Best Available Free Agent Prospects for Giants As of Day 2

The New York Giants had a rather productive first day of pre-Free Agency, adding two potential starters to their offensive line, their most glaring weakness on the team. But there is still a lot more work to get done as while the Giants were adding to the offensive line, they were also losing players.

So who are some of the remaining free agents that, as of Tuesday morning, were not linked to a new team that could be potential Giants fits? Here is our list.

QB Tyrod Taylor (Houston)

If there is one position on the Giants roster that needs to be addressed short of the offensive line, it’s the backup quarterback spot.

Last season, the Giants front office took the easy route in securing a backup gunslinger for Daniel Jones, signing journeyman veteran Mike Glennon to a one-year contract.

When Jones fell to a neck injury in Week 12, the Giants’ decision instantly went south as the offense’s production nosedived in the final six weeks of the season. Glennon finished 2021 with 90 completions for 790 yards, four touchdowns, and a miserable quarterback rating of 11.9, the Giants going 0-6 down the stretch behind him.

Given their struggles when Jones was sidelined and the uncertainty of whether his neck ailment could return later during the season, it is imperative for the Giants to dish out a slightly more considerable sum of money for a more reliable backup quarterback.

For weeks, there has been a ton of buzz surrounding Mitch Trubisky, largely because of his link to Schoen and Daboll in Buffalo, where he spent the past season as Josh Allen’s successor. Trubisky has a better resume than Glennon, but it will be hard to afford him with a $10 million a year deal he’s expected to demand when the Giants are cap-strapped.

However, Houston Texans quarterback Tyrod Taylor is a viable option.

A 10-year veteran, Tyrod Taylor brings a mixture of starting experience, proven offensive production, and an invaluable running ability that is advantageous to modern offenses. In five stints with the Ravens, Bills (played before the Schoen/Daboll era), Browns, Chargers, and Texans, he has accumulated 946 completions for 10,736 yards, 59 touchdowns, an average passer rating of 88.2, and rushed for 2,001 yards.

The three seasons with Buffalo from 2014-2017 saw the 2011 draft pick from Virginia Tech start at least 14 games, amass over 3,000 passing yards twice and throw for at least 14 touchdowns while completing an average of 62.6% of his throws.

This past year, Taylor began as the Texans starting quarterback with franchise star Deshaun Watson away from the team and seeking a new destination. That role was short-lived and bounced on and off due to injuries and the team electing to start Davis Mills at the end of the season.

Still, in six games played, Taylor led the Texans to a 2-4 record, scoring 966 yards, five touchdowns, and five interceptions. He also ran for 155 yards and three rushing touchdowns, which stakes a better claim than the numbers the Giants posted in the same stretch with Glennon.

The benefits of signing Taylor extend beyond his athleticism and statistics. Last season, he signed a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Texans, meaning the Giants could acquire him on a similar deal for much cheaper than Trubisky, especially after the former’s injuries troubles.

On the other hand, Taylor has struggled behind inefficient offensive lines during his career–he’s been sacked 157 times–so the Giants will need to strengthen their porous front seven if they want Jones or a replacement like Taylor to find any success in 2022.

RB Justin Jackson (LA Chargers)

The Giants’ running back room is an area of the roster that Schoen has been asked about repeatedly since he took the stand as general manager earlier this year. Specifically with regards to Saquon Barkley and his future with the team.

During the combine, Schoen fielded questions about Barkley’s trade status and what the front office was searching for in return for their face of the franchise over the last few seasons.

Schoen said he was “open to everything” while hesitating from declaring the whole roster “open for business.” Either way, it’s hard to see the Giants moving on from their No. 2 pick in 2018 based on the likely low level of return value they’d get and their desire to include him in parts of the offensive game plans.

Regardless of what happens with Barkley, the Giants still need to provide him with a suitable backup ball carrier. Devontae Booker served that role this past season as the No. 2 back, occasionally getting increased reps amid injuries to Barkley and matching his teammate in production with 593 yards and two touchdowns. The Giants have since released Booker as part of the salary cap cuts.

One new name they could turn to is Chargers’ running back Justin Jackson. Standing at 6’0'' and 200 pounds, the former seventh-round pick in 2018 has provided the Los Angeles backfield with a reliable dual-threat to follow up the production from starter Austin Ekeler.

Through four seasons with the Chargers, Jackson has amassed 206 carries for 1,040 rushing yards and four touchdowns. In 2021, the Northwestern product had the best numbers of his career, rushing 68 times for 364 yards, an average of 5.4 yards per carry, and two touchdowns.

Jackson, like Barkley, is the type of back who can burst out in the open field for big-time yardage. His longest rush of this past season was 75 yards, but the comparisons don’t stop there. Jackson also excels in making plays receiving out of the backfield, where he’s amassed over 500 yards in four years with an average of 7.8 yards per catch.

If the Chargers let Jackson enter the free-agent market this week, he’s a player the Giants could nab and help support their running back circle that is filled with unanswered questions.

TE Hayden Hurst (Atlanta)

The Giants seemingly find themselves at a crossroads with the tight end position.

Most of the big-name players have been off the board for a while returning to hefty contracts, and the Giants’ cap situation doesn’t allow them to spend big money willingly on a high-value tight end selection.

At the same time, the team is coming off the option year with Evan Engram, their 2017 draft selection whose production has declined in recent seasons (46 receptions and 408 yards this season after 63 and 654 in 2020) and who has fallen somewhat out of favor with the fan base for his receiving woes.

There is the possibility of the Giants electing to re-sign Engram to a team-friendly deal and trying to rediscover his athletic potential in the new Daboll-inspired offense. The previous offensive system ranked 30th or worse in passing yards and touchdowns last season, certainly not helping the success of Engram and his fellow receivers. Pro Football Focus also projects Engram to receive a two-year, $9 million salary from an acquiring team this offseason which is not outside the Giants' wheelhouse.

At the very least, Engram provides Daniel Jones and the Giants offense with a big body receiving target (Engram is 6’3” 240 pounds) that boasts 4.4 speed in the open field and can make some contested catches. If the front office decides to move in a different direction, a free agent replacement on the market is Atlanta tight end Hayden Hurst.

Standing at 6’4” and 260 pounds, Hurst has brought some of the same athletic intangibles as Engram throughout his four-year NFL career. He has some numbers to show on his resume, tallying 125 receptions for 1,304 yards (10.4 yards average per catch) and 12 touchdowns in two stops with Baltimore and Atlanta.

The 2018 first-round draft of the Ravens had his best year on record in 2020 as a Falcon when he had 56 receptions for 571 yards and six touchdowns. Along with deploying him at different spots out wide like Engram, the Giants could use Hurst as an extra blocker on the offensive line if they wanted to go that route.

Hurst also had a dismal 2021 campaign with 26 receptions for 221 yards and three touchdowns. Perhaps he just needs a new scene and one of the league’s most productive offensive systems to turn that around in 2022.

CB Anthony Averett (Baltimore)

Schoen is on the verge of making a very difficult decision regarding veteran corner James Bradberry–trade him to an acquiring team willing to take on his cap hit and dole out draft capital or reluctantly send him off to the market on a cut. If it can be avoided, the former Bills’ assistant general manager would rather trade the Pro Bowl player and receive some pick compensation along with the projected $12.1 million in cap savings.

Yet to this point, no team has taken the bait or given the Giants a strong indication they’re willing to exchange the value sought for in a Bradberry deal. Working against Schoen is the knowledge of Bradberry’s $21.9 million cap hit for 2022 and its status as a major obstacle in the Giants' goal of $40 million in cap savings. Suitors would rather wait it out for the No. 1 corner to hit the market and protect their draft assets.

It would be nearly impossible for the Giants to hold onto Bradberry for next season. Still, we’ve seen the team do dubious transactions within the roster before (hence the restructures Schoen is adamant about avoiding).

Pending they manage to make one that sees Bradberry depart for a new destination, the Giants will need to find another veteran corner to fill his shoes and headline the secondary in Don Martindale’s man-heavy system.

As with Daboll and his Bills connections, the Giants could attempt to lure one of Martindale’s former players from Baltimore in Anthony Averett.

Averett was a fourth-round draft selection out of Alabama in 2018 by the Ravens and has increasingly become one of the most productive ball hawks on the team’s defense. In four seasons, the corner has totaled 101 tackles (87 solo) and three interceptions, all of the latter coming this past season. He also finished 2021 with 54 tackles (46 solos) and 11 passes deflected, the third most by any member of the Ravens defense.

Averett isn’t a major threat for opposing backfields. Still, he is a producer in the secondary and an exemplification of the lockdown mentality that Martindale will expect of the Giants players in the new system.

His three sacks and 11 passes deflected ranked 23rd and 25th overall among the league’s pool of corners, respectively, and those rankings are worthy of replacing the presence of Bradberry (4 INTs and 17 passes deflected).

The only question is whether the Giants would be willing to satisfy a larger contract demand from Averett, who is believed to be outside of their budget. If the Giants pass on a free agent signing, it may signify that Schoen wants to pursue an alternative in the draft.

S Jabrill Peppers (Giants)

For this piece's final free agency proposition, I’m keeping things in-house with one of the Giants’ unrestricted free agents.

Safety Jabrill Peppers.

Peppers has been a member of the Giants organization since he came over from the Browns in the Odell Beckham Jr. trade in 2019. He was also the subject of one of my UFA primers just over a month ago, in which I suggested the Giants should look to retain him for the energy and adequate numbers he provides to the defense when healthy.

Peppers has 196 tackles, 3.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and two interceptions through three seasons with the Giants. His best season as a Giant was in 2020, when he had 91 tackles (57 solos), 2.5 sacks, one fumble, and one interception. Peppers followed that up with only 29 tackles and one sack in 2021, but that resulted from suffering ACL and ankle injuries in Week 7.

Beyond the statistics and general charisma he brings to the Giants secondary, which would still be stable in the event of his departure, I noted in my free-agent primer the fit Peppers has for the Giants' new defensive system under Martindale.

Like Averett, Peppers would fit like a puzzle piece in a scheme that prioritizes sending blitzes and pressuring the quarterback. Martindale’s defense in Baltimore was one of the heaviest blitzing groups in the league last season, Peppers was often used a blitzer from 10-15 yards out to blow up plays at the line of scrimmage or to chase down ball carriers for minimal gains in the outside and flats.

Similar to Averett, there’s the concern of the price tag that would come with retaining Peppers. However, the Giants could hold some leverage in the bargaining given his injury history and the depth they would still have with Xavier McKinney and veteran Logan Ryan. Peppers played on a fifth-year option worth $6.7 million last season, so perhaps the Giants could attempt to offer him a reasonable one-year deal around that price to see how he bounces back from serious injuries before committing long term.

If there’s a will, there’s a way, and Peppers truly exemplifies that with his play. The Giants should reward that if they can, and why not do so for a player whose caliber they’re well aware of.

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