Why PFF’s Grade for the New York Giants’ Free Agency Haul Is Completely Wrong

Despite entering another offseason with a very restricted salary cap situation and several glaring needs across the roster, the New York Giants have had themselves a stellar free agency period to kick off the first offseason of the John Harbaugh era.

That’s at least the opinion of the majority of fans and football minds alike, who have been praising the Giants organization for shaping their free agent haul around high upside players who have agreed to sign to team-friendly deals that won’t turn out to be huge overpay risks.

There is one apparent dissenter of what New York has accomplished so far, and that is Pro Football Focus analyst Gordon McGuinness and his newly released free agency grades for all 32 NFL franchises, which weren’t as kind to the Giants as most other folks who have chimed in on their moves.

McGuiness handed the Giants a shocking “C” grade for their free agent core through one week of the frenzy, including grades of “average” to “above average” to a few of the main faces that they’ve signed off the open market.

Leading the analyst’s main complaints about the group has signaled that he believes they overpaid for some players or recruited them off down years, where they may not pan out as the Giants hope.

We would strongly disagree with this unfair shake from McGuiness and believe he has it wrong for a few reasons.

Giants Finally Handling Free Agency the Prudent Way

Feb 24, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Gone are the days of the Giants butchering one of the two most important signing periods of the offseason by acting out of desperation.

In previous cycles, general manager Joe Schoen has drawn significant criticism for his handling of free agency, particularly for overpaying aging veterans in the hope of a quick fix that would help the Giants win more games.

That route has rarely worked for New York and has led to the same early exits that have left the organization in the weakened cap predicament it's been in for a few seasons since Schoen took over the front-office reins in 2022.

Schoen seems to finally be learning his lesson with the assistance of new head coach John Harbaugh, who has been through over two decades of personnel decisions that helped the Ravens become one of the most consistently successful franchises in the NFL.

This time around, the Giants’ approach has been the right one for them: they’ve targeted free agents whose professional journeys might have slid off the path a little and thus dropped their market value, yet whose skillset could resurge in a change of scenery and the right system.

The Giants have landed some of the best available players who meet that description and have kept the agreements within two years and reasonable market values.

That way, their future cap isn’t further hampered, and if the players don’t pan out, it’ll all be a minor risk taken by the franchise looking for long-term difference-makers.

It’s hard to argue they haven’t found a few of those in their new small class. They started with landing tight end Isaiah Likely, who is familiar with Harbaugh’s expectations and has a versatile background that will only further elevate the Giants' offense into an explosive unit.

Along with Likely, the team’s receiving corps won’t just have to rely on a healthy Malik Nabers coming back with the additions of Calvin Austin and Darnell Mooney as two ballhawks that can play the slot and the perimeter and inject more speed and big-play ability into that phase of the game.

On the defensive side, which needed depth in the secondary, the Giants have answered the bell with the signing of Greg Newsome II and Ar’Darius Washington, two young players with enough experience getting after the football and finishing tackles in the box.

There is still work to be done with the offensive line and the defensive interior, but this batch of moves sure sounds like a favorable upgrade to the mostly talentless roster the Giants had to struggle through an injury-plagued 4-13 season with.

Perhaps we won’t go out on a limb and say that the best class in free agency resides in East Rutherford, but it’s refreshing to the fanbase to see the team’s leadership executing in prudent ways that will improve their competitiveness without sacrificing the long-term financial health that is always important this time of the offseason.

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