Five Giants Who Need a Breakout Season in 2023
The New York Giants, a team that made the playoffs for the first time in six seasons last year, will be looking to build upon a strong free agency period and draft. And if the Giants are to accomplish that goal, they will need strong showings from everyone on the roster--rookie or veteran, newcomer or returnee.
Here is a look at five players in particular who are still relatively young but who, if they have a big 2023 season, can help push the Giants toward their ultimate goal.
OLB Azeez Ojulari
When healthy, outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari is incredibly productive. As a rookie in 2021, the former Georgia star recorded eight sacks, which led the Giants, and 13 quarterback hits. However, after playing in all 17 games as a rookie, he only played in seven in 2022, thanks partly to a calf strain shortening his sophomore season.
Still, when he was on the field, Ojulari was productive, posting 5.5 sacks in seven games, second behind team leader Dexter Lawrence's 7.5 sacks in 15 games. If Ojulari can return to giving the Giants 17 games, imagine what that 2022 production might turn into.
And that's exactly what the Giants need. After upgrading the defense with rookie first-rounder Deonte Banks, and adding linebacker Bobby Okereke, the hope is that the defense's back end can hold its coverage longer to allow the pass rushers to get home on sacks, the ultimate goal.
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux
Some of the same can be said of second-year player Kayvon Thibodeaux, the other young, talented edge-rusher on the Giants defense. As Ojulari did in his rookie campaign, Thibodeaux, the fifth overall pick in last year's draft, recorded 13 quarterback hits (in 14 games).
However, Thibodeaux managed just four sacks and six tackles for loss in the games played--hardly eye-popping numbers for a top-five draft pick.
Again, to be fair, he had some injury issues early in the season that may have stunted his development. The good news is that Thibodeaux began to settle into his new role with the Giants in the second half of the season.
He recorded three of his sacks in the team's final four games. He also earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his spectacular showing against Washington on a Week 15, 20-12 win in which Thibodeaux recorded a career and game-high 12 tackles (nine solos), including three for loss, and scored the Giants' first touchdown of the game.
If the Giants can get that kind of production all year long from Thibodeaux, that defense will be a nightmare for opponents.
WR Darius Slayton
After re-signing with the Giants on a two-year deal, Slayton must prove he is worth the investment. Last season, the former Auburn Tiger set a career-high in yards per reception (15.7) but continued to fall short of matching his eight touchdowns scored in his rookie season while also seeing his annual drop total (eight last season) continue to creep upward from the three he recorded as a rookie.
Slayton can be a big play threat, but it might be a stretch for anyone to anoint him as the team's No.1 receiver. That said, the Giants don't need him to be that guy. They need him to be more consistent and a productive big-play threat.
There have been flashes from the fifth-year veteran, one of the team's hardest-working players. And although the Giants did upgrade the talent in the receiver room with the additions of veteran Parris Campbell and rookie Jalin Hyatt, they will need everyone to bring the goods when the lights go on.
S Xavier McKinney
Xavier McKinney is another young, talented defender who belongs in the discussion when talking about the Giants' solid core they're building.
With good reason. In 2021, the former Alabama star led the Giants with five interceptions and finished second on the team in passes defended with 10. He also finished third on the team in tackles with 93.
The problem with McKinney has been staying, doesn't the field. As a rookie, he broke his leg toward the end of training camp and missed seven games. Last year, he suffered a broken hand in a freak bye-week accident which led to him missing 11 games.
McKinney has played just one complete season in his three-year career (2021) and has appeared in just 32 out of a possible 50 career games. At his best, the former national champion is a cornerstone piece of an NFL defense. But regardless of how the injuries have happened--and again, the hand issue was just one of those unlucky, ill-timed incidents--a player's best ability is his availability.
McKinney is entering the final year of his rookie season in 2023. Right now, there is no reason to think he won't get a new contract, though the likelihood of that happening before the next off-season is another story.
That's why this coming season is so big for McKiney. If he can stay healthy and continue his high production level that he's shown he can deliver, he'll get his big payday when the time is right.
If not, it will be interesting to see how his long-term future with the team shapes up.
OT Evan Neal
The Giants are undoubtedly hoping that history will repeat itself with right tackle Evan Neal, who is getting ready to enter his second season.
The history, for those unaware, saw Andrew Thomas, the team's fourth-round draft pick in 2020, struggle as a rookie only to come back in Year 2 and begin to round into one of the most dominating left tackles in the game.
Like Thomas, Neal struggled as a rookie, yielding 11 sacks and whiffing on 21 bocks per Sports Info Solutions. To be fair to the former Alabama lineman, he was transitioning from left tackle to the right, where it can take time for a player to develop a comfort level. And it certainly didn't help him when he had a mid-year sprained MCL, which further threw off his technique while he returned to finish the season.
Still, if a player is "healthy enough" to play, much is expected, and Neal didn't consistently deliver as a rookie. That said, Neal has been working hard to smooth out the rough spots in his game and find that comfort level at right tackle that seemed to evade him as a rookie.
If Neal can do in Year 2 what Thomas accomplished, the Giant's offensive line will be in all the better shape. If not, then it will be interesting to see what general manager Joe Schoen does about such a critical position on the offensive line.
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