also look to extend left tackle Andrew Thomas, who is now eligible for such an extension. Technically they have another two years on Thomas's deal as they're certain to exercise his option year, which would cost them an estimated $14.75 million based on his play-time snaps, a bargain for the Giants given some of the other 2024 cap figures for left tackles around the league.

That said, as Thomas continues to get better and better, it would probably behoove the Giants to try to get him done sooner than later.

As for safety Xavier McKinney, who enters the last year of his rookie deal in 2023, the feeling is that the Giants will wait to see how his additional rehab on his hand goes before making any decisions on extending him this year. 

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