Giants Earn Respectable Pre-Draft Power Ranking from PFF

No more cellar-dwellers? If Pro Football Focus's pre-draft power rankings are to be believed, the New York Giants are on the rise, given the roster improvements made by general manager Joe Schoen.

According to the popular analytics site, which also considered team performance in 2022, the Giants ranked 14th out of 32 teams. Although this ranking is somewhat fair considering how much the team overachieved last season, there is a case for the Giants to be ranked a bit higher (probably 11th or 12th) due to the moves they’ve made and those they didn't.

The Giants’ biggest loss and gain during the offseason, as determined by PFF’s Wins Above Replacement, were safety Julian Love and linebacker Bobby Okereke, respectively. Most of the analysis concerning acquiring tight end Darren Waller via trade was considered “high-risk, high-reward.”

It’s disappointing that PFF didn't look deeper into the Giants’ moves. Although they are a difficult team to gauge, they deserve a slightly higher ranking because they’ve done a good job addressing many needs before the draft, setting themselves up to go in any number of directions to further add depth.

The signings of Okereke and receiver Parris Campbell not only addressed team needs for linebacker and receiver but also resulted in cap hits of $5 million each. The Okereke signing projects to improve the team’s previously poor run defense, while the Campbell signing gives the Giants a player with breakout potential as a deep threat.

The acquisition of Waller, while risky given his recent injury history, would be a boon to the Giants if he can stay healthy. A healthy Waller is a top-tier tight end, with PFF noting that only George Kittle of the 49ers and Travis Kelce of the Chiefs were more productive between 2019 and 2020.

Waller’s cap hit, following his contract restructure, is only $4.4 million for the coming year.

Losing Love to the Seahawks hurt, as he was the team’s leading tackler last year, but with the Giants’ draft capital and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s desire to upgrade the secondary, the Giants can look for replacements in the draft, such as Brian Branch, or they can turn to veteran Bobby McCain, whom they signed to a cost-effective deal.

Outside of Love, the Giants only lost interior offensive linemen Nick Gates and Jon Feliciano, defensive lineman Henry Mondeaux, and receiver Richie James in free agency. The losses of Gares and Feliciano leave the Giants thin at center (though they did sign J.C. Hassenauer), while James was their receiving yardage leader. Still, the Giants are expected to address the holes on the depth chart resulting from these losses via the draft.

In general, the Giants have gained far more than what they’ve lost entering the draft, a haul that also includes run-stopping defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches, and receivers Jeff Smith and Jamison Crowder. But if the Giants are to take the next step forward, they would need quarterback Daniel Jones, running back Saquon Barkley, and defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence to replicate their previous production for improved team results.

The argument for the Giants to have a higher power ranking relates to the Bucs and the Jaguars placing 11th and 12th, respectively. The Jaguars haven’t made any notable upgrades in free agency and lost edge rusher Arden Key, while the Bucs are taking a gamble on quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Both teams also only made the playoffs by winning extremely weak divisions, while the Giants made the playoffs despite playing in arguably the strongest division in the NFL. Although the Jags have a very high upside due to their young talent, the Bucs' aging roster, uncertainty with Mayfield, and brutal salary cap scenario don’t justify a higher ranking than the Giants.

Overall, the Giants have done a good enough job in the pre-draft period to where they know which holes they can fill with their draft acquisitions. Losing Love hurts but is not necessarily a fatal blow to the defense. Also, the team could still use more receiver depth, even with the Campbell signing and Waller trade.

Although the Giants aren't yet regarded as a true Super Bowl contender, and their maximum upside is unknown, they have enough potential and roster balance to rank in the upper half of the NFL’s hierarchy, knocking on the door of being a higher-tiered suitor.

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