How Much Did Giants Close Talent Gaps with Dallas, Philly?
The New York Giants have gone through this offseason with big wins coming every step of the way, but how did that compare to the two teams who topped them in the NFC East standings in 2022?
In 2022, the Giants had one game against each of these teams you could throw the film out from, including Thanksgiving vs. the Cowboys when the Giants were demolished by injury and Week 18 vs. the Eagles when the Giants rested starters.
In the games that did matter, though, the Giants offense was neutralized for the most part because of its inability to create plays downfield due to a lack of speed and talent at receiver as well as not being able to protect quarterback Daniel Jones long enough for plays to develop.
The Giants addressed those issues on Day 2 of the draft by adding center John Michael Schmitz to the offensive line and the speed demon that is Jalin Hyatt. Schmitz is an immediate upgrade at center, while Hyatt provides a deep threat that the NFC East hasn’t seen since DeSean Jackson.
The improvements didn’t just start there, as the Giants signed the speedy Parris Campbell from the Colts and traded for tight end Darren Waller to stretch the seams. While he’s more of an underneath target, the addition of Jamison Crowder could be an underrated weapon out of the slot.
Defensively, the Giants added one player in the draft that should be an immediate starter, but it was a huge addition on night one in Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks. Before the draft, massive additions were made to the Giants roster in linebacker Bobby Okereke and defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson.
The Giants had the second-worst rush defense in the NFL last year in terms of yards per carry, giving up 5.2 yards each attempt and 5.48 yards per carry to quarterbacks. In the passing game, quarterbacks consistently targeted their wide receivers, and against the Giants, they averaged 21.2 targets to receivers per game, tied for third-most in the NFL. The Giants defense, meanwhile, allowed an average of 12 yards per completion.
That’s the major difference between how the Giants built their roster this offseason compared to the approaches taken by the Eagles and Cowboys. The Giants added immediate starters at major positions of need this offseason, losing only safety Julian Love as the only quality starter.
While both the Eagles and Cowboys did improve their rosters, they were marginal improvements. The Eagles added the incredibly talented Jalen Carter to an already elite defensive line. The best moves the Eagles made this offseason were extending quarterback Jalen Hurts, retaining cornerback James Bradberry, defensive linemen Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham, and offensive lineman Jason Kelce.
They also drafted defensive back Sydney Brown. Brown and Carter arguably made the roster better, but Philadelphia kept the main components of last year's roster in place.
The Cowboys improved their roster for 2023 marginally by trading for receiver Brandin Cooks and cornerback Stephon Gilmore while drafting defensive tackle Mazi Smith and tight end Luke Schoonmaker as the only two rookies who should make major impacts early on. Deuce Vaughn might rotate in early, but there’s no promise he will pass Malik Davis on the depth chart.
Overall, the Giants have the third-best roster in this division. Still, the real test will be how the Giants fare against division opponents, against whom they last posted a winning record (4-2) in 2020 and were 1-4-1 despite last season's surprising showing.
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