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Heading into this offseason, the New York Giants’ main objective was to get their young quarterback, Daniel Jones, some legitimate weapons to work with in 2021 and beyond.
Jones threw only 11 touchdowns in 14 starts last season in leading the Giants to a 6-10 record and 31st overall in total offense. That, apparently, isn’t going tot cut it again this year so general manager Dave Gettleman went out and added some much needed firepower to help Jones become the franchise quarterback they still hope he can be.
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In fact, the Giants were among the team who helped their quarterback the most this offseason.
“New York made three sizable acquisitions at the skill positions this offseason,” writes Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports. “They were able to sign former Lions receiver Kenny Golladay, a Pro Bowler in 2019 after catching a league-high 11 touchdowns. They also signed tight end Kyle Rudolph, a two-time Pro Bowler during his decade in Minnesota. In the draft, the Giants spent a first-round pick on receiver Kadarius Toney, who caught 10 touchdowns during his final season at Florida.
“Each player should help in the continued growth of Daniel Jones, who will also have former Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley back in the fold after he missed most of 2020 with an injury. New York’s offense is also welcoming back receivers Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard (the Giants’ top-two receivers in 2020) and Pro Bowl tight end Evan Engram.”
Those augmentations now put the onus squarely on Jones and the offensive line, which the team hopes will grow into a solid unit after a transition year.
The bottom line is that the pass protection must improve vastly in order for Jones to operate and take the next step. The Giants did practically nothing to bolster the line this offseason citing they were pleased with the progress the unit is making.
The Giants hired a new O-line coach (Rob Sale) and brought back Pat Flaherty — Tom Coughlin’s long-time offensive line coach — as a consultant, but the fact remains center Nick Gates still has a ways to go, guard Will Hernandez has to reestablish himself and last year’s three rookies (tackles Andrew Thomas, Matt Peart and guard Shane Lemieux) are still very much unproven.
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