The New York Giants have completely rebuilt their team over the past several years, which is evident by wide receiver Sterling Shepard (27) entering 2020 as the longest-tenured player on the team.
As a result of the rebuild, the Giants are also among the youngest teams in the league. And their under-25 talent, led by superstar running back Saquon Barkley, stacks up against any of the 31 other teams.
In fact, ESPN believes the Giants’ under-25 talent is second to only the Baltimore Ravens.
The Giants are not the Ravens. While the latter climbed to the top of the list on the strength of exceptional talent evaluation and development, the former reached their place in the rankings with volume. GM Dave Gettleman inherited a three-win Giants team with the No. 2 pick in 2018, made a slew of trades and acquisitions in opposition to analytics, and earned two more top-six picks on the heels of five- and four-win seasons. And yet, Gettleman could have the last laugh. He might not have maximized his return on investment in Saquon Barkley and Dexter Lawrence at their draft positions in the first round. But Barkley again broke a tackle on more than one-fifth of his touches in 2019 and looks like a generational running back at still just 23 years old. And with 18 hurries in his rookie season, Lawrence showed surprising versatility for a player who looks the part of an old-school run-stopper.
But it’s not just Barkley and defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence who stand out. The Giants also have a franchise quarterback in Daniel Jones, a potential franchise left tackle in Andrew Thomas, breakout wide receiver Darius Slayton and an absolute rock in guard Will Hernandez.
They also have tight end Evan Engram and defensive lineman B.J. Hill, who only just recently hit the age of 25.
Left guard Will Hernandez has a standout 1.3% blown block rate in his two professional seasons. First- and third-round tackles Andrew Thomas and Matt Peart will hopefully slow the pass rush that had few problems beating big-money free agent Nate Solder (4.0% blown block rate) in 2019; Solder has opted out for 2020. And at receiver, fifth-round sophomore Darius Slayton might not replace Beckham, but his 9.6% DVOA rookie season showcased badly needed efficiency and field-stretching to complement a core of skill talent that otherwise does its best work near the line of scrimmage.
In the secondary, there’s the young combination of Jabrill Peppers and Xavier McKinney, which has elite potential. And that depth is padded by do-it-all man, Julian Love.
The team has several young assets on that side of the ball, especially at safety where Julian Love’s outstanding substitute play in late 2019 leaves the team with an extra option at the position with Jabrill Peppers poised to return healthy and second-round steal Xavier McKinney poised to start immediately in his rookie season.
It’s been a rough ride for the Giants since 2011, but things are beginning to look up. The team is stacked with young, quality talent, and that’s a testament to the much-maligned Dave Gettleman. He may catch a seemingly endless amount of flack for his sometimes strange decisions, but there’s no denying he now has the Giants well-positioned.
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