Giants Country

Where Did Giants Special Teams Units Rank in 2024?

With one exception, the 2024 Giants' special teams units were, shall we say, far from being special.

Patricia Traina

New York Giants wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (87) celebrates with his teammates in the end zone when they thought he had just scored a touchdown. However, the ball was called back due to a penalty.
New York Giants wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (87) celebrates with his teammates in the end zone when they thought he had just scored a touchdown. However, the ball was called back due to a penalty. / Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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In case you were wondering, the New York Giants special teams units were pretty much as shaky as they appeared throughout the 2024 season.

This is according to data and rankings put together by Bill Huber of Green Bay Packers On SI, who has taken over the role previously held by now-retired long-time NFL columnist and annual NFL special teams ranking compiler Rick Gosselin.

According to Huber’s data, the Giants’ special teams, which were headed by first-time NFL special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial, finished 20th overall, with rankings in the various categories as follows:

  • Net Punting: 26th
  • Punt Returns: 23rd
  • Field Goal Percentage: 20th
  • Kickoff Returns: 4th
  • Kickoff Coverage: 17th

Let’s dive into each category with a bit more detail.

Net Punting

According to the NFL’s final regular-season stats, the Giants allowed opponents an average of 10.5 yards per return, 0.6 yards above the league average.

Beyond the inconsistent punting, the most likely reason for the struggles was the gunner play. The Giants infamously waived Nick McCloud, who has been their best special teams player/gunner over the last two years.  

Cornerback Art Green got the call at gunner when McCloud was waived and fared well, offering good size, straight-line speed, and athleticism to finish his coverages. His stats (two tackles) don’t scream “all-star,” but it's worth noting that Green forced a bunch of fair catches with his solid downfield coverage.

The other gunner was receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton, who dealt with an injury for most of the season. Ford-Wheaton actually took on the strongside gunner role after McCloud was waived.

New York Giants punter Jamie Gillan
Aug 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants punter Jamie Gillan (6) takes the field prior to the preseason game against the Detroit Lions at MetLife Stadium. / Scott Rausenberger-Imagn Images

While Ford-Wheaton gets props for consistently defeating his blocking to get downfield in good shape, where he came up short was in his finishing of the play. The young receiver often overran the return and showed poor form regarding tackling.  

As for the punters, Jamie Gillan missed four games with a hamstring issue, and interestingly, his replacement, Matt Haack, had better gross numbers (47 yards to Gillan’s 43.7 yards). 

Gillan’s pooch-punting was safe, but most of these forced fair catches came outside the 15-yard line, Gillan rarely pinning a team deep.  Overall, he remained inconsistent, though his one-step punting made blocking difficult for other teams.  

Gillan’s per-punt numbers were a bit down this year; his usual holding for kicks was pristine.   

New York Giants wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette
New York Giants wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (87) gets ready to catch a punt Sunday, December 8, 2024. / Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Punt Returns

Overall, the Giants averaged 7.6 yards per punt return, 2.3 yards below the league average.

The Giants got very lucky after losing Gunner Olszewski for the season with a groin injury. New York picked up Ihmir Smith-Marsette to handle the return duties, and the Newark, New Jersey native provided stress-free returns the rest of the way, both on punts and kickoffs.  

Smith-Marsette showed a natural knack for pristine ball tracking and ball security. He averaged an acceptable 7.9 yards per punt return with a long of 25; he also had a touchdown called back by penalty.  

Speaking of penalties, the Giants special teams units recorded 15 for 111 yards this season. That ties them for seventh fewest in the league, but six of those penalties came pre-snap, which ties them for third-most.

New York Giants place kicker Graham Gano
Dec 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants place kicker Graham Gano (9) misses a potential game-tying field goal against the New Orleans Saints during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Field Goal Percentage

For the second season in a row, Graham Gano dealt with an injury that cost him games, this time a hamstring issue. Gano landed on IR on the first play of the Week 2 game against Washington, the injury limiting him to just 10 games this season. 

(Worth noting that on the kickoff that Gano was injured, we were surprised that Gano, who popped up on the injury report late that week, didn’t drive the kickoff through the back of the end zone, but we digress.) 

In the games Gano did kick in, he went 9-11 on field goals, hitting both 50-yarders he attempted, but his 81.8% conversion rate was a career low in at least 10 games played.    

During Gano’s absence, Greg Joseph was the primary fill-in for six games before landing on IR. Joseph missed his first field goal attempt with the Giants and then two field goals in a 10-point loss to the Bengals, but he was otherwise solid, going 13 of 16 on all his 2024 field goal attempts.  

And finally, young Jude McAtamney, who began the season on the practice squad’s international exempt list, got a chance to kick in Week 9. He converted his lone PAT and lone chip shot field goal attempt. 

Eric Gray
Sep 22, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; New York Giants running back Eric Gray (20) returns a kickoff against the Cleveland Browns during the first quarter at Huntington Bank Field. / Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

Kickoff Returns 

Thanks largely to the insertion of Smith-Marsette, the Giants finished above the league average with 28.3 yards per kickoff return (+0.7 difference). Smith-Marsette’s 100-yard touchdown return against the Colts showed a returner with burst, vision, and long speed that we haven’t seen since the David Wilson days.

Before Smith-Marsette got an opportunity, the Giants ran it back with Eric Gray as their kickoff returner, a move that boggles the mind given how little a feel Gray showed for the job in 2023. 

Gray had mediocre foot speed, and it was no surprise that opponents often sent the kickoff his way. He finished with 21 returns for a 26.4 average and a long of 37 yards, which isn’t horrible.

Still, we remain unconvinced that Gray is a good fit for the kickoff return role, especially after seeing what Smith-Marsette brought to the position.

Ty Summers
Dec 22, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) is tackled by New York Giants linebacker Darius Muasau (53) and linebacker Ty Summers (47) during the second half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Kickoff Coverage 

Lane integrity issues and penalties affected this part of the operation. The Giants allowed opponents an average of 28.9 yards per return, 1.3 yards above the league average.

Per Pro Football Focus, the Giants' special teams had 27 missed tackles, though the total is not broken down by unit. 

Although the Giants didn’t allow any kickoffs returned for a touchdown, the adjustment to the new dynamic kickoff rule posed its share of challenges in defending, according to Ghobrial.

“There's not as many layers the way this new return is set up, and that's based on the formational rules that you're allowed to line up with,” he said in his final 2024 regular-season press meeting. 

“With the old kickoff, having all that space before, there were natural layers based on guys' different speed types and then being able to layer your kickoff unit. 

“With this new kickoff system, because everybody is on the 40-yard line in plus territory, you don't necessarily have the timing and spacing to layer your kickoff unit once the ball is caught because there's not enough time to get down there.

“So, if you have aspirations to tackle people inside the 25 or the 20, you've got to get on your horse and go. Because of that, when there's a crease, and it's blocked up, returners, if they have great catch mechanics, can hit that thing a million miles per hour, and there's not a lot of ‘save it’ to that play.” 

It sounds like adding more speed to the special teams unit will be another of general manager Joe Schoen's many goals and objectives this offseason. 

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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