Grading New York Giants’ Most Significant Off-Season Moves

The Giants have made quite a few significant moves this off-season, including at the coaching level. Here are our grades for some of those moves.

The New York Giants have had a busy start to the offseason following their lackluster 2023 campaign, which was marred by relentless injuries and poor performances.

Not long after the dust settled on a 6–11 year, the team jumped straight into gutting the weak spots in their organizational structure and deliberating the fates of many names on the roster front. Some decisions were harder than others, but the same hope resides that the moves will place the franchise in a better position to succeed in 2024 and beyond.

With every decision, Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll have focused on retooling the most premium positions on the roster and ensuring they grow at a cheaper rate for a team with just over $40 million of cap space when it all started. Thus far, it seems to have worked out for them, but the true results won’t be seen until the team takes the field next fall.

We can take some preliminary viewpoints on what the Giants have done this offseason and the major changes they’ve made, including at the coaching level.

Hiring DC Shane Bowen

The hiring of former Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen for the same role within the Giants might not seem like the flashiest replacement for Wink Martindale, who parted ways with the franchise in the aftermath of the 2023 season. Still, he could bring immense improvement to the franchise in some areas using his defense.

Unlike Martindale’s system, which prioritized heavy blitzing and pressure up front to trouble the passer, Bowen has historically taken a more conservative, assignment-based approach. That doesn’t mean he won’t send the house on occasion, but more often, the idea is to see how the play develops in play action and expect the second-level players to make a play on the deep shots.

This approach could create problems for the Giants' defense in the deep game if the defense gets too flat-footed trying to watch the quarterback and the opposing wide receivers get open for chunk yardage. As it is, the Giants were one of the best teams in pass rush win rate last season, and quick pressure off of the snap helped them lessen the chances of a big play on the other end.

Nevertheless, everything that concerns Bowen’s defense has been eviscerated in the most important area of the field—the red zone. According to Pro Football Reference, the Titans had the league’s best red zone scoring percentage last fall, succumbing points on just 37.7 percent of 61 total visits, which is a nice jump from the Giant's fifth-place ranking in 2023.

It kept the Titans to the eighth-best squad in passing touchdowns allowed and fourth in rushing touchdowns. He knows how to get the defenders to excel in tighter spaces by playing more aggressively and giving the offense less room to work with. That means less chance of plays happening over the top and more assignments converging at the ball.

Unlike the run defense, Bowen’s system will improve a Giants unit that ranked in the league's bottom half last year. New York allowed the 27th most rushing yards and the 31st average yards per rush, largely due to not filling the right gaps. Bowen should be able to make the most of this with his revamped defensive line, which includes All-Pro Dexter Lawrence and some aggressive players at the linebackers level.

How long it takes the Giants' defense to get fluid in the new system after a few seasons with Martindale’s pressure cooker remains to be seen. The partnership with Bowen at least brings a guy who can fix their biggest deficiencies over that span of time, and that’s worthy of a fair grade.

Grade: B+

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Hiring OL Coach Carmen Bricillo

One of the most important moves made this off-season was Daboll's decision to fire offensive line coach Bobby Johnson and replace him with former Las Vegas Raiders offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo.

Last season, Johnson's units gave up 85 total sacks and ranked 30th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency rating. Injuries certainly contributed to the problems, but injuries also exposed the lack of depth ready to step in, which was likely one of the major factors in Johnson's dismissal.

What Bricillo can do with what feels like a scrap heap front for the Giants is the reason for hope. In his tenure with Las Vegas, Bricillo took a younger squad and made them into the 10th-best pass-blocking group in the league and a close 11th in team run-blocking win rate. 

Bricillo has been widely praised for taking the truly youthful pieces in the Raiders offensive line position and turning them into consistent and reliable starters that can jump in at any moment. That was a huge problem for the Giants when injuries kicked in, and their depth wasn’t ready for consistent production against premier defenders.

As it stands now, the Giants will have an inexperienced front, with the potential starters all slated to be under 29 years old. Many haven’t been able to develop in their true positions due to injuries and have been rotating to different spots with little positive growth. It will take some work to strengthen this offensive line to protect the quarterback from elite pass rushers who have eaten them up in recent seasons.

One area to watch for is the right tackle spot with Evan Neal. The 2022 first-round pick has struggled with injuries and poor protection since joining the Giants. Bricillo was able to take a seventh-round pick in Thayer Munford and turn him into a bonafide starter at left tackle for ten games last fall after Colton Miller went down with an ailment, so the hope of a similar result is there for Neal with his new coach’s mentorship.

Bricillo is also one of those leaders who will hold himself accountable and take the chance to fix his teaching style if it’s not shaping up across the offensive front on gamedays. How could you expect the players to improve if they don’t have a coach who truly understands how to adjust when one approach isn’t working?

While we wait to see how the line looks in camp and beyond, Bricillo's hiring looks very promising.

Grade: A+ 

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Letting Saquon Barkley Walk

The loss of Saquon Barkley, who ultimately signed his new deal with the inter-division rival Philadelphia Eagles, will go down as the tough pill to swallow from the Giants' offseason, but it all comes down to how Joe Schoen viewed the position and the overall premier positions on the roster.

Yes, the Giants and Barkley could have landed a long-term deal last summer, reportedly worth between $12 and $14 million annually, before the running back ultimately signed to the revised franchise tag. However, no deal was accepted; this time, Schoen didn’t see the same value in paying Barkley as the Eagles did.

To the Giants, it was more important to invest less into the running back position that has been marred with injuries, that holds a shorter shelf life, and that pushes more financial assets into premium positions like the offensive line, defensive line, and secondary. It’s why the team reportedly never offered a new deal to the star ball carrier, but it likely wouldn’t have met the same annual value he received from the Eagles, who are closer to contending for a Super Bowl.

Now, the Giants are set to face their former No. 2 overall pick twice a year and must find a way to replace the best offensive weapon in their huddle. Even with the injuries that cost him 23 games over six seasons, Barkley posted three 1,000-yard campaigns and came within 38 yards of knotting his fourth last season with 962 yards and six touchdowns to his name.

Those numbers don’t even include his 2,100 yards and 12 touchdowns receiving from five seasons with at least 41 receptions, 263 yards, and an average haul of 7.3 yards. Put them together, and Barkley leaves the Giants as their fourth-best all-time rusher at 5,211 rushing yards and stands among the top in all-purpose yards in a single season.

The acquisition of Devin Singletary to serve as the lead back was a much cheaper option with a viable resume. In five NFL seasons, the 26-year-old has rushed for at least 687 yards with a 4.6 average carry and scored 20 touchdowns as a member of the Bills and Texans. He can be just as useful in the flat as well, but there is no doubt he has big shoes to fill, as the Giants will look for him to step in and contribute to the offense in different ways.

It certainly stings to see a player hoping to be a career Giant migrate to an opposing city to make his pay at a crucial time of his career. Saquon Barkley undoubtedly improved the Giants' offense just by standing in the backfield alone, but now they’ll have to rediscover the run game without him.

Grade: B-

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Letting Xavier McKinney Walk

While Barkley was certainly a loss of talent and leadership for the Giants, the departure of safety Xavier McKinney was just as overshadowed by the attention placed on his former teammate.

From an availability standpoint, it’s hard to underestimate the value McKinney brought to the safety position during his time in New York. Last season alone, he was one of two Giants players participating in every snap. He was an absolute ballhawk, with a career-high 116 tackles, three interceptions, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.

Stacked up with his league-wide peers at the position, McKinney finished third in solo tackles and allowed a 52.1 passer rating when targeted. The former second-round pick was a strong tackler, never gave up an average play beyond 9 yards, and was a versatile piece that could play a role in select pressure packages that New York ran under Wink Martindale.

New York Giants safety Xavier McKinney (29) holds the ball as he celebrates with New York Giants linebacker Azeez Ojulari (51) and New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II (97) after he intercepted a Philadelphia Eagles pass on Sunday, January 7, 2024 :: Kevin R. Wexler / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Giants still have some promise left behind him, particularly Dane Belton, who came on late in the 2023 season and was a turnover creator, and Jason Pinnock, who showed flashes of solid play. Yet, it’s tough to replace a player of McKinney’s ilk who just seemed to have an eye for the football and inspiring the rest of the defense to level up their style of play.

The decision again came down to financials, as the Giants didn’t want to hand McKinney the regular or transition tag that would have inked him for at least the next season. He was going to get his bag as a young safety on the rise, and the team decided it was better off seeing what it has in the younger players and cheaper options on the market.

Grade: C

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Trading for Brian Burns

The Giants' biggest splash of free agency wasn't a UFA signing but rather their acquisition of edge rusher Brian Burns, obtained in a trade with the Carolina Panthers.  

For a player who could have earned the Panthers multiple first-round picks earlier in the offseason, Joe Schoen's masterclass move was landing the missing piece on the other side of the defensive line for just a second-round pick this year, a fifth-round pick next year and an exchange of fifth-round picks this year. When teamed with Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux, Burns, an elite pass rusher, will help make for a scary trio for any opposing offensive backfield.

Burns is coming off a campaign with 50 total tackles (32 solo), eight sacks, and one forced fumble in 16 games played for the Panthers. He also holds the incredible feat of posting at least 7.5 sacks in each of his five NFL seasons, with the career-high 12.5 coming in the 2022 season. His eight career forced fumbles are enough to show he can be a game-wrecker if left untouched, and that’s what the Giants want from their defensive front.

Burns does an excellent job at gaining leverage at the line of scrimmage to burst past the defender after the snap. His film often shows him blasting right by the tackle or into the gaps and shutting down the ball carrier before the play even develops.

The acquisition also comes as the Giants were looking to fortify the left edge, which has sometimes been vacant due to the absence of fellow outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari. After an impressive rookie season featuring 49 tackles and six sacks, the former second-round pick hasn’t been available enough for the team, and his pass-rushing metrics have dropped in two years.

Ojulari figures to move into a situational pass rusher role for 2024; regardless, the Giants now have a solid front three to create havoc for the opposing offense. This is something we haven’t seen since the days of Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, and company, which is very exciting for the 2024 season.

Grade: A+

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Signing QB Drew Lock

There's an old saying that the backup quarterback is the most important player on a football team. And when it comes to the New York Giants, this statement is 100 percent true.

Incumbent Daniel Jones, whom Schoen has already said is expected to be the starter once he gets the green light to go all out following his ACL injury, has a concerning injury history that has seen him miss time in all but one season (2022). Of big concern is that he's suffered two neck injuries over three years, those coming in 2021 and 2023, costing him significant chunks of those seasons.

The first injury, which cost him the final six games of the 2021 season, raised some eyebrows when sleuths noticed a scar on Jones's neck the following spring. He later confessed that he had had an off-season procedure on his neck but said that it was not related to the season-ending injury he had suffered.

All that being said, the Giants, who were unlikely to retain backup Tyrod Taylor, ended up needing a veteran they felt could step in and win games for them if Jones was unavailable. 

After an exploratory meeting with Russell Wilson, who eventually signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers to be their new starter, the Giants landed Drew Lock of the Seattle Seahawks, once considered the Broncos franchise quarterback, until he was traded to Seattle in the deal that brought Wilson to Denver.

Lock doesn't boast a winning record as a starter (9-14), but last year, he had his best season as far as passing completions went (63.2 percent). It's also worth noting that Daboll has a history of developing quarterbacks, including backups. 

For proof of that, look no further than how he helped groom Mitchell Trubisky (while with Buffalo) and Taylor into better versions of themselves, and they went on to get nice contracts after their time spent in Daboll's system.

The hope is that if Lock has to play, he'll show similar improvement and be able to carry the Giants to as many wins as possible. 

Grade: B+

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