Five Major Upgrades the Giants Have Made Since the 2019 Season-Opener

As we await our first live look at the 2020 Giants, there is a greater air of confidence that a team that has won just nine games in the last two seasons is finally on the right path.

Below you can see a screenshot of the Giants' lineup for their Week 1 game against Dallas last year.

In identifying what position units they upgraded, I didn't limit the list to only newcomers added to the off-season. Instead, I included new faces as well as those who for one reason or another weren't on the active roster

Of course, we won't know for sure until the games are played if the Giants have indeed upgraded the various weak spots listed below. Still, if we look at the moves made on paper, there are five discernable areas from their opening day roster that the Giants appear to have upgraded.

Inside Linebacker

Old Face(s): Alec Ogletree

New Face(s): Blake Martinez, TJ Brunson

Ogletree, one of the first trades Dave Gettleman made as the Giants general manager, was supposed to provide leadership and an infusion of talent to a linebacker unit that has seen a revolving door the last several seasons.

After recording 108 total tackles in 2016 and then 80 the year after, the Rams traded Ogletree despite having just signed an extension. In two seasons with the Giants, he never came close to recording 80 tackles, and his stops (tackles for zero or negative yards) also significantly decreased.

Never really known for his coverage, Ogletree did record five interceptions in his first year as a Giant, but in 2019, he went right back to being exposed by running backs and tight ends who would test the middle of the field.

The lack of speed combines with pedestrian production in the pass rush department led Gettleman to make a change. Last year, they added Ryan Connelly in the draft, who not only showed tremendous instincts but who played a lot faster on tape than his measurables suggested.

Sadly, a torn ACL ended his season early and has cast some question as to whether he might be able to bounce back to his pre-injury form.

Just in case the unthinkable happens, and Connelly isn't fully ready to go this year, the Giants added Blake Martinez and a couple of young draft picks, TJ Brunson and Tae Crowder, all of whom can run.

Martinez is projected to replace Ogletree as the defensive signal-caller in the starting lineup. Martinez, who in March told reporters that his role in the Packers defense last season might not have been as valued as in some other systems, will get a chance to do more than "clean up" after teammates who miss a tackle at the point of attack.

He'll also likely get a chance to do more blitzing, something that he did well in 2018 when his position coach was Patrick Graham. That year, Martinez recorded a career-high 19 pressures.

Offensive Tackle

Old Face(s): Mike Remmers

New Face(s): Andrew Thomas, Cam Fleming

The Giants added Mike Remmers, a player with whom then head-coach Pat Shurmur had familiarity, on May 14, last year. The transaction was delayed in part because Remmers was recovering from off-season back surgery and needed to pass a physical.

Remmers, who played for Shurmur on the 2017 Vikings powerhouse, recorded his best career year in terms of pressures allowed (27 total) while playing most of his snaps at right tackle, so the move made sense.

The problem is that, whether it was due to his back surgery or some other factor, Remmers couldn't replicate that success at right tackle for the Giants. He allowed 40 pressures, and 34 hurries, the third-highest total in his career.

But Remmers' struggles didn't come close to those suffered by Nate Solder at left tackle. Solder, who before they start of last season, had a cleanup procedure in his ankle, never really looked healthy, and proceeded to post the worst year of his career, with 56 total pressures allowed.

Performances aside, the most glaring issue at offensive tackle was a lack of depth to allow the coaches to sit either tackle.

After languishing without sufficient depth that wouldn't lead to a massive drop-off, the Giants finally added some reinforcement. They drafted youngsters Andrew Thomas in the first round and Matt PEart in the third. Thomas will be a starter, most likely at left tackle, while Peart is the future at right tackle.

The Giants also added Cam Fleming from the Cowboys, a very under-the-radar signing given that Fleming can play both tackle spots.

With him on the roster, should the Giants tackles have to miss any time they have a guy with experience as a starter who throughout his career has proven that there won't be that much of a drop-off if he has to play for a game or two.

Safety

Old Face(s): Antoine Bethea

New Face(s): Xavier McKinney

Last year the Giants went through a sort of identity crisis in that in some regards, they were looked at as rebuilding team while in others, it looked like they were trying to have experience at certain positions to win.

The latter applied to the defensive secondary. Former defensive coordinator James Bettcher is believed to have lobbied for the team to sign 35-year-old Antoine Bethea, his free safety in Arizona.

Although the Giants insists that Bethea hasn't lost a step, his play on the field revealed otherwise. He gave up a career-high five touchdowns according to Pro Football Focus and posted his third-worst career NFL Rating (133.8).

The Giants have since moved on from Bethea, replacing him with second-round pick Xavier McKinney. And in McKinney, the Giants are getting much more than a faster free safety. They're getting a versatile young player who can be moved around in various roles, including the slot, the box, and outside corner.

McKinney also gives the Giants some additional firepower on blitzes. Although he wasn't used as a blitzer much in college, according to Sports Info Solutions, he had a pressure rate of 31 percent.

Call it a gut feeling, but it sure seems like defensive coordinator Patrick Graham might be able to do a little more with McKinney than he might have been able to do with Bethea.

Receiver

Old Face(s): Cody Latimer

New Face(s): Darius Slayton

Slayton missed the first two games last year due to a hamstring strain that he developed midway through training camp. Between his being inactive and golden Tate starting a four-game league-imposed suspension, the Giants were forced to start Cody Latimer and Sterling Shepard at receiver.

Latimer would go on to finish the 2019 season appearing in 15 games with ten starts, but only catching 24 out of 42 targets for 300 yards (12.5 yards per reception) and two touchdowns.

Slayton, meanwhile, ended up having a breakout rookie campaign not just statistically but in his overall game. Besides leading the Giants in touchdown receptions (8), the youngers led the Giants receivers (based on 30 receptions) with an impressive 15.4 yards per catch and was second, behind Tate in yards after the catch with 199.

Slayton, one of the few receivers who separated from defenders consistently, quickly erased early concerns about his ability to hold onto passes.

Whereas in his first few practices with the Giants, he would be a body catcher, which resulted in drops, he took to coaching and cut down his drops to only three all season long (out of 80 pass targets).

In the Giants' new offense, which is expected to be more vertical, Slayton should see a significant increase in pass targets this year, if healthy.

Tight End

Old Face(s): Rhett Ellison

New Face(s): Levine Toilolo, Kaden Smith

If all goes according to plan, new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett will be running a lot of 12-personnel this year with a deployment of Evan Engram (if healthy) taking the majority of his snaps in positions other than as an in-line blocker.

The addition of Levine Toilolo from the 49ers should allow for this. Toilolo has allowed eight pass pressures in the last three seasons. As a run blocker, Toilolo is also pretty solid.

Last season the 49ers finished with the second-best (144.1 yards per game) rushing attack in the NFL, behind the Ravens. The Giants, no doubt with Saquon Barkley, feel they can certainly improve on their 105.3 yards per game average last year (19th), a slight increase from the 103.1 yards per game they recorded with Barkley in 2018.

With the Giants offensive line undergoing yet another renovation, the unit hasn't had the benefit of working together in the spring--having a solid run blocker like Toilolo will be a plus.

Smith is also going to be a key in the upgrade at tight end. Smith didn't get as involved in run-blocking and pass blocking last year as a rookie, but when he did, he held his own.

Where Smith potentially offers the most value is as a receiver. Smith finished with a 116.7 NFL Rating last year, the best among the Giants receivers and tight ends who had at least 30 pass targets.

If Engram isn't cleared physically or gets hit again by the injury bug, Smith could step in and take some of those receiving game snaps that might otherwise be earmarked for Engram.

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