Is the Giants Offense Set up for a Rookie Quarterback?

One of the biggest failures of the New York Giants as an organization regarding their anointing of now-former quarterback Daniel Jones as their franchise’s future back in 2019 is that the team never really set the table for the rookie's arrival.

Jones never had a solid offensive line or a solid No. 1 receiver during his first five seasons in New York.

His lone lifeline? Running back Saquon Barkley–that is when Barkley wasn’t injured.

It also didn’t help that he was forced into the lineup two games into his rookie season by then-head coach Pat Shurmur, who was desperate to open up his playbook more with some running plays that Eli Manning, in Shurmur’s estimation, probably wasn’t capable of executing.

It also didn’t help that the team brought in multiple head coaches and offensive coordinators, a string that never allowed Jones to settle into one system the way Manning had throughout his career.

So now, with Jones having gone to Minnesota and the Giants quarterback room in disarray, is the franchise better set up for a rookie quarterback if the management brass, whoever it might be, chooses to add one via the draft?

Let’s break it down.

Receiver

The Giants finally have a legitimate No. 1 receiver in Malik Nabers, which Jones never really had during his time here. Then general manager Dave Gettleman traded away Odell Beckham Jr. before Jones arrived via the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft.

Nabers, though, can’t do it alone. The team will likely lose Darius Slayton in free agency after this season, leaving questions about who WR2 and WR3 will be.

Wan’Dale Robinson is a solid contributor to the offense and is currently the second-most targeted receiver behind Nabers.

But Robinson is also somewhat limited to being more of an underneath guy, his 7.1 yards per reception average ranking last among the receivers on the 53-man roster, and his average air yards per target (4.3) also coming in last among all Giants receivers (including tight ends).

Jalin Hyatt, who was supposed to give the Giants a deep threat, continues to be glued to the bench, having received just 14 targets this year, down from the 40 he received as a rookie last year.

Part of that is because Slayton right now is the better receiver, but it’s also a rather damning statement that, at this point in the season, Hyatt can’t get more targets thrown his way.

The bottom line is that getting another receiver who can help stretch the field has to be among the Giants' top priorities this coming offseason.

Tight End

The Giants seem to like rookie Theo Johnson, whose 2024 season is unfortunately over early, thanks to his foot injury in the game against the Cowboys.

Johnson finishes his rookie campaign with a team-leading 43 pass targets among the tight ends, having posted 29 receptions or 331 yards and a touchdown, but only 160 yards after the catch (5.5 average). That ranks 17th among the 23 tight ends this season with a minimum of 40 pass targets.

To be fair, though, the Giants have looked at the tight end position as an afterthought in the passing game this year, the first time Daboll has called the plays for the team. The Giants tight ends have been targeted just 58 times so far this season versus the 105 targets last year and the 91 in 2022.

The Giants have a solid enough group with Johnson and Daniel Bellinger, whom the coaches have forgotten as a pass-target option. They might want to get those guys involved a bit more, especially down in the red zone, where the Giants' tight ends have been targeted three times this season.

Running Back

No, the Giants don’t have Saquon Barkley, who right now has a career-best 1,392 rushing yards (and counting) behind that Eagles offensive line. But if you stack up the Giants and Eagles running backs, guess who is in second place regarding rushing yards behind Barkley?

Right, Giants rookie Tyrone Tracy, Jr., who has 619 yards and who, like Barkley, is the only one out of the six running backs on both teams to have a yards-after-contact average over 3.0 (Tracy 3.14 and Barkley 3.48).

Tracey has had five games in which he’s carried the rock 15+ times, and Barkley has had nine, six of which have seen him carry the rock 20+ times.

If the Giants hadn’t been playing from behind so much this season and had a playcaller who wasn’t as quick to abandon the run even when the game was close early on, you can’t help but wonder if his numbers would be closer to Barkley’s.With those kinds of numbers,

Tracey’s biggest issue has been ball security. He has three fumbles so far this year, but that said, one of the Giants’ all-time great running backs, Tiki Barber, also had some fumbling problems early in his career that were fixed as he went on.

Receiving-wise, Tracy has three fewer receptions than Barkley but is averaging 7.4 yards per catch to Barkley’s 9.5 (plus Tracy doesn’t have a receiving touchdown yet).

The bottom line is that while Tracy isn’t Barkley–no one will ever be Barkley–the Giants' running game is on solid footing. It would be even better if Tracy could clean up the ball security issues and eliminate the dropped passes (3) when deployed as a receiver.

New York Giants offensive tackle Andrew Thomas (78) and his teammates run onto the field moments before kickoff, Sunday, October 13, 2024, in East Rutherford. | Kevin Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Offensive Line

The Giants’ offensive line woes are twofold. One is a serious lack of depth when injuries occur, and this is now two years in a row that they’ve had injuries, particularly at left tackle.

Part of that is drafting–Schoen’s record with drafting offensive linemen has not been good, which is probably why the team has turned to former Giants offensive lineman Chris Snee to help scout the position.

But let’s look at the projected starting offensive line for 2025.

Andrew Thomas should be back at left tackle. The trick with him is keeping him healthy, which has been a struggle lately.

Jon Runyan, Jr. is likely locked in at guard. At center, you have John Michael Schmitz, who has been better this year, though not quite as solid as you’d want from a second-round pick.

Schmitz has allowed 25 pressures in 12 games so far this year, five more than he allowed in 13 games last year, and six sacks this season compared to five last year. He has to improve, and next season will be big for him.

What will the Giants do on the right side of the line? Will they move Jermaine Eluemunor to left guard, Ryunyan to right guard, and Evan Neal to right tackle, which was their original plan before Neal had a setback in the spring that cost him most of training camp?

The move that makes the most sense right now is to put Eluemunor at right tackle and move Neal inside to guard, where his footwork, lack of niftiness in space, and balance issues can potentially be minimized.

The Giants have continued to insist Neal is a tackle. If three years' worth of game tape (haven’t convinced them by now that their best hope of salvaging this particular draft pick is to move him inside to guard, then there’s no hope.

Nov 28, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll reacts during the second half againt the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

Play Calling

The Giants offense, as called by Daboll, is less productive this year than it was last year, as called by Mike Kafka.

Here are the numbers between 2023 and this season. We are only including those seasons because the quarterback situation in 2023 was as much of a mess ((albeit due to injuries) as this season has been due to performance shortcomings.

Stat	2023	2024
Avg. Yards/Game	280.0 (29th)	299.1 (26th-T)
Avg. Rushing Yards/Game	110.2 (16th)	115.9 (17th)
Avg. Passing Yards/Game	169.8 (31st)	183.2 (30th)
Points / Game	15.6 (30th)	15.3 (32nd)

Initially, the hope and expectation was that Daboll would revitalize the offense. That, however, has not been the case, and while people will point to the quarterback situation, the fact is that there hasn’t been that great of a difference in the macro-statistical categories with Daboll calling the plays.

Yes, the offense is primarily his system, with maybe a pinch here and there from other systems that the offensive assistant coaches have suggested.

But it’s fair to wonder if some of the trends we’ve seen this year, such as the abandoning of the run game early on (especially when it’s been working), the limited pass targets for the tight ends, especially in the red zone) and the inability to “fix” what has ailed Daniel Jones for two seasons now warrants serious consideration to having someone else–and not necessarily Shea Tierney, who could be next in line to become the offensive coordinator if Kafka, as expected, leaves after this season– call the plays.

Nov 24, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants owner John Mara, left, and New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen on the field before the game between the Giants and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Final Thoughts

Although the Giants' offense has been at its absolute worst this year out of the three seasons Daboll has been the head coach, overall, there are some solid pieces that a rookie quarterback coming in should theoretically be able to find success once he acclimates to the NFL.

The question now becomes how the Giants brass approaches the quarterback situation. Are any quarterbacks being touted as first-round prospects–Shedeur Sanders, Jalen Milroe, and Cam Ward—the right fit? Would the Giants be better off drafting a guy on Day 2 instead for better value and trading down in the first round to acquire more draft capital to fix the holes on the roster?

Do they go the veteran route and hope they find a guy who can operate the offense well enough for a few years?

These are all things Schoen and Daboll–assuming they are back for a fourth season together, which can’t be ruled out at this point, despite the record–cannot afford to get wrong.