Two Giants Named to TSN's "NFL All-Overpaid" Team

We disagree with the picks made by The Sporting News's Vinnie Iyer.

Oct 29, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants place kicker Graham Gano (9) reacts after missing a field goal during the fourth quarter against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

What does New York Giants offensive lineman Jon Runyan Jr have in common with kicker Graham Gano besides being teammates?

Both landed on The Sporting News’ 2024 All-Overpaid team, a list compiled by Vinnie Iyer of those player contracts offering little bang for the buck. 

We’ll start with Runyan, who signed a three-year, $30 million deal with $17 million guaranteed and a $7.5 million signing bonus, bringing his APY to $10 million per season. 

Iyer called Runyan, a  2020 sixth-round pick with 50 starts across his four seasons in Green Bay, a "fading" player.  

Pro Football Focus apparently disagreed, listing Runyan as No. 93 on its list of top 210 free agents from this past free agency cycle and the seventh guard on that list.  

“Runyan is a plus pass protector on the interior with considerable starting experience at both guard spots over his rookie contract, operating well in a phone booth with a solid anchor against power rushers,” wrote Brad Spielberger, who put the list together earlier in the year.

Runyan’s contract is currently the ninth highest overall of projected left guards and is actually on the lower scale of what’s known as a “market deal,” meaning that the Giants managed to get the veteran on the lower end of the projected APY market range for guards. 

Their hope is that Rynyan, who worked primarily as the right guard in the spring, will upgrade the interior, which was a big part of the offensive line’s problems last season.

The Giants’ interior offensive line, according to data compiled by Pro Football Focus, allowed 179 pressures during the 2023 season--67 percent of all pressure given up by the team.

The other Giant to land on Iyer’s list was kicker Graham Gano, who signed a three-year, $16.5 million contract extension with the Giants on September 8, 2023. The extension included $13.25 million in guaranteed salary, of which $11.335 million was guaranteed at signing and is currently the fourth-highest total value among kickers. 

"Gano has limited range and has started to become less reliable on field goals at 37," Iyer said, failing to make any mention of the fact that Gano’s 2023 season was hampered by a knee injury that ultimately cut it short after eight games and that the year prior, he converted 90.6 percent of his field goal attempts, his third-best career mark in a minimum of 16 games played.

Gano’s injury, in fact, opened a revolving door at kicker, and four other kickers–Randy Bullock, punter Jamie Gillan, Cade York, and Mason Crosby—combined to convert 70.97 percent of the field goal attempts, 31st in the league.

Tiem will only tell if Runyan and Gano are worth their respective salaries moving forward, but given the circumstances, it seems a bit premature to put them on the All-NFL Overpaid list.  

Patricia Traina contributed to this report.

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