Potential Free Agents Who Could Fit the Giants

Let's take a look at some potential free agents that could help fill in some of the holes on the New York Giants' roster.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Feb 7, 2023 10:46 AM EST

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New York Giants

Despite a surprisingly successful 2022 season that included their first playoff berth since 2016, the New York Giants have plenty of work to do during the offseason.

General manager Joe Schoen has indicated a preference to re-sign his own talent rather than dabble too much in free agency. However, there may be times when acquiring a free agent for a cost-effective deal is preferable, especially given all the needs the Giants still have on their roster.

According to Over the Cap Premium, the Giants finished 2022 with half their roster being homegrown talent and the other half being imports from elsewhere. Expect that radio to swing more toward the homegrown talent side as Schoen continues to reshape the roster.

However, that doesn't mean the Giants won't dip their toe into free agency. They currently have $55 million in cap space, the fourth most in the NFL, and could use it to fill some of the more pressing needs on the team.

Here is a list of those needs and a name or two that could be a fit if the Giants wish to go that route.

Linebacker

Time and again, we saw the Giants linebackers get toasted (and not in a good way either) by running backs and tight ends who simply out-hustled them in foot races. Moreover, when the defense's leading tackler (Julian Love) comes from the defensive secondary, that's a rather damning statement about the guys playing in front of them (linebackers).

If this Giants defense is ever going to get over the hump, it needs linebackers that can run sideline to sideline, guard the middle of the field in the passing game, and fill holes in the run defense.

Enter Bills Tremaine Edmunds, one of two first-round picks in 2018 by the Bills who traded up to the 16th spot to get him in that draft. Edmunds, who Giants general manager Joe Schoen scouted during his time in Buffalo, has gotten better every season, posting his best season to date in 2022.

Ranked second among linebackers in coverage by Pro Football Focus, Edmunds posted a forced incompletion rate on 15 percent of the pass targets against him, leading the Bills linebackers in that category, and was second in STOPS, behind teammate Matt Milano.

Edmunds has posted over 100 tackles in every NFL season in which he's played, and while not a big sack guy--he has 6.5 career sacks--imagine what he might be able to do if Wink Martindale returns as defensive coordinator and takes the aggressive nature of this Giants defense up another notch?

The Giants are probably not going to spend big on free agents. Still, if there is one guy they should open up their wallets for a little wider (assuming the Bills don't slap the franchise tag on him or re-sign him to a new deal), it's Edmunds who would immediately improve the linebacker unit.

Suppose Edmunds isn't an option due to price. In that case, a potentially more affordable alternative is T.J. Edwards of the Eagles, a guy with whom assistant general manager Brandon Brown is undoubtedly very familiar.

The 27-year-old Edwards, an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin who signed with the Eagles in 2019, stands 6-foot-1 and tips the scales at 242 pounds. He appeared in 17 games this season (all starts) and recorded 159 tackles (99 solos) with ten tackles for a loss.

Playing in a career-high 94 percent of the Eagles' defensive snaps this season, Edwards added 11 pressures and had seven pass breakups. In coverage, he allowed 53 of 76 pass targets to be completed (69.7 percent), his best career mark in seasons in which he was targeted at least 15 times, and he's only allowed four touchdowns in his four-year career.

Edwards, who has mostly been durable throughout his NFL career, can also contribute on special teams. A guy who plays with instincts and does a solid job filling holes against the run, Edwards could be a more cost-effective option while still delivering an upgrade to a position group that desperately needs it.

Running Back

The Giants hope to get Saquon Barkley back, and if you're looking for good news in that regard, the two sides continue to discuss making that a reality.

That said, it would behoove the Giants to add to the position. They can do so via the draft, but re-signing Matt Breida might not be a bad place to start if they're looking to go the free-agent route.

The undrafted Breida, who has carved out a nice 6-year NFL career as a rotational back with four teams, still doesn't have a lot of tread on his tires, and he's proven himself to be a good fit for this offense, having played a version of it before in Buffalo.

Breida's career numbers are modest, but when his number was called, he delivered And how about those formations when he and Barkley paired in the offensive backfield, serving to give the defense fits? Breida can also contribute on special teams--he did some gunner work this past season. If he's willing to return on a reasonable deal, it just makes too much sense not to go that route.

If Breida is not an option, then an alternative might be--brace yourselves--Boston Scott of the Eagles.

Scott has a career rushing average of 4.4 yards per carry, slightly less than Breida's 4.4 career average. Scott also has 18 career touchdowns to Breida's nine, or one touchdown per every 16.3 carries to Breida's 59.5 carries.

And wouldn't it be nice to see Scott, who probably won't cost a lot if he hits the market, scoring the occasional touchdown for the Giants rather than against them seemingly every time the Giants and Eagles play against each other?

Cornerback

The Giants never recovered from parting with James Bradberry due to a salary cap crunch. And while they're likely to add to the cornerback room in the draft--one can never have too many cornerbacks.

By adding another potential shut-down cornerback to pair with Adoree' Jackson, the Giants could then look to move Aaron Robinson (assuming he's recovered from his season-ending knee injury) back to the slot (his primary college position), where he'd give them a better size advantage when going against larger slot receivers and tight ends.

Two potential free-agent cornerbacks might fit the bill. The first is Jamel Dean of the Bucs, a 6-foot-1, 206-pounder. The Giants never recovered from having to part ways with James Bradberry, one of their taller cornerbacks in past seasons, due to a salary cap crunch.

Dean has similar size as Bradberry and can play the position. He's allowed 54.7 percent of the pass targets against him to be completed (50 percent in 2022), and this year posted a career-best 57 tackles. A strong tackler--he only missed one tackle last season in 884 snaps played--the 26-year-old Dean figures to be in high demand if he hits free agency.

The second, albeit "smaller" prospective free agent that might be worth a look is Jonathan Jones of the Patriots, assuming he's not franchise tagged.

Last year, the 5-foot-10 Jones, signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2016, allowed just 54 percent of the pass targets against him to be completed, finishing with a 77.1 NFL rating. He was also the second-best cover corner on the Patriots (despite being the most targeted) behind teammate Jack Jones.

Wide Receiver

Arguably the top need on the offense--and probably the team-- if the Giants can get a solid No. 1 receiver to pair with (hopefully) the return of running back Saquon Barkley, that would give opposing defenses yet another headache to worry about when game-planning against a Giants team that as of the end of 2022, only had two such "headache" players in Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones.

Interestingly, Giants general manager Joe Schoen downplayed the importance of adding a No. 1 receiver, perhaps because he has to find a way to re-sign his starting quarterback and running back while also adding elsewhere to upgrade the roster.

With the Giants expected to move on from disappointing receiver Kenny Golladay, the Giants could put the cost savings--$6.7 million, $14.7 million dead money pre-June 1 and $13.5 million savings, $7.9 million dead money in 2023 and $6.8 million dead money in 2024 post-June 1--toward a new receiver and then some.

Then again, the free agent receiver class, as it currently stands, isn't particularly appealing, which is why the Giants will probably look for value in the draft to join a group expected to include holdovers Isaiah Hodgins (an exclusive rights free agent who should be back) and Wan'Dale Robinson (once healthy).

Although the Giants are likely to move on from the disappointing Kenny Golladay, the move will cost them to the point where they're not necessarily going to be able to swap out Golladay's $13.25 million 2023 base salary for a new veteran.

Depending on when the Giants part with Golladay, they will either save $6.7 million with a $14.7 dead money hit (pre-June 1) or $13.5 million with a $7.9 million dead money hit in 2023 and a $6.8 million hit in 2024.

Financially speaking, the latter makes sense even though it dumps dead money into 2024, as the money saved can be used to sign the draft picks.

But let's get back potential free-agent replacements. Perhaps the best option on the market is 6-foot-1, 215-pound JuJu Smith-Schuster of the Chiefs, who has big-play-making ability once he gets the ball in his hands. Smith-Schuster can line up as a slot receiver, where he offers size, or on the outside.

In his first season with the Chiefs, Smith-Schuster caught 78 of 100 pass targets for 969 yards and three touchdowns while also recording 47 first downs during the regular season--all of this as a mostly secondary option behind tight end Travis Kelce in the passing game.

Smith-Schuster does a good job finding holes in zone coverage. If sent up the seam, he has shown a knack for finding the ball in coverage. While not as adept against man coverage due to a lack of elite explosiveness in getting out of his breaks, Smith-Schuster can usually work his way out of traffic to find the ball.