Giants Country

New York Giants Reader Mailbag: A Pinch of This, a Dash of That

The draft is fast approaching, so let's check in and see what's in the mailbag.
Patricia Traina|

If you'd like to submit a question for the mailbag, please send it to nygiantsmaven@gmail.com. Note: We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity and conciseness. While we try to answer all questions received, we reserve to consolidate if several people ask the same question.

From Joseph M:

Instead of spending money on depth players (non-starters), why didn't Giants use those funds to sign Tomlinson at $21M for two years? If Penei Sewell is still on board at 8, would you trade up to select him since the Panthers at nine and the Cowboys at 10 are serious teams for his services?

Thanks for the e-mail, Joe. Dalvin Tomlinson's contract has three voidable years in it to help spread out the $12.5 million prorated signing bonus, so that means the Vikings are going to be hit with a $7.5 million dead money hit when that contract ends after two years. So the terms of the deal are a little more involved than what was reported.

Yes, the salary cap is expected to rise, but the less dead money a team has to eat (especially one that in a couple of years will have to make decisions on contracts for Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley, and Dexter Lawrence, the better.

As for your second question, no. I'm not trading up to get Penei Sewell. Fantastic player, but if I'm the Giants, I can't be worried about what the teams in front of me are doing to where I'm throwing away assets that can otherwise be used down the line.

From Neil W.

On paper, the Giants will be better this year. On paper, so will the Cowboys with Dak back in the saddle. The defending WFT has legitimate coaching, weapons on offense, a good D, and a wildcard at QB. As for the Eagles, they usually find ways to compete. How competitive do you expect the NFC East to be this year? Will it start to emerge from the NFC Least era?

Thanks for the question, Neil. The Eagles are a mess right now with their quarterback situation, and no disrespect to Ryan Fitzpatrick in Washington, but he's not the long-term answer. And somehow, Dallas always finds a way to screw things up while the Giants' hopes rest on the offense looking more competent than it has in years.

So do I think the NFC Least will revert to the 1980s when the division was the beast of the league? No. Do I think the tide has turned regarding who might be sitting at the top at the end of the upcoming season? Yes.

From Gordon B.

Is there a way that Micah Parsons falls to the Giants? I think he could be the most impactful draft selection in the entire draft.

Hello Gordon. Yes, anything is possible. I can't say for sure right now that Parsons would be the pick if he's there, but I could see him being drafted in the top 15 of the first round.

From Len C.

Any word about whether the Giants are pursuing Cordarelle Patterson? He played in NE for Joe Judge, who reportedly has a glowing opinion of him.

Hi Len. Gotta love Joe Judge. Seriously, I know he's only been a head coach one year, but when was the last time you ever heard him speak poorly of a player? Never, right? That's because that's not Judge's style.

I'm finding with him that just because he waxes on about a guy doesn't mean that there's a legitimate interest. And maybe this will change after the draft, but I never got the sense there was much of an interest in Patterson, despite all these glowing things Judge had to say about him.

From Ron L.

I wondered if you have any insight into why, when a new coordinator (offense or defense) is brought on board, that entire squad is required to learn a new offensive or defensive system. There is nothing truly new in football, as everything has been done before at one time or another. It seems it would be much more efficient to have the coordinator learn the new system or terminology. What do you think?

Hello Ron, and thank you for the letter. The most significant changes for the players when a new coordinator comes in are the language and concepts within a system.

So it wouldn't be practical to have a new coordinator coming in have to learn what the previous coordinator ran, especially the system.

Look back to when the Giants moved on from Kevin Gilbride, who ran more of a vertical passing game, versus Ben McAdoo, who was more West Coast offense. Two different systems.

More recently, the Giants moved away from the West Coast hybrid and more toward a vertical passing game when they switched from Pat Shurmur to Jason Garrett. Again, two different systems.

Defensively, is the interior lineman going to be a one-gapper or a two-gapper? Also, look at personnel deployment--under James Bettcher, Leonard Williams was more of a 0- and 1-tech guy, whereas Patrick Graham moved him to more of a 3-tech role, and with success, I might add.

The bottom line is there is more than one way to pluck the bird and to ask that an incoming coordinator have to adapt to what was already in place isn't practical.

What’s up, Douglas? It’s interesting you asked this question because the same question was asked of former NFL and College head coach Jim Mora in the video series we did here on Fan Nation last month. I think Jim's answer sums it up best, so check out the video below.  

I do think there is something to be said about the way Nick Saban puts his program together. Many of his former students have told me over the years how he runs it like an NFL program, and it shows up with how ready they are to hit the field as rookies.

Two words: Joe Judge. How refreshing is it to have a head coach who not only knows what he wants to accomplish but how to do it? He reminds me a lot of Bill Parcells. Will he be as successful as Parcells? That remains to be seen, but he’s certainly off to a good start.

From Dan K.:

Do you think DG will try to get a pick between #116 and #196?

What’s up, Dan? I suppose where there is a will, there’s away, but I’m not sure what they might trade to get a pick in that range. I seem to recall someone saying that most of the information available will be on the top 150 prospects. 

That said, I’m sure Dave Gettleman would like to get as many draft picks as possible, but not at the expense of hurting future hauls.

From Pat R.

It seems so many people are putting it all Daniel Jones' shoulder when they still have work to do with O-L." My question is this, can they get it done just with the draft?

Hi Pat. Interesting and valid question. The Giants appear to be all in on the young offensive linemen they have, and they added significant coaching resources to make sure that group takes the next step.

So I would think that any additional linemen they add will replenish what's in the pipeline rather than plug holes. But again, although we're into April now, it's still a bit premature for me to forecast what their thinking is with that unit.

Hi Anthony. I'll be honest. I don't know. I have a rough idea of how the board will fall, but all it takes is one unexpected twist, and what I think I know goes out the window. 

As we get a little closer to the draft, I might be able to give you a "yes" or "no" response to your question (I hate arbitrarily assigning percentages or odds--what do they even mean?). Anyway, please follow up with me again as right now, all options are on the table.

What's up, Scott? The red flags stem from incidents described in this article. I have no idea if the Giants are concerned or not--again, as we get a little closer to the draft, I hope to have a better feel for how they might be leaning. 

What's up, Adam? Judging from Nick Falato's scouting report, it sounds like Slater is a tackle, but I wouldn't be stunned if some teams see him as being versatile enough to play both guard and tackle, much like Zach Martin did for the Cowboys in his career.

I wouldn't say it was a philosophy shift. Last year they stayed away from players with injury histories because the pandemic didn't allow these guys to get on planes for physicals until training camp rolled around. This year, some travel was restored, so prospects could fly in for physicals before teams invested in them.

From Russell Y.

I have two questions. Since the 2018 draft, which, if any, is the Giants' best undrafted free agent pick up? 2. Do you think this draft class is deep enough to grab a quality player from the UDFA in 2021, and what positions do you think are the deepest?

Hi Russell. I wasn't sure if you meant overall free agent or undrafted free agent pickup in your first question. I think you mean UDFA, so if that's the case, then I think you have to go with offensive lineman Nick Gates, who went from being undrafted into being a starter. (If you meant overall, let me know.)

As for your second question, yes, I think the class is really deep at receiver to where a team could grab an undrafted free agent prospect. If I'm the Giants, I draft a receiver on Day 3 to develop it as part of the pipeline.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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