New York Giants Special Teams Preview: Straight Forward

If there’s one thing the New York Giants learned about their roster during the 2021 season, they need to strengthen and preserve their special teams units.

Led by special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey, this group was a frequent visitor—and often an offensive savior—on the field last season. With constant injuries, poor play calling, and a Giants offense that bottomed the NFL in points, touchdowns scored, and total yards, it was up to special teams to help the Giants even get on the scoreboard, let alone take one of their rare victories.

The headline player in the unit has been kicker Graham Gano. The 13-year Florida State product is returning for his third season with the Giants and has been a crown jewel for them over the past two. He’s converted 60 of 65 field goal attempts (92.3 percent) and 38 of 40 extra point attempts over that span, with nearly all his misses coming from 50+ yards out.

Even from long range, Gano has had a nearly perfect boot, as he’s made 12 of 16 field goals from 50+ yards since 2020. Along with his streak of 37 straight field goals broken in Week 4 last season, Gano’s efforts have already earned him a contract extension and are sure to garner him a Special Teams MVP nod if they continue this season.

While Gano has experienced his own success recently, the Giants’ special teams room wasn’t without its blemishes in 2021. Former punter Riley Dixon struggled to maintain his strong numbers from early in his New York tenure, averaging just 44.4 yards per punt despite accumulating his largest total yards in three years (3,283)

Dixon has since been released, and the Giants have brought in a less experienced leg in Jamie Gillan, a left-footed punter, to potentially assume the punting duties. Yet, questions linger about whether he’ll earn the spot after many of his notable stats went down through three seasons with the Cleveland Browns.

Concerns are also abound with the state of the Giants' kick and punt return teams. Injuries to key names like C.J. Board and Jabrill Peppers last season never allowed the team to establish a consistent, improved threat in the open field. The Giants had to use eight different returners, with only three appearing in at least ten games.

No matter who the Giants had on the field to return the pigskin, the special teams unit’s inability to block well and find the open running lanes led to mediocre stats and even more difficult field positioning for the offense to work with.

In the punt return department, the Giants had six different players take at least one return, with none of them surpassing 100 yards. Meanwhile, the entire squad finished the season with a yards-per-return average that was 1.1 yards below that of their opponents in 2021.

The kick return game was more promising, with the Giants gaining 683 yards of returns (compared to opponents’ 659) and an average of 20.7 yards per return (compared to 17.8). However, the same issues mentioned before limited their ability to find a steady workhorse every Sunday.

Entering 2022, the Giants will have some roster turnover to factor into the equation of who will contribute to the special teams efforts. Only four players who returned balls last season are returning this season, and at least two are likely competing for a roster spot in training camp.

The Giants have a handful of rookies from this year’s draft class who could land a role on special teams, given their physical assets to that area of the game. Second-round pick Wan’Dale Robinson is one name that could garner consideration from the coaching staff with the speed and versatility he showcases in the open field.

All these things considered, the Giants’ brass continues to hold faith in the job McGaughey has done with the Giants special teams.

With Gano and long snapper Casey Kreiter returning, there should be plenty of comfortability and continued success there so long as injuries don’t rear their ugly heads. Instead, the key mission for McGaughey is figuring out what weapons are at the Giants special teams’ disposal and how to deploy them in a scheme that will vastly improve the Giants field position and set the offense up for greater success every possession.

More Position Previews:

Rostered Players

Graham Gano (13 Years): The Giants have already asked the veteran Gano to do a lot for them within the past year, between providing a heavy fraction of the team’s scoring production and switching his jersey number for a rookie edge rusher who hasn’t played a snap in the NFL yet. Gano led the Giants with 104 points last season and is undeniably one of the league's most reliable, deep-range kickers. He will no doubt be relied upon once again to be the workhorse of the special teams unit come September.

Jamie Gillan (4 Years): Gillan was signed as a free agent by the Giants in February after the team released predecessor Riley Dixon following a declining season. It’s uncertain whether Gillan will be named the punter for the Giants after training camp, but the 25-year-old has some notable numbers to show he can contribute to New York’s fourth down decisions. As a member of the Cleveland Browns from 2019-2021, Gillan has a 44.9-yard gross average (40.0 net) on 156 punts, with a long kick of 71 yards and 57 punts landing inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.

Casey Kreiter (7 Years): The Giants didn’t hold on to many of their unrestricted free agents this offseason, but one player they did retain was long snapper Kreiter. The 2014 undrafted free agent has been a reliable piece to the team’s punting and kicking operation, playing in all 33 games since 2020 and flawlessly handling over 125 snaps without error.

Positional Forecast

Best Case Scenario: Until we learn more about the new offensive system head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka are bringing and see how well it carries out on the field, it will bode well for Graham Gano’s leg to continue serving as a supplemental scorer and keeping the Giants competitive. If injuries stay away and he retains a consistent routine with Kreiter and Gillan, the high-ranking production should carry over into 2022.

Outside of that, if the Giants can integrate all the other elements of excellent kicking and returning (power, protection, speed, shiftiness, etc.) with the particular talents of their young gunners and returners, they could see special teams become a bigger threat each week. The game of roster roulette played last season stunted any valuable development. Still, with fresh, versatile players and a respected mind in Thomas McGaughey, there’s a new chance for the Giants to get this part of their teams right.

Worst Case Scenario: If things don’t work out for the Giants special teams in 2022, it could mean another disastrous repeat of the troubles that plagued the entire team last season. More precisely, a woeful offense mixed with inefficient special teams led to the defense working even harder to overcome poor field positioning and prevent the opponent from piling on the points.

After 13 seasons of record-setting kicking and limited injury time, it would be shocking and disheartening to see Gano’s efficiency and reliability slide as he draws closer to age 36 and the sample size for kickers who thrive into their 40s is very small.

The Giants cannot afford any of these things if they want to win more than four games this year, but the onus is just as much on the special teams as on any other position.

On the Bubble: Punter Jamie Gillan is presently the only true candidate among the specialists for this recognition. It’s uncertain what has caused his production numbers to go down in the last two years in Cleveland, but the Giants are taking a flyer on the “Scottish Hammer” to bring a different style of punting to the special teams unit.

The keys to quality punting, however, involve an aptitude in switching the field and pinning the opposing offense deep within their own territory. If Gillan can grow in these areas, he’ll earn a shot to be the Week 1 guy, but if not, the Giants have some searching to do within the next month.

Positional Unit Ranking: 2 (out of 5)

As stated earlier, the Giants seem to have one of the best answers in the league at kicker and a trustworthy arm in Kreiter at the long snapper position. Yet, there are still so many lingering uncertainties regarding who will earn a special teams role and how that group will look come the first taste of live competition in the regular season.

The Giants also felt they had to move on from Riley Dixon for production and salary cap reasons. Still, for now, they are placing their field position hopes in an ex-rugby player in Gillan, whose numbers have strangely faded since his rookie season in 2019. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Giants bring in another punter to establish some competition and allow a secondary option should Gillan not work out in New York.

Either way, the Giants need their special teams unit to be the difference maker in elevating the offense's success and taking some of the pressure off the shoulders of the defense.

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