Giants Mailbag: Kayvon Thibodeaux's Hidden Value, Jaxson Dart's Learning Curve and the WR Race

Welcome to the weekly New York Giants On SI mailbag! From offseason moves to game-day strategies, we'll do our best to answer your questions. (Some questions have been edited for brevity and clarity.)

A Player’s Hidden Value

From Pat L. (via e-mail): Is there a way to judge a player's value to the team besides the standard metrics? I'm specifically asking because Kayvon Thibodeaux seems to be going through what Leonard Williams did a few years ago. His value was beyond sacks, tackles behind the line of scrimmage, etc. Is it just an eye test since metrics don't know what the player's assignment is?

Pat, I suppose one can expand a player’s value to what he brings to the locker room as well, but at the end of the day, it’s all about production. Thibodeaux is a pretty good run stopper–probably the best run stopper of the team’s outside linebackers. So that has to count for something.

And I’m sure there are times when Thibodeaux has made a play that doesn’t show up in the stat sheet but helped someone else to do so. So to answer your question, yes, there is a way to judge the player’s value. You have to be willing to sit and scrutinize every nuance of the film if you really want to find it.

Jaxson Dart's Growing Pains

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

From Andrew Bogdan (@AndrewBogdanCT): In your recent podcast, you asked us to be patient as Dart learns this new offense and plays more from the pocket. How do you think Harbaugh will navigate this learning curve for Dart and still win games?

Andrew, probably the same as the rest of us. He’ll have to be patient with Dart. He'll also have to continue working with him to smooth out the rough edges.

I do think Harbaugh and his staff will do everything possible to help Dart, and that includes putting more of an emphasis on the running game to take some of the onus off the quarterback. Still, at the end of the day, you have to let Dart continue to cut his teeth if you believe he’s your future.

From Kris Kauffeld (@dublk52): You touched on it a little on your podcast: the offensive struggles, how much is it just because it’s early, Dart learning a new offense, and maybe having a good defense. Or anything else contributing?

Kris, as you noted, I answered this in the podcast. The struggles early on were a combination of it being early, Dart having to get used to working under center and having to grow comfortable with new receivers, and having to face a relentless defense that’s been practicing lights out. That’s pretty much it unless he's nursing an injury no one outside of the team knows about.

Receiver Race

New York Giants wide receiver Malachi Fields | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

From Pete Lynch: (@p8rlynch): Who has impressed in the WR group?

Pete, I think if you took a poll, Odell Beckham Jr., Malachi Fields, Braxton Berrios, and Dalen Cambre are the top performers so far. Beckham has started to get into a groove as far as getting open.

Cambre is on his way to locking up a spot if he succeeds on special teams, as is Berrios, and Fields is making a strong case for a big piece of the passing game pie.

Blind Love?

New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

From Deplorable John (@johnjcarp61): I’ve been a fan since the early 70’s, a season ticket holder. This team on paper is a 500 team, or better yet, so many “experts” say we’ll be slightly better than last year. Why do I see this team, from coaching to players, light years better than ‘25? Is it blind love?

John, I think it’s blind faith. Look, the last two years, can we agree that the team hit rock bottom and has nowhere to go but up?

And can we agree that Harbaugh is cut from the same cloth as Tom Coughlin, not to mention that Harbaugh has a resume with a lot more success than failure? And can we also agree that this coaching staff is one of the best that this team has had in years, from top to bottom?

All of that is why there is a lot of optimism floating around. You know that Harbaugh is going to throw every trick in the book at getting this team back on track, and if for some reason that doesn’t happen, it won’t be because the head coach doesn’t have a clue how to adapt.

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