The New York Giants are coming off a 6-11 season in year two under Brian Daboll as coach. They are also now on HBO MAX Hard Knocks this year which many folks will be watching as it provides an insight into the scenes of the organization. The Giants were 9-7-1 in 2022 and won a wild-card playoff game, which gave many fans hope for a quick return to relevance, but unfortunately after a few injuries and underperforming the team once again struggled. The Giants offense struggled last year for several reasons, but averaging 15.6 points a game will not win you many football games. So today I wanted to preview the current roster at the Skills positions.
Quarterbacks
Daniel Jones:
Jones made six starts for the Giants last year before being lost for the season with his knee injury. He missed three games after making the first five starts and tore his ACL against the Raiders in his game back. Jones should be ready for camp and hopefully can return to his 2022 form. In 2022 he played in 16 games threw for 3,205 yards, 15 TDS, five interceptions, lost three fumbles, and had a 67.2 completion percentage. The best part was he ran 120 times gaining 708 yards with another seven touchdowns. In 2023 in his six games, he threw for 909 yards, two touchdowns, six interceptions, and had a 67.5 completion percentage. He added 206 yards on the ground, one touchdown, and only lost one fumble. Many people would’ve liked them to go a different direction and draft a QB, but Jones will be the starting QB this year and might have the most talented WR group he has had overall as a New York Giant, so if he can stay healthy it’s very possible he can have a return to form in 2024.
Drew Lock
Lock has been brought in by the Giants to back up Jones, Lock has gone as far as telling Charlotte Carroll of the Athletic that the Giants have told him Jones is the starter before camp starts. Lock played in four games for the Seattle Seahawks last year throwing for 543 yards with three touchdowns, and three interceptions. Lock was with the Broncos for four years before moving in the trade between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks for Russell Wilson. The most game Lock has played in a season was in 2020 for the Broncos where he played in 13 games with 2,933 yards, 16 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, and had a 57.3 completion percentage. Lock was a top QB when coming out of Missouri after the 2018 college season, but has yet to find the success he had while playing with the Tigers.
Running Backs
Devin Singletary
With Saquon Barkley leaving in free agency to play for the Division Rival Philadelphia Eagles, the Giants had to pick up an RB1. Singletary has a relationship with Head Coach Brian Daboll and General Manager Joe Schoen from his time in Buffalo with the Bills. He played last season with the Houston Texans and found success running the ball with Texans last year. In the past three seasons, Singletary has played in at least 16 games, rushed for over 800 yards, averaged over 4.2 yards a carry, with 16 rushing touch downs, and has caught over 30 passes in each of those seasons as well. Singletary might not be as flashy as Barkley, but consistent is one thing he has been. In all of the last three years, he has also split duties, so heading into this season with not much behind him on the depth chart currently it appears we could be seeing his number rise above those three-year totals previously. Ball security is another thing I was intrigued by when taking a deeper look into Singletary in the past three years he has lost only three fumbles, and all three came in the 2022 season with Buffalo. I am excited to see how 26-year-old running back fair this year back with his old Offensive coordinator from Buffalo, I personally think Giants fans are going to be pleasantly surprised with his production this year.
Eric Gray
Gray saw action last year in 13 games as a rookie out of Oklahoma, the fifth-round pick rushed for 48 yards on 17 carries last year. He also was targeted seven times and had six receptions for 22 yards. The rookie failed to find the end zone in his first year but saw minimal action while Barkley dominated the touches last season. While Gray had a successful 2022 season with the Sooners, he was unable to show signs of that success when on the field for the Giants last season. I find it hard to believe the backfield depth chart will look the same once training camp actually starts.
Tyrone Tracy
Tracy is a converted Wide Receiver out of Purdue taken by the Giants in the fifth round of this year’s NFL draft. Tracy spent the first three years of his college career playing wide receiver at Iowa, before hitting the portal and moving to Purdue to play his natural position of running back. Last year with Purdue he rushed for 716 yards and averaged 6.3 yards per carry. Due to spending three years as a wide receiver, he showed a lot of inconsistency last year at Purdue with his ability to see the field and make the cuts at times, he does have a 4.48 forty-yard dash speed which is good and has the hands out of the backfield due to his time spent at wide receiver. I will be interested in seeing how he fairs once camp starts, if he can be more decisive with his cuts and see the field better from the running back side of things he could be one to watch.
Jashaun Corbin
Corbin was mainly used as a special team player last season by the Giants. The former Florida State running back had one rushing attempt for one yard, and three catches for 12 yards last year with the Giants. I anticipate the same type of role for Corbin if he remains with the team after training camps this year.
Wide Receivers
Malik Nabers
Nabers was the sixth overall pick out of LSU in this year’s NFL draft for the Giants. Nabers was by far the number one option for Jayden Daniels last year earning 31.6 percent of the target share and had an impressive 68.5 percent catch rate which drew the Giants to the explosive wideout. Last year Nabers had 89 receptions, 1,569 yards, and 14 touchdowns on 130 targets for the Tigers. The Giants have been missing a true number-one wide receiver since the departure of Odell Beckham a few years back. Nabers will add a new dynamic to this Giants offense this year and should open things up for the rest of the crew while helping Daniel Jones improve on his passing numbers this year as well.
Darius Slayton
Slayton in the past two years has played in at least 16 games and received over 70 targets, with over 720 yards and over 45 catches in each of the past two seasons. He found the endzone four times last year while playing with three different Quarterbacks along the way. Slayton is a veteran who should have a role with the team this year, what that role will look like might depend on how the next two players I mention develop and perform in this year’s training camp.
Wan’Dale Robinson
Wan ‘Dale Robinson is heading into his third season in the league and last year played in a career-high 15 games. He had 78 targets, 60 catches, 525 yards, and one touchdown. He also added nine rushing attempts, 87 yards, and a touchdown last year. The talent and explosiveness are definitely there for Robinson and explain why last year he received the second most snaps out of all the wide receivers on the year. Robinson to me will benefit the most from Nabers joining the group, Nabers should open up the underneath and middle of the field for Robinson to run shorter routes and the option routes that could become a huge plus for Jones and the company. With all that said, the target share might come down due to the addition of Nabers which is expected given the Giants for the first time in Robinson’s short career have a true number one receiver on the roster.
Jalin Hyatt
Hyatt last year’s third-round pick out of Tennessee will be most likely bumped to a reserve role with the addition of Nabers this year. Hyatt last year had 40 targets, 23 receptions, and 373 yards on the year. The speedster showed promise, but unless the team suffers an injury will most likely settle in as the fourth wide receiver for the team.
Allen Robinson/Isiah McKenzie
Robinson Joins the Giants from the Steelers and will battle with Isiah McKenzie for the fifth wideout spot heading into training camp. Both wide receivers struggled last year and will more than likely have little to no impact on the Giants this year if all goes well. No offense to either, but if the Giants have to rely on either then that means one or two of the before mentioned have suffered injuries and that just would not bode well for this year’s Giants team.
Tight Ends
Daniel Bellinger
With Darren Waller retiring, it opens the door for Bellinger to become the number one tight end for the Giants. Bellinger was a fourth-round pick out of San Diego State in the 2022 draft. In his first season, he had 35 targets, 30 catches, 268 yards, and two touchdowns in just 12 games. Last year he played behind Waller and played in 17 games with 28 targets, 25 catches, 255 yards, and failed to find the end zone. Bellinger is a consistent option for the Giants, he isn’t flashy or going to need to be double-teamed, but he is reliable when called upon.
Theo Johnson
Johnson was a fourth-round pick out of Penn State this year for the Giants. Johnson ran a 4.57 40 at the combine this past year and had 11 touchdowns for Penn State over his final two seasons. He should walk into training camp with an opportunity to earn immediate playing time given how thin they are currently at the position. Given his athletic ability, he could very well become a better-receiving option than Bellinger when it’s all said and done this year for Daniel Jones.
Overview
While staying healthy is crucial for all 32 teams in the NFL, I think it’s even more important to say for the Giants this year given their depth right now, especially at the Quarterback and Running back positions. If Daniel Jones can stay healthy and Devin Singletary stays on the field this offense should have the ability to score more points than they did last season, I know that isn’t setting the bar very high, but they have some talented pieces on the offense. They are young at Wide Receiver but between Nabers, Robinson, and Slayton especially they all complement each other quite well. I think Nabers opens up a brand-new dimension to this offense and hopefully, we see the Giants attack down the field more than they did last season. No more dink and dunking down the field we need to see this offense gain chunks of yards at a time if we want to put up more points this year. I for one am excited like every year to see this squad hit training camp to see who sticks out and who battles their way to more playing time. Training camp is right around the corner folks!!
