5 Biggest Questions About NY Giants Offense Ahead of Week 1 Opener

Quarterback play, injury concerns, and play calling top our list of the five most pressing questions about the New York Giants ahead of their Week 1 opener.

The New York Giants begin the season Sunday against the Washington Commanders. | Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As the New York Giants begin to work on game prep ahead of the 2025 NFL Kickoff Weekend, here’s a look at some of the unanswered questions on offense that spilled over from the Giants’ otherwise impressive preseason showing.

Will Andrew Thomas be ready?

New York Giants offensive tackle Andrew Thomas | Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

The Giants are a far better offensive unit with left tackle Andrew Thomas on the field than they are without him, and in case you don’t fully trust your eyes to confirm that, the numbers back that up. 

Last season, New York experienced significant dips in rushing yardage per game without Thomas, averaging 67.5 yards per game, compared to 105.8 yards per game with him. 

They also averaged 5.2 net yards per play without him, versus 5.8 net yards with him, and saw their sacks per pass attempt increase from 6.4% with him to 9.2% without him.

Thomas, for his part, has been reluctant to say when he’d be back on the field. He revealed last week that he had a second surgical procedure in April to have the screw that was inserted into his foot removed, a procedure that undoubtedly added to his recovery time.

If Thomas isn’t ready to go–and it sounds like he might not be–the question then becomes when we might see him back on the field and how long the Giants offense can function without him protecting quarterback Russell Wilson’s blind side? 

Can the Giants get a full season out of Malik Nabers?

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) runs a route during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Besides Thomas, receiver Malik Nabers, the Giants’ first 1,000-yard receiver since Odell Beckham Jr. accomplished the feat in 2018, is just as important to the team’s success on offense. 

However, questions linger regarding the health of the Giants’ top receiving weapon, specifically a toe issue that kept him out of the spring and was believed to have put him on a schedule of managed reps for the summer. 

There was also a shoulder issue that arose early in training camp, and reports of back soreness were also an issue, something that Nabers downplayed last week when he spoke to the media.

“I feel good,” he said. “I know it’s been a little ride, but right now, I feel good.”

There’s little question that the Giants are going to manage Nabers’s practice reps to reduce the pounding his foot will take over the course of what the team hopes is a long season that morphs into a postseason berth. 

The question is, can the Giants get Nabers through the season without the toe or the back issues flaring up, let alone anything else that might pop up?

Is Russell Wilson truly the missing ingredient on offense?

New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson (3) passes against the New York Jets during the first half at MetLife Stadium. | Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

The Giants ended last season firmly believing that the quarterback play was what held the team back. 

Thus, in making upgrades to the roster, it was interesting that general manager Joe Schoen went heavy on revamping the quarterbacks room, which, following the roster cutdown date, now has three completely new faces at the position that weren’t here last season.

At the head of the pack is Russell Wilson, a 10-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl champion who just so happens to hold the record for the most wins by an NFL quarterback through nine seasons.

Wilson, though, is not the same quarterback he was during his prime in Seattle, as he has aged, and with that, some of the mobility he once had may not be quite what it was. 

Also among quarterbacks with a minimum of 300 dropbacks, Wilson, according to Pro Football Focus, ranked 22nd in accuracy (61.9%), just slightly ahead of former Giants starter Daniel Jones, who posted a 61.2% accuracy rating, which ranked 26th among the 34-quarterback sample size.

But if Giants fans want a reason to believe, Wilson, among that 34-player sample size, had the fewest turnover-worthy plays (seven) and had the tenth-best adjusted completion percentage (75.6%) among the group.

How will the offense be different with Mike Kafka back at the helm?

New York Giants assistant head coach/offensive coordiantor Mike Kafka will be calling the plays this year for the team. | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Head coach Brian Daboll hasn’t come out and officially announced it, but expected assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Mike Kafka to be the play caller this season, where he will work from the sidelines.

A popular question that gets asked is how much different the Giants' offense would be with Kafka calling the plays versus Daboll, and the big-picture answer is probably not that much, since the base scheme is Daboll’s and since the head coach will still likely make the call regarding when to go for it on fourth and short yardage and other situations. 

It’s also challenging to predict the differences, considering the quarterback change. Still, in terms of the big picture, one needs only look at the long-term implications of this change, meaning that Daboll will now be free to manage the entire team on the sidelines, something he didn’t do well last year in his stint as play caller. 

In addition, he’ll be able to bring Jaxson Dart, who will listen in on the radio as the calls are being made, along in terms of developing his understanding of the sequences so that the mental part of Dart’s game continues to mature.  

Speaking of Dart, when can we expect to see him?

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart | Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ask anyone on the Giants, and they’ll probably say that they hope Dart, the team’s first-round draft pick and promising-looking rookie who looked so good in the preseason, never has to play this season.

With good reason. If Dart does have to play, that means either Russell Wilson is hurt, Jameis Winston is struggling behind center, the season is spiraling out of control, or any combination of these factors.

Some believe that since the Giants are not close to being a Super Bowl contender, they should cut their losses now and let their young players, such as Dart, cut their teeth. If this were Year 1 of the Daboll-Joe Schoen era, that might make more sense.

However, with an impatient ownership tandem making it clear that they have to be in a better mood by the end of the coming season than they were last season, the big-picture strategy regarding the state of the team, the pressure is on Schoen and Daboll to field a much better product right now and which can’t afford to take a gamble at rushing its future franchise quarterback out there before he’s truly ready.

That said, it’s definitely possible that at some point later in the season, Dart, so long as he’s not declared the emergency quarterback, could find his way into the game for a few mop-up snaps if the score ends up being lopsided. But as far as having the former Ole Miss signal caller actually start a game, Giants fans probably shouldn’t count on that any time soon. 

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