Lessons Giants Can Learn from Four Championship Title Teams

What can the success of the AFC and NFC Conference finalists teach a team like the Giants in terms of roster construction?

Author:
Gene Clemons
Publish date:
Jan 28, 2024 10:00 AM EST

In this story:

The New York Giants are already deep into preparing for the 2024 season. They have coaches sharpening their tools while evaluating talent at the Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl, but the NFL 2023 capaign is not over yet.

The teams representing the AFC (Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens) and NFC (Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers) in their respective championship games are models for how teams should want to build, and the Giants should be paying attention.

While these four teams seem to be built differently they all share these two similarities that the Giants might want to consider as they attempt to build their own potential championship team.

Lesson 1: A dynamic tight end can be your de facto X receiver.

Many Giants fans complain that the team needs a prototypical X receiver. However, none of the four teams remaining have an elite "traditional" X. Detroit’s best receiver is Amon-Ra St. Brown, the 49ers outside guy is Brandon Aiyuk, the Chiefs have Rashee Rice and the Ravens have Zay Flowers.

What all four teams do have is an elite tight end. The Chiefs have the tight end GOAT in Travis Kelce. His 2023 season was not his greatest, as age began to take its toll. But in the playoffs, he returned to the level of performance that made him the greatest. Kelce's presence has allowed the Chiefs to operate without a true No. 1 receiver because he is the true number one.

They have Kelce-type clones in Mark Andrews and Sam LaPorta in Baltimore and Detroit. These guys have great hands, and know how to use their bodies as leverage in route running. They are faster than they appear when you first look at them. Obviously, 49ers tight end George Kittle brings all of those elements to the table, and he also adds elite-level run blocking.

The Giants had a young, explosive tight end in Evan Engram who spent his first five seasons with New York. During that time, he constantly flashed the abilities that made him a first-round pick, but he also struggled with injuries and drops.

In 2022 Engram caught a career-high 73 passes and 766 yards; he followed that up in 2023 with a career-high 114 passes and 963 yards with the Jacksonville Jaguars after newly hired general manager Joe Scheon and head coach Brian Daboll decided to let him walk in free agency. In 2022, Engram caught a career-high 73 passes and 766 yards; he followed that up in 2023 with a career-high 114 passes and 963 yards.

The Giants have since tried to find the answer at tight end. First, they turned to Daniel Bellinger who showed promise as a decent number two tight end as a rookie. Then, last off-season, they traded for the ultra-talented but injury-prone Darren Waller, but he was swept up in the tornado of injuries and lack of continuity this season.

If the team is serious about Daniel Jones being their quarterback in 2024, maybe they should consider bringing another ultra-talented tight end cut from the Kittle mode. That would be Georgia’s Brock Bowers, a player who could give them the dynamic play-making options they seek from that position.

Lesson 2: An explosive runner is a necessity.

In addition to excellent tight end play, all four teams have an explosive element in the run game. The upstart Lions have rookie homerun-hitting running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who has been gaining more and more traction all season and has paced David Montgomery despite having fewer carries this season.

The Chiefs Isaiah Pacheco is a physically tough runner who can run away from defenders when he gets into the secondary. The 49ers' top running back, Christian McCaffrey, is the best back in the league and can hurt you as a runner or receiver. The Ravens have quarterback Lamar Jackson, who while not a running back, might be the most dynamic runner.

The Giants have a McCaffrey-esque talent in Saquon Barkley who again enters the offseason looking for a multiyear contract. One of the biggest hurdles for Barkley and the Giants is that Barkley believes he is worth more than what the Giants want to pay him.

Unfortunately for him, the Giants hold the leverage with the franchise tag if they choose to use it. Many would argue that a 26-year-old running back with an injury history is not who you pay, but they do that while watching a 27-year-old running back with a history of injuries (McCaffrey) be the best back in the league.

Other running backs who have been huge parts of their respective teams' successes include Miami's Raheem Mostert, who had a career season at 31; Houston's Devin Singletary is 26; the Ravens have two backs that are 26 (Justice Edwards) and 28 (Gus Edwards).

Like McCaffrey, Barkley does not look like he is falling off performance-wise, though we think the level he is currently playing at could only improve as the team around him improves. The Giants would be wise to take a page out of all of the final four Super Bowl contender teams' books and invest in the first-round talent dynamic runner if they plan to move on from Barkley.

The Ravens did so with Jackson, the Lions with Gibbs, and the Chiefs used a first-round pick on Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who, while having lost his job due to injuries, still occupies an important role on the team. And the 49ers invested draft capital to get McCaffrey, who had been a first-round pick by the Carolina Panthers. All of these explosive runners have game-changing abilities, just like Barkley.

The Giants need drastic changes to return to the postseason and go deep into the tournament. The goal should always be competitive and improving. The two elements outlined offensively by the four championship-contending teams have made them all the best in the game. The Giants could one day join that circle with some sound investing in talent.