[jwplayer XxxCES6k]
The New York Giants have been bad for a long time, selecting in the top 10 in five of the previous six NFL Drafts. And while there is now some optimism brewing in East Rutherford, the fact remains: they have a first-time head coach and will enter the 2020 regular season having experienced one of the most bizarre offseasons in league history.
The odds are most certainly stacked against the Giants this year, and for that reason, Pro Football Focus has given them the fourth-highest probability to land the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
NEW YORK GIANTS: 7.0%
The Giants check a lot of boxes here; they are breaking in a new head coach and a coordinator, and their quarterback is young and coming off an encouraging (while not necessarily good) rookie season. Daniel Jones was in the top five in the NFL a season ago in passes charted as “catchable, but inaccurate,” but he led the league in fumbles.
Andrew Thomas should help things, but the league’s fourth-least valuable defense got only marginally better with the acquisitions of James Bradberry and Xavier McKinney, meaning there will be a lot of pressure on the second-year player from Duke and his new coordinator, Jason Garrett, to score points. I’m skeptical.
Out of the overflowing box of reasons why the Giants could stumble to the NFL’s worst record in 2020, the very last one we would have chosen was Daniel Jones.
In fact, Jones is one of the reasons to be encouraged by the Giants this season, but I digress…
The three teams PFF has given a higher probability of landing the No. 1 overall pick next year are the Los Angeles Chargers (7.4%), Carolina Panthers (7.6%) and Jacksonville Jaguars (10.6%).
The New York Jets checked in just behind the Giants at 6.3%, while the Washington Football Team was given a 5.7% chance to earn the first overall pick in 2021.
[lawrence-related id=654473,654425,654460]