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New York Giants Mailbag: The Draft Class, The Receivers, the Offense and More

We're less than a month away from the start of training camp, so let's check in with our readers to see what's on their minds.
Patricia Traina|
New York Giants Mailbag: The Draft Class, The Receivers, the Offense and More
New York Giants Mailbag: The Draft Class, The Receivers, the Offense and More

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New York Giants

If you'd like to submit a question for the mailbag, please send it to nygiantsmaven@gmail.com. Note: Some letters may have been edited for clarity/length.

(From Gene F.) What is your impression of the players drafted in the later rounds, and do you see some real opportunities for players in these later rounds?

Thanks for the question, Gene. I'm unsure if you were referring to players drafted this year or in the last two seasons. But on first glance--and this is without having seen this year's team in pads, which will tell us a lot more--I'd say some Day 3 guys to keep an eye on include RB Eric Gray, DB Gervarrius Owens, and DB Tre Hawkins III. 

(From Joe C.) Since Barkley was our leading rusher, great at pass protection, and our leading receiver, would the Giants give him a hybrid contract to reflect, at least in part, the wide receiver market?

Joe, I don't know why people think Barkley was the Giants' leading receiver last year. He wasn't. He had 57 receptions (regular and postseason), tied for the team lead with Richie James. Barkley's receiving yardage (338) was fourth on the team, behind Darius Slayton (72), James (569). and Isaiah Hodgins (351).

Since this is a passing league, receivers are more highly paid than running backs. And one can probably argue that Barkley isn't quite the receiver that Christian McCaffrey is. Last year Barkley had ten first downs as a receiver, his lowest season total in his career, not counting the year he tore his ACL (as a rookie, he had 30).

His receptions per game dropped from 5.7 as a rookie to 3.6 last season and his yards per target from 6.0 to 4.4. All of that tells me that while Barkley wl get his chances in the passing game, it's just not enough to do as you suggest, which is to bump up his pay to broach receiver territory.

Ken, I don't think the Giants will increase Saquon's passing game targets. There might be weeks where he gets more than usual, but given all the receiving talent they added, if that group is healthy, Saquon's main role will be the running game, with the occasional contribution in the passing game. 

Again, I think we'll see a lot more 12-personnel this year if Waller is healthy. But this team will probably look to work more with 11 personnel as its base.

As for Neal, I know he's been working his tail off, which gives him a chance to make an Andrew Thomas type of leap. I'm optimistic, but we need to see it with the pads on.

(From Tamato_times, via Threads): Do you think starters will see fewer preseason snaps this year to help mitigate potential injuries?

Hey-oh, congratulations on becoming the first-ever question to appear o this site from THREADS (my user ID is @pattitraina, for those who want to follow me on THREADS and INSTAGRAM, by the way).

Yes, I would think that this being Year 2 of the system, there might not be as much of a need for the starters to play as many snaps as they did last season.

That said, I hope the coaching staff works out a balance to where they still get some work because a couple of years ago, when the previous staff took this approach, the team came out of the gate looking so ill-prepared it was embarrassing.

It's early, but I don't think Crowder is the odd man out. What I think will happen is Shepard and Robinson will start the season on PUP, the first four receivers will be Campbell, Hodgins, Slayton, and Hyatt, and I think the remaining two to start the regular season (the initial 53-man roster, as I call it) could be Bryce Ford-Wheaton, depending on what kind of camp he has. 

The sixth receiver is up in the air for me--maybe Jeff Smith if he shows well on special teams?

I don't know if they "need work" because I'm not sure exactly how often the plays last year called for him to go to a second and third read. From what I could tell, it wasn't as often, so I would think that's part of the plan to advance Jones in this offense. I'd also like to see him work some more under center instead of from the shotgun just to see how well he does with that.

Hey Darius. The answer is to sustain drives and get into the end zone. Really that simple. The Giants were ranked 30th last year in TOP share (42.82 percent), which means they only held the ball 42.82 percent of the time in the first quarter (and that was worst than their 2021 stat, by the way). So maintaining drives and finishing them would be the main objective for this team.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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