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The New York Giants went hog wild in free agency and had a strong draft last week in Cleveland. So, how much have they improved over last year?
At the end of the 2020 season, the Giants were officially ranked 22nd in the NFL with a 6-10 record, hence they held the 11th pick in this year’s draft.
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In Touchdown Wire’s post draft power rankings, all the Giants’ maneuvering hasn’t moved the needle at all, per columnist Doug Farrar.
23: New York Giants
Two things happened in the 2021 draft we’re not at all used to: Giants general manager Dave Gettleman kept trading down, and the picks Gettleman and his staff made weren’t really called into question. There were a lot of A’s and A-pluses for a guy whose transactions have generally been seen as … well, capricious. Gettleman has been saying since January that he wants to get as many weapons as possible for quarterback Daniel Jones, and Florida’s Kadarius Toney certainly qualifies. Between Toney and former Lions receiver Kenny Golladay, acquired in free agency, Jones is going to be light on excuses. And Georgia pass rusher Azeez Ojulari in the second round is a great value pick. Ojulari is more about athletic potential than dominant technique at this point, but defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has proven the ability to scheme up his lines as well as anybody in the league.
The Giants finished 6-10 a season ago, and as much as they’ve improved, they’ll struggle to move too far past that if Jones doesn’t make the jump the team has set him up to achieve.
The bottom line here is….we still have to see results. Farrar is correct in not placing the Giants further up in the rankings while not dropping them too far down, either.
The Giants have been changing the faces for several years now and have not really changed their place in the standings. When they prove they can win consistently and Jones can play cleaner and more efficiently, then pundits will begin to have more confidence is their future.