QUARTERBACK
Drew Lock: 22/29 – 138 yards / 1 TD – 1 INT / 82.3 RAT
The streak I mentioned last week lives on. Lock has never had consecutive 100+ passer rating games in the NFL. There’s always next year…Kidding aside, there was not much to evaluate with Lock. They were obviously keeping things low risk and a bit run-heavy. His 3.7 yard average depth-of-target was the second-lowest in the league. The pass protection was solid despite the fact all five linemen started the year as backups or on the street. He got the ball out faster (2.25 seconds on average) than every Week 18 quarterback league-wide.
Lock is a free agent, and I think NYG will keep him in a holding pattern, hovering around headquarters as a last-resort starter or competitive backup. The quarterback situation (Priority A for everybody) will be touched on below, but I would put it as a coin flip when it comes to him being in a Giants uniform next year. There is at least some value in having a veteran around who knows the system and some of the players, especially for a team that is in a “win or else” situation.
RUNNING BACK
Tyrone Tracy: 14 att – 59 yards / 2 rec – 7 yards
Tracy had some tough running assignments early on and he created extra yards from them. The end-zone angle of the tape was impressive and even though the stat line didn’t stand out, I thought he ran well. Forty-seven of his yards came after contact and his pass blocking continued to make a positive difference.
Tracy ended the year as the second-leading rookie rusher in the NFL. The Ourlads All-Rookie Team (2024 season) comes out soon and I’ll spoil it: he made the it (second-team). And it wasn’t even close (in both directions). Tracy’s 1,123 total yards ranked fifth in franchise history. Not bad for a fifth-round pick who played running back for one season in college. Now, the situation created a lot of that, but this is a home-run draft pick if he keeps it up. The biggest hurdle? Four fumbles and six drops are way too many and we are looking at one of the best running back classes in the 2025 Draft that I’ve ever seen. He and Devin Singletary should be a part of the 2025 backfield, but neither are guys I’m making draft decisions around.
WIDE RECEIVER
-Malik Nabers: 5 rec – 64 yards / 1 TD
Nabers capped off his historic rookie season finishing as the league’s all-time leading pass catcher among rookie wide receivers. He passed Odell Beckham for the NYG record and Puka Nacua for the league record. Had it not been for Raiders tight end Brock Bowers, he would be atop the all-time rookie leaderboard all positions. His 45-yard touchdown was, for the second week in a row, all on him. He adjusted to a poorly-thrown ball and maintained balance after taking a hit before tight-roping the sideline.
If you told me in August that Nabers was going to set these records (despite playing less than a full season), I would have had much higher expectations for this offense overall. Knowing he did this with a combination of four different quarterbacks would have made it hard to believe. In an almost-unreal level of league rookie receiving production in 2024, he trailed only Brian Thomas Jr. (his college teammate) in yards. There isn’t much to like about the NYG offense right now, but they have the makings of a credible number one receiver. There are only a handful of them in the NFL.
-Wan’Dale Robinson finished with 10 catches, impressive. But for just 43 yards, impressive in the other direction. Robinson did lead the NFL in third-down catches for what it’s worth. But he also finished with a league-low 7.5 yards per catch among the 110 receivers who had over 34 targets this year. He also dropped his seventh pass of the year, tied for fifth-most in the NFL. Darius Slayton did not catch a single pass and ended with three catches over his final four games. He, too, dropped his seventh pass of the year but his 15.2% drop rate was fifth-worst in the league.
TIGHT END
-Daniel Bellinger caught 2 passes. for 9 yards, while Chris Manhertz added one catch for 16 yards, the second-longest gain of the day on his only target. Both made a solid impact early on as run blockers, but it started to fall off a bit in the second half. With the strong tight end group incoming next draft, this is another spot worth looking to upgrade based on how they are going to build the offense around a new quarterback.
OFFENSIVE LINE
-This was the tenth-different starting offensive line of the season for NYG, a league-high. Not one player was a starter at the beginning of the season. Evan Neal was out, so Tyre Phillips made a return. He allowed 3 pressures, but for a guy who has not played since last year and for a big guy that was coming off a late 2023-injury, he played to his style. His ability to displace a defensive lineman is still there. Jermaine Eluemunor is a sneaky-important guy moving forward. He started at left tackle and allowed just one pressure – a play Lock got hit on. But his very solid performance at right tackle and good enough replacement level at left tackle can make everyone sleep decently at night when it comes to the pass protection in 2025.
-The starting guards were undrafted rookie Josh Ezeudu and Jake Kubas, who struggled against the PHI defensive tackles who are a part of their rotation even when the starters are playing. His reaction speed is overly slow, and he did not maintain power with lateral movement and adjustments; he allowed 3 pressures. Ezeudu, a guy I want to see at guard more, played inside for the first time since his rookie season. He is a potential solution at right guard next season. His power was obvious in the run game, but he did allow 2 pressures and struggled to maintain balance. I hope we have seen the last of him at tackle.
-Greg Van Roten allowed 2 TFL and 2 pressures from the center position. While we have seen worse over the years and I do see value in his versatility, this is a guy who needs to walk in the offseason. There is no future with him, and you can find his equivalent every August if need be.
EDGE
-Kayvon Thibodeaux and his splash plays can make him a maddening evaluation as a pro. More on him below. He finished with 1.5 sacks and 4 pressures. Two of the pressures were on bootlegs where the blocker released him. While the stat line will impress some, it overshadowed just how ineffective he was. He and Brian Burns played just 36 snaps as they gave more snaps to the backups. Burns had 3 pressures (2 on unblocked bootlegs) and 2 tackles.
-Boogie Basham saw a season high 32 snaps and had 3 pressures along with a tackle. I watched this guy in college a lot and he’s been here for a couple years now. He is a very hard guy to figure out. The ability to set the edge is real and that is useful in every scheme. But he does not play twitchy or explosive. He has 4 pressures on 125 pass rush snaps since becoming a Giant. That is off-the-charts awful. Tomon Fox added some solid run defense but did not win any one-on-one’s in pass rush situations. When a team has multiple edge rushers incapable of consistent impact on the passer, problems will almost always follow.
DEFENSIVE LINE
-Elijah Garcia flashed yet again. He has a half-sack and two pressures that were based purely on his power. This is a guy who does not play with the best pad level, but his play-strength is so solid and he can finish. For a team that needs to add talent to their defensive line, Garcia is the one late addition they made that I think should be in the discussion.
-Jordon Riley played stout run defense inside, showing powerful and fast stack/shed ability. He made a really nice play in the third quarter that displayed exactly what you want to see from this kind of player. Rakeem Nunez-Roches, who has one year left on his deal at a too-high $5 million cap number, finished with 4 tackles and a pressure. This is the guy who will likely need to be replaced if they want a real presence along the line next to Dexter Lawrence.
-The potential wildcard here is Elijah Chatman, the undrafted rookie we all got excited about after the Houston preseason game. He finished the year with a few solid performances, and even though I was down on him earlier in the season, he showed enough to be in the discussion. His issues in run defense are there, no question. He is going to be a one-dimensional guy. But that one-dimension is something that I want the NYG to build an identity around, and that is the pass rush. He finished fourth among NFL rookies in pressures from the inside, just two less than Seattle first rounder Byron Murphy, and one more than Washington second rounder Jer’Zhan Newton.
LINEBACKER
-Darius Muasau finished the year strong. He got more and more comfortable as the year went forward. He finished with 8 tackles, one of which went for a loss. Dyontae Johnson also flashed a couple times in the first half. In his first NFL regular season action, he led the team with 10 tackle, with three of them right at the point-of-attack. His tape was really ugly and really pretty. The flashes will keep him around. He looked like a lost puppy in coverage and allowed 7-of-8 passes his way to be completed, but his game was essentially mistake free. The linebacker room is strong moving forward.
-Ty Summers and Isaiah Simmons rotated in with both flashing. Summers had 3 tackles, and Simmons had a QB hit. Safe to say the Simmons experiment and dream hasn’t brought much to the table.
CORNERBACK
-A back-and-forth game for the back-and-forth rookie Andru Phillips. He finished with 4 tackles and a pass break-up. He missed a tackle and was flagged for an offsides penalty on a 4th-and-inches. Had this been a real big game, that would have crushed this defense. All in, Phillips had a solid year but there was a wide spectrum that we will likely have to get used to with his style of play. If he can create more turnovers, that kind of thing is easier to tolerate. He does make this defense more physical, though.
-Deonte Banks was solid in coverage. He broke up two passes and allowed just a short comeback route to be completed. He did make a few business decisions against the run. Something about his play style irks me. He doesn’t play like a guy who feels the need to prove himself and to be frank, he absolutely needs to prove himself. Banks ended the year with a 124.4 passer rating allowed. It was the fifth-worst in the NFL among the 113 corners who played over 200 coverage snaps.
-Divaad Wilson, a 2023 undrafted free agent, got his first action of the season and flashed a couple of times. While the lack of quickness in coverage was obvious, he made two physical plays (one against the run, one after a pass). He also broke up a pass.
-Cor’Dale Flott and Adoree’ Jackson played 39 and 27 snaps, respectively. Jackson is heading toward free agency again, but he can still play in that important #4-5 role. Flott is a guy who has flashed enough to warrant a look in whatever scheme is being implemented next season. While I prefer a corner to play bigger, his movement traits and ability to remain sticky are not easy to find.
SAFETY
-Jason Pinnock may have played his final game as a Giant. I think he is a solid player, but the scheme exposed his lack of coverage and play-making ability. That was a huge missing piece in this scheme. There were only a dozen safeties with one pass break up and zero interceptions this season. Pinnock was one. Nubin was one. This is a low-key need for this roster.
-Dane Belton ended the year strong and I have enough hope for him. He had 4 tackles, and a pass break-up, and a 10-yard run on a successful fake punt. Where was that in the beginning of the year? Anyway, Belton is a football player. He fits the fast and physical style I want and while the mistakes do show up often (he allowed a touchdown and missed a special teams tackle), he is a guy I would like to see play more.
SPECIAL TEAMS
-K Graham Gano: 2/2 (Made 25, 53)
-P Jamie Gillan: 3 punts / 40.0 avg – 40.0 net
*Returner Ihmir Smith-Marsette flashed yet again as a returner. In a second-half of the season full of recurring nightmares, his play-making ability may have been overlooked by too many. Remember, Bill Parcells said making your special teams one of the best in the league is worth 2-3 wins a year. Of the 42 kick returners with over five returns on the year, his 34.6 yard average was second best. He had a 25-yard punt return in this game. This spot has been a disaster under this regime and the answer may already be in the building.
3 STUDS
-WR Malik Nabers, OT Jermaine Eluemunor, DT Elijah Garcia
3 DUDS
-OC Greg Van Roten, OG Jake Kubas, WR Darius Slayton
3 THOUGHTS ON PHI
(1) One sign you’re a really good team? Double digit wins three straight years. Another sign you’re a really good team? You’re slept on despite having the second-best point differential in the NFL. PHI was 2-2 heading into their Week 5 bye. They lost to Atlanta and barely beat New Orleans. Since then, they’re 12-1, with their only loss being a crazy 3-point loss on the road in Washington. I wouldn’t want to play against a really good defense in the playoffs. They’re #1 in total yards and #2 in points allowed. I wouldn’t want to play against a really good running game in the playoffs. They are #2 in rushing yards and have the best back in football. Philadelphia is one of the most underrated 14-win teams I have ever seen, and I would pick them over Detroit in the playoffs. Yup.
(2) Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore is getting interviewed for yet another head coaching job. It is only a matter of time. New Orleans (who is interviewing Moore) will be joining NYG in the quarterback market and this is a guy that has coached Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, and Dak Prescott. He excels at maintaining a balanced attack, but the thing he can hold onto is his run-game success. He had Dallas top-ten league-wide in rushing every season he was on that staff other than the year Prescott missed 11 games with the leg injury. And we know what he is doing on the ground this season in PHI.
(3) NYG is light years away from being in the discussion with the Eagles as a franchise. While things can change in a hurry, that truth will remain for a few years at least. But the question is whether or not Jalen Hurts puts a ceiling on this team’s potential. It seems every season that passes, the league understands more and more how to defend him.
3 CLOSING THOUGHTS
(1) I will start off with the elephant in the room. As I expected, the package deal of Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen will return in 2025. Agree or disagree? I see both sides. In 2022, they inherited a complete disaster, and everyone knows it. They gimmicked their way through an easy schedule and won a playoff game. That was the highest this organization had been in a long time. 2023 was a complete disaster much attributed to injuries, including a starting quarterback the owner clearly believed in. Easy to see anyone getting a pass in that scenario. 2024 comes and delivers a direct punch to the goods. Not only did the quarterback and season fall apart, but the face of the franchise left for Philadelphia and made Mara’s nightmare come true. A 14-loss season is enough for almost anyone to get fired. Why didn’t they? I strongly feel the Daniel Jones decision came from ownership more than the package deal from Buffalo. And I think this is Mara accepting that blame knowing he somewhat tied their hands behind their backs. While that does not fully excuse some of their other mistakes, we all know the quarterback steers the ship. Now, they get one shot to fix it, whether that is realistic or not.
(2) Think beyond the quarterback for a second. What is the second biggest decision on this roster? I think it is a no brainer. What are you doing with the fifth-year option of Kayvon Thibodeaux? The first pick of this regime at #5 overall has not given what many were hoping for. He has 21 sacks over his first three seasons. His pressure rate and run defense have been average at best. Thibodeaux has been too good to call a complete bust, but he has been too inconsistent to call him a foundational player. I compared him to Harold Landry (2nd rounder for the Titans) in 2022 prior to the draft. He had 19 sacks after three years before a breakout season. While I do think that could be in the cards for Thibodeaux, the odds are a no for me, and I think they need to decline the option along with Evan Neal. And you put edge rusher right under QB for the team need list.
(3) This will be an interesting offseason to follow; maybe the most interesting we have seen since Eli retired. Daboll and Schoen will need at least 8 wins in my opinion to keep their jobs. They are going to have to “shop hungry” and they are in desperate need of a quarterback. They have two proven All-Pro talents and a play-maker who just set records. They have the 3rd pick in the draft. I look forward to discussing the puzzle with you guys in the coming months. Here is my gut feeling:
They will sign the top available QB on the market, and draft a difference-maker at another position in the draft. I think the recent success of veterans getting new life with a new organization will lead these guys to believe they can get the job done using that template. Russell Wilson in PIT, Geno Smith in SEA, Baker Mayfield in TB, Sam Darnold in MIN. Whether you agree or not, I think Daboll views himself as the caliber of mastermind who can take someone with talent and find the untapped upside. Wilson and Darnold are (small) possibilities. But the name I think he will want to work with is Justin Fields with either a Garoppolo (he was with Daboll in NE) or Lock-type backup. That will leave the #3 pick open for a brand-new pass rusher (or Travis Hunter) and then the freedom to use their Day 2 picks on immediate impact, best-player-available types like what they got in Phillips + Nubin last year. Free up some money to grab a defensive lineman or cornerback, try a new defensive coordinator, create a hungry Thibodeaux + Neal and see what happens. Without going too deep, this is what I see
Let WR Darius Slayton walk in free agency
Release DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches
Sign QB Fields (PIT) – mid tier money
Sign CB Byron Murphy (MIN) – high tier money
Sign DT Osa Odighizuwa – low tier money
Draft Round 1 ED Abdul Carter (Penn State)
Draft Round 2 OG Tyler Booker (Alabama)
Draft Round 3 DT Derrick Harmon (Oregon)
Draft Round 4 WR Tory Horton (Colorado State)
….etc
I want to thank you all for another season of good NYG discussion and reflection. And thank you Eric for the opportunity. On to the offseason – the busiest time of the year.
