PFF Ranks Giants Receivers 21st Best in NFL--Why that Ranking Might Be Too Low
Pro Football Focus' Ben Linsey released his rankings for NFL receiving corps ahead of the 2020 season, and the Giants, who declined to add veteran free agents or draft at the position, earned the No. 21 spot in his rankings, putting New York third in the division behind the Cowboys (third) and the Eagles (14th).
But is the ranking fair? Here's how Linsey broke it down.
Giants fans were vehemently opposed to taking a wide receiver early in the 2020 NFL Draft, but the fact remains that they’ve been a team with good complementary pieces in the passing game and no true No. 1 option ever since the departure of Odell Beckham Jr. Golden Tate and Sterling Shepard are solid slot and secondary options in the short and intermediate-range, and Darius Slayton showed promise as a downfield threat in his rookie season. Evan Engram and Saquon Barkley both provide plus athleticism and receiving ability for their positions. That’s a good supporting cast; New York is just missing the star.
The Giants draft strategy was to address position groups that were sorely lacking, including offensive line, defensive secondary, and linebacker. While Linsey isn't necessarily wrong in noting that the Giants don't have a true No. 1 receiver, jus look at the years in which they did have a No. 1 receiver (Beckham) and what that got them in terms of wins.
From a bigger picture perspective, the offensive line additions might ultimately spell better overall success for the returning Giants receivers.
Improved pass protection will open up more opportunities for quarterback Daniel Jones to execute pass attempts--without pass protection, it won't matter who the receivers are as the offense won't be able to sustain drives.
It's also worth noting how with 2019 being the Giants' first season without Beckham, the team's wide receiver core only saw a moderate drop in receiver production from the previous year.
In 2018--and with Beckham in the lineup for 12 games--the Giants receivers amassed 2,612 receiving yards.
A year later, the receivers' production dropped to 2,598 yards--and that was with Golden Tate (four games to suspension), Sterling Shepard (six games to concussions), Darius Slayton (two games to a hamstring injury), and Corey Coleman (whole season to an ACL tear) all missing time.
Much of the 2019 production is due to the emergence of Slayton, their fifth-round last year, who took over as the Giants' leading wide receiver in 2019 during all the significant absences by the unit's veterans.
Slayton didn't quite fully replicate Beckham Jr.'s production, but he did offer a dependable deep threat target for the Giants offense with legitimate big-play ability.
Slayton finished 2019 with eight touchdowns, six of which were from a distance of 20+ yards, and four were from a distance of 35+ yards. Combined with only five total drops, Slayton's big-play ability combined with dependability, should put him at the top of the Giants wide receiver depth chart heading into 2020.
Slayton might not yet fit the bill of superstar wide receiver at this point in his NFL career. His ability as a deep threat combined with already-strong chemistry with Jones gives the Giants a legitimate number one option and their best possible contender for a 1,000-yard receiver in 2020.
If the new offensive line additions can create cleaner pockets for Jones, and if they can get some additional production from one or more of the three undrafted rookie free agents they signed (Austin Mack, Derrick Dillon, and Binjamen Victor), and keep all their receivers available and healthy every week, the Giants receiving group would be in a much better place for a higher ranking the next time the league's receiving groups are evaluated.
