Bounceback Giants Season? Not According to One Set of Projections

While hope springs eternal inside of 1925 Giants Drive that the New York Giants’ 100th-anniversary celebrations will include a winning record and a trip to the postseason, ESPN’s Mike Clay, in his annual NFL fantasy football projections, isn’t sharing in that optimism.

Cay projects the Giants to finish last in the NFC East and have the first overall pick in the 2025 draft. He has the Giants’ projected win total at 4.7, with the team only managing 307 points while allowing 422 points, a difference of -114 for a team with the 18th hardest strength of schedule.

If that’s not bad enough, in his ranking of every single position unit on the Giants, Clay only gave passing marks to two groups, edge and linebacker. He believes the Giants' offense will finish 32nd and the defense 31st this season.

In a word: Ouch!

For those wondering how Clay comes up with his projections, he explains his rather comprehensive process it on this page. But while he’s poured a lot of thought into arriving at a process, where it falls short of the mark is that it relies too much on history rather than the human element which is ultimately going to determine the outcome.

For instance, how much do the projections consider the addition of rookie receiver Malik Nabers or edge rusher Brian Burns? Can the projections be sure that the offensive line, a problem in years past, will continue to be a problem?

Are the projections automatically assuming Daniel Jones will struggle again, or do they take into consideration that he might have a better season if head coach Brian Daboll takes over the play calling, which is the direction things are headed?

And what about injuries? One major injury can cause everything to fall apart, not just for the Giants but for any team.

While Clay's projections are interesting for fantasy football purposes, seeing how many come close to being accurate as the 2024 season unfolds will be interesting.