With New York Giants training camp beginning in late July, BigBlueInteractive.com (BBI) breaks down each of the team’s positional groups until the players report at Quest Diagnostics Training Center.
FIND A COMPLETE LIST OF ALL BREAKDOWNS HERE
POSITIONAL BREAKDOWN: Special Teams
2023 YEAR IN REVIEW: The performance of the special teams unit was a roller coaster in the six years that Thomas McGaughey was in charge. He had good years where the unit was ranked top-10 (2019 and 2021), years where it was middle of the pack (2018 and 2020), and years where it was ranked close to the bottom (2022 and 2023). With the worst two performances coming in the last two seasons, it was no surprise that he lost his job in January.
Things went wrong from the start in 2023. The very promising first drive against the Dallas Cowboys on opening night ended with a blocked field goal that resulted in a touchdown and the team’s best offensive player (Andrew Thomas) being lost for half the season.
Graham Gano, who arguably had been the team’s best player over a three-year period, suffered a knee injury that hampered him until he was finally placed on Injured Reserve in early November. Gano had his most disappointing season as a Giant and finished 11-of-17 (64.7 percent) on field goal attempts. He also missed a 35-yard field goal against the Jets which cost the team the game.
The way the Joe Schoen, Brian Daboll, and McGaughey handled the return game was head-scratching and not a good look. The Giants oddly cut Jamison Crowder and retained Sterling Shepard. Not only did Crowder end up being a more productive receiver for Washington, he was a staple of their special teams as a punt returner (including a 61-yard return) while Shepard was a non-factor on offense and specials. Worse, the team force-fed Eric Gray into the punt return role, something he did not do in college, and the results were predictable and costly. Gray fumbled twice in four games and was benched. Shepard then fielded punts in one game and promptly fumbled. In desperation, the Giants did something they should have done from the start and obtained a dedicated returner (Gunner Olszewski). The Giants then quickly went from 4 yards per punt return to 12. Olszewski also returned a punt for a 94-yard touchdown. Fancy that.
The kickoff return was practically eliminated with Parris Campbell only returning eight kicks and Gray returning four. Neither stood out in their few attempts.
There were a few bright spots. In his second season as the team’s punter, Jamie Gillan markedly improved, raising his net punting average from 39.7 in 2022 to 42.3 in 2023 (tied for 13th in the NFL). He also reduced his touchback percentage from 12.2 percent to 4.2 percent with 35 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. This despite groin and knee injuries late in the season that noticeably hampered his punting.
The Giants were also good at covering punts, seventh overall, holding opponents to under 7 yards per return. They were middle-of-the-pack in covering kickoffs. The team’s top special teams tacklers were Carter Coughlin (9), Cam Brown (8), Darnay Holmes (7), Isaiah Simmons (6), and Nick McCloud (6).
ADDITIONS/SUBTRACTIONS: The biggest change came at the top with Thomas McGaughey being replaced by 36-year old Michael Ghobrial, who was an assistant with the Jets. This will be his first time being a special teams coordinator in the NFL (he was the top guy at two college programs).
The Giants re-signed long-snapper Casey Kreiter and returner Gunner Olszewski. They also brought back top special teams tacklers Carter Coughlin, Darnay Holmes, Isaiah Simmons, and Nick McCloud.
Cam Brown departed in free agency and the Giants had no interest in re-signing Gano’s three replacements (Mason Crosby, Cade York, and Randy Bullock). Parris Campbell also left in free agency. The team did sign international player and kickoff specialist Jude McAtamney after the draft.
Players with special teams backgrounds signed from other teams in free agency included WR Isaiah McKenzie (returner), TE Jack Stoll, WR Miles Boykin, ILB Matthew Adams, and S Elijah Riley. Rookies selected in the draft or signed who may have a significant role on special teams include S Tyler Nubin, CB Andru Phillips, RB Tyrone Tracy, LB Darius Muasau, RB Dante Miller, and WR Ayir Asante.
TRAINING CAMP STORY LINES: Because it is new, much attention will be focused on the new kickoffs, which were adopted from the XFL. Kickoffs will thus become an important part of the game again, but probably better suited to a player with more RB-style skills. During the spring mini-camp, the kickoff returners were RB Devin Singletary, RB Dante Miller, RB Tyrone Tracy, WR Ayir Asante, and WR Wan’Dale Robinson. The punt returners were Isaiah McKenzie and Ayir Asante (Gunner Olszewski was sidelined with an injury that he suffered in OTAs). The assumption is the Giants learned their lesson about not having a returner with experience on the roster. Who wins the kickoff and punt return jobs is completely open.
But a situation to closely monitor is Graham Gano. The 37-year old kicker is coming off his worst year as a Giant, largely assumed due to the knee injury. His only current competition is a kickoff specialist who wasn’t his college’s field goal kicker in his final season.
ON THE BUBBLE: Barring something unforeseen, Graham Gano will be the kicker. Jamie Gillan will be the punter. And Casey Kreiter will be the long snapper. Some spots on the roster are almost completely dependent on how much special teams value a player has, including Isaiah McKenzie, Gunner Olszewski, Miles Boykin, Carter Coughlin, Matthew Adams, Dante Miller, and Ayir Asante.
FROM THE COACHES: Special Teams Coordinator Michael Ghobrial on the new kickoff returns: “It’s going to look more like the offensive run game than people think. The NFL has taken the speed and space out of it and there is just less space to necessarily get as creative with your blocking schemes as you would think.”
Ghobrial on Tyrone Tracy and Dante Miller: “Man, you talk about two young bucks that I’m excited to see what they do in preseason. Both of them just tremendous human beings, number one, and so excited, so eager to put their best foot forward. Both have such a skillset to be good returners in this league.”
Ghobrial on Graham Gano: “I’m so excited to work with Graham. Number one, he’s a tremendous person to have in the room, a guy that’s seen a lot of football. He has great foot accuracy. You obviously see the explosive leg. So it’s been fun to work with him and to see his skillset in terms of the kickoff and field goal stuff. I’m excited for him to start off day one with us.”
FINAL THOUGHTS: The quality of the kickers matter. And as we saw last season, you have to have a returner with actual return skills and experience (remarkable that I have to type that sentence). But special teams performance may be more about coaching than any other part of the team. So in my mind, much depends on whether Michael Ghobrial is the real deal or not. He wasn’t the team’s first choice. They tried to interview three other candidates and were rebuffed. They also decided to go with with him over Larry Izzo, who was then hired by Washington.
There have only been a few kickers during my Giants football life who I’ve felt almost completely comfortable with. There were a couple who were only blips on the radar like John Carney and Morten Andersen. Of course there was Matt Bahr. And while Lawrence Tynes had his shaky moments, his clutch kicks will always bring him to mind. Perhaps better than all was the three-year span Graham Gano had from 2020 to 2022. If you had to pick any of these guys from 50 yards, he’d be my guy. Hopefully, 2023 was an aberration.
Jamie Gillan got noticeably better last year. That was lost in a bad year with a lot of other story lines.
As mentioned above, the kick returns are now a crazy version of a running play. I’m predicting a lot of chaos as the league tries to figure this out. And don’t forget these returns have to be defended more like a running play too (think gap control).
There are young, on-the-bubble players who really can make a mark for themselves and win a roster spot based on special teams play alone. Dante Miller and Ayir Asante immediately come to mind. Don’t sleep on Asante. He made noise at wide receiver in the spring and it is notable he is on both the punt and kickoff return teams. Before he tore his ACL, Bryce Ford-Wheaton was pushing for a roster spot as a receiver and gunner too last year. There are also some direct head-to-head battles here such as Carter Coughlin versus Matthew Adams, the latter receiving more guaranteed money. Do the Giants also keep a stud at gunner like Miles Boykin over a player with more receiving talent? Same story with punt returner and Gunner Olszewski. Tough decisions.
FINAL DEPTH CHART: Graham Gano, Jamie Gillan, Casey Kreiter (Jude McAtamney will make the Practice Squad as the international player designation).
(Due to my previous roster predictions at other positions, my earlier prediction is for Tyrone Tracy to be the kickoff returner and Isaiah McKenzie to be the punt returner. I also predicted players such as Carter Coughlin, Miles Boykin, Nick McCloud, Darnay Holmes, Darius Muasau, and Jack Stoll making the roster, among others).