After a successful 2022 campaign, Big Blueheads into the offseason with the #25 pick. There will be much activity before it’s their turn to pick so it will be hard to say what direction they will go. One school of thought is to draft an area of need like wide receiver, cornerback, linebacker or center. Another thought is to draft the best player available regardless of position. One thing I don’t believe they will do is to trade up as I don’t think they want to give up valuable draft capital in the process. Another pressing concern at this time is the salary cap once they address their high profile free agents. They will have over $50MM under the cap but expect some salary cuts and contract restructuring along the way to address their current players under contract.

QB Daniel Jones is a free agent. He had his best year statistically as HC Brian Daboll and OC Mike Kafka designed an offense that suited his skill set. This was achieved without any outside weapons. The Giants do not want to tag Jones as 100% of the 32MM will hit this year’s cap. Ideally they can come to an agreement on a long term deal. Jones recently changed representation and there has been much discussion about his current contract demands. Based on his performance last year and further anticipated growth, he should be compensated accordingly. My feeling is $35-38MM a year. He is not a $45MM quarterback, at least not yet. The next 2 weeks will be critical as these contract negotiations continue. Make no mistake, Jones is their priority. Playoff caliber teams always have good/great quarterbacks. It’s the most important position on the team.

RB Saquon Barkley is the other key free agent to be signed. Unfortunately, I don’t think it will happen before a Jones deal is done. Once Jones is signed, Saquon’s deal needs to be measured against the overall pool of money needed to continue improving the roster. Unfortunately, due to their short shelf life, running backs are not highly compensated. I think $14MM per year is a good # for Saquon but I don’t know if the Giants could afford that. If not, they will have to let him walk and look at signing a free agent & drafting a running back. It would pain me greatly to see Saquon go as he is an explosive weapon on the field and a class act off the field. If he is not signed, the offensive weapons for this team better be significantly upgraded. Saquon’s injury history in spite of a healthy 2022 will work against him in contract negotiations unfortunately.

The receiving corps will be getting a major facelift and it is much needed. Young WR Isiah Hodgins was given a very cheap one year deal. He showed promise at the end of last year but at best he is a #2 receiver. WR WanDale Robinson tore his ACL in November and likely will miss training camp & the early part of the season. Veteran WR Sterling Shepard also is coming off an ACL injury and I don’t see him coming back unless it is a very cheap one year prove it deal. WR Kenny Golladay will be cut to free up some critical cap space. What a horrible signing that proved to be. I do think WR Darius Slayton will be signed as he proved himself to the new coaching staff. He also will be relatively inexpensive. Big WR Collin Johnson was having a great training camp until he tore his Achilles. If he comes back strong, it will be a nice bonus. I think they will draft a receiver in Round 2 or 3 if they don’t draft one in Round 1. The safest 1^st round pick is WR Jordan Addison from USC as he seems to possess a solid overall skill set. Unfortunately, he might not be there at 25. WR Zay Flowers is another name I see in many mock drafts but he is a WanDale Robinson clone. WR Jalin Hyatt from Tennessee is a deep threat but needs work with his route running.

TE Daniel Bellinger has promise, but will he get a running mate in the draft? The tight end position is deep and I wouldn’t be surprised if they drafted a move tight end in the 3^rd or 4^th round.

This is now DL Dexter Lawrence’s defense after his breakout campaign in 2022, he needs to be extended! At his size, it’s amazing the things he can do. DL Leonard Williams will be restructured as his cap hit in 2023 is brutal.DE Azeez Ojulari needs to stay healthy to provide an impressive bookend pass rush with LB Kayvon Thibideaux.

The G-Men might address the linebacker position in the draft as the current group proved to be less than adequate in stopping the run. Unfortunately, the days of having a big middle linebacker every down are over so they will need to scour the current draft class to see if there is someone worth drafting. Remember, they have LB Darrian Beavers coming back from an ACL injury, they were very high on him in training camp but you can’t count on guys coming back from serious injuries. It will be gravy if he can contribute.

The Giants will draft a cornerback somewhere in the first 3 rounds. Fortunately, it is a deep group this year. CB Adoree Jackson might be in line for a contract restructure too.

That’s it for now. More to come in March….

End.