The New York Giants dealt with a slew of issues during the 2019 season, ultimately leading to the team finishing with a 4-12 record that was the second-worst in the NFC East, and the fourth-worst in the NFL overall.
Fast forward to 2020 and the Giants have made some improvements on both sides of the ball, but are those improvements enough for them to see an increase in wins?
Well, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox thinks so. While his projection certainly isn’t pretty, he does have the Giants improving by two games and finishing with a 6-10 record this coming season.
Super Bowl Odds: 50-1
Rookie New York Giants head coach Joe Judge has a tough task ahead of him. He’s taking over a 4-12 team with a young quarterback who has fumbling issues—Daniel Jones had 18 of them last season—and a defense that ranked just 30th in points allowed.
However, the Giants should be able to show some signs of progress as long as Judge can get more out of his roster than Pat Shurmur did before him.
Jones is surrounded by offensive playmakers like Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard, Evan Engram, Darius Slayton and, of course, Saquon Barkley. While his offensive line is questionable, he will have an opportunity to take a big step forward in Year 2.
Defensively, the Giants should be able to show a little life, as well. New York signed James Bradberry to be its new No. 1 corner and also added defenders like Nate Ebner, Kyler Fackrell, Blake Martinez and David Mayo.
Expect the Giants to be relevant in the NFC East—if not a legitimate contender for the division crown.
Prediction: 6-10
Another addition not mentioned by Knox is the team’s selection of offensive tackle Andrew Thomas, who should help improve things upfront; although Thomas may be looking at a bigger role than originally expected now that left tackle Nate Solder has opted out.
The potential loss of cornerback Deandre Baker, who finds himself in legal hot water and may not play in 2020, could be huge. If the Giants really want to improve upon their 2019 record, stabilizing a pass defense that was among the league’s worst will be paramount, especially if the pass-rush doesn’t see a big boost.
Sure, the team added fellow corner James Bradberry in free agency, but is lacking dependable and experienced depth beyond him. Baker was supposed to be the No. 2 corner and would have put the Giants in a better position to succeed defensively, but he may not get that chance.
Despite that issue, the Giants seem to be in a better position overall than they were in 2019, and if they can remain healthy and see their young players take that next step, Big Blue should see a few more wins at least.
Having a new head coach at the helm in Joe Judge should also help lead to better results, as the team has nowhere to go but up in terms of head coaching leadership after the disastrous tenure of Pat Shurmur.
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