Skip to main content
Giants Country

Friday Reader Mailbag | Free Agency, The Draft and The Future

Let's go ahead and open the mailbag to see what's on everyone's minds.
Patricia Traina|

It’s a super-sized mailbag this week (thank you, everyone!). Let’s jump right in head-first.

Hi Todd. While I agree that the offensive line is going to be a top focus for the Giants in the draft, I don’t agree that we’ll see two tackles and a center before Day 2 is over. Will we see one offensive tackle drafted? I’d be shocked if that wasn’t the case.

But the more I think about the center spot, the more I wonder if they’re either going to go with Spencer Pulley, whom people continue to forget about in the discussion or if they plan to move Nick Gates to center. If I’m the Giants, I go with Pulley for a year as a stop-gap solution, and then I maybe look to address center the following year.

Hi Ross. Nothing has been set in stone just yet, but as of this writing, the safe move with center is Spencer Pulley. 

If the plan is to draft and start an offensive tackle on Day 1, do you want to see two rookies, including one at center, which is the guy who makes the protection calls, on the offensive line? 

I’d rather see an experienced center there, and I think Pulley, who two years ago didn’t do such a bad job, which is why they re-signed him last off-season, could be the short-term answer.

Hi Joe. No. Fleming is an offensive tackle, and as I mentioned above, people keep forgetting about Spencer Pulley as an option at center, which is what I think is one way they might go, the other possibly being Nick Gates. 

As for the defense, you saw all the breakdowns they had in coverage last year, right? You also no doubt noticed that Markus Golden was the only defender getting home with the pass rush. 

Are they better? On paper, yes, but until these guys get on the field, it remains to be seen.

I think so, but will the three consist of both Alex Tanney and Colt McCoy? My answer there is no.

I think Dave Gettleman has an edict to win every year. With that said, there’s no question that the results from his first two seasons weren’t acceptable.

So my guess is that ownership has told him that if they don’t see progress as in more wins for this team moving forward, there could be some more changes to come.

What’s up, “Pin”? Okay, so I’m going to spoil my tease here. Next week on the site, each member of the writing team put together a seventh-round Giants mock draft with justification. I haven’t yet done my draft as of this writing (that’s one of my weekend projects, and my draft probably won’t drop until later in the week anyway.

But with all that said, I’m trading down at No. 4, and I’m hoping I get Miami to trade up with me. I have to see if that will work when I run my simulation, but that’s what I hope happens. If it does, I’m likely going with Tristan Wirfs.

I think it’s going to be a mix. They still need a tackle and a receiver on offense. And on defense, I’d add to every position, especially outside linebacker. 

The longest of the contracts agreed to by the free agents has been three years, so that to me says they’re looking at shorter-term stop gaps and will instead look to the draft for longer-term solutions, which is how it should be.

Content is unavailable

Great question, Sel. Right now, no coaching staff is allowed to be talking football with its players. And if I recall correctly, the last memo sent out by the league had the precautions In place until the end of the month, at which time they were to be re-evaluated. 

With that said, I think the off-season is going to be wiped out, and if that happens, I would imagine that coaching staff will communicate with their players via online (virtual) classrooms.

What I don’t know is whether the two-week Phase I period will be waived if players aren’t allowed on-site at team facilities. 

Still, a lot of sorting out to do, and I think some teams are still exploring how they’re going to handle all that as we’re in unchartered waters here.

Hey Hooti. I think for the right offer, anyone of Miami, the Chargers, Carolina, and even the Raiders might be potential trade-down partners with the Giants. 

If it’s me, I try to get Miami to bite, and I ask for their third-round pick (No. 70 overall which is only two spots lower than where the Giants would have picked int hat round had they not traded it to the Jets for Leonard Williams) as compensation.

Hi Rob. I don’t know the title of the podcast’s new musical opening as I didn’t produce it. 

Nothing new to report on Connelly or Engram as everyone is scattered around the country and, hopefully, observing social distancing during this pandemic crisis we have. 

As for a running back, I don’t have a preference because I can’t quite get a feel for what they might want in a running back.

It depends on what Golden is looking for money-wise. Spotrac estimated Golden’s market value at $13.5 million per year; Over the Cap has the Giants with $19,334,792 of cap space, and of that, they’ll need about $10 million of functional space for the draft class. 

Based on those numbers, I’d say that the ship sailed for re-signing Golden. I do find it curious that there hasn’t been any known market for Golden anywhere. I also suspect, as outlined in this article, that new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham might have Lorenzo Carter take over the role Golden played last year.

From a contract structure perspective, yes, I think the Giants did a great job, and hey, it’s about time they changed their thinking to move away from signing bonuses and big-money deals to guys aged 30 and over, right? 

I didn’t do as deep of a dive into the available free agents as they did, but I was surprised they didn’t go with Cory Littleton and maybe grab a slot cornerback in free agency. Other than that, like everyone else, I’m curious to see how everything works out.

I can’t speak for everyone, and people are going to do what they want, but I take each transaction in stride. 

I prefer to see how things play out on the field before I get too worked up either way about a signing they made or didn’t make.

Hi Dorian. That depends on who they trade down with and how far down we’re talking. If they trade down with the Raiders, for example, I could see moving the 19t pick for more Day 2 picks. 

With that said, I don’t know if teams have their draft boards set, and I have no idea how far down Gettleman would be willing to go if he gets that opportunity.

Hi Anthony. Check out this evaluation I wrote. We won’t know if the team has gotten better or worse until all the pieces of the puzzle are in, and we see how the coaches plan to deploy everything. 

Seriously, I’m not trying to dodge the question, but with a new coaching staff in place, it’s harder to anticipate what might develop, especially on defense where Patrick Graham last year was in his first season as a defensive coordinator and even then there was some question as to whether what we saw from the Dolphins was all of his schemes or some of Brian Flores’.

Content is unavailable

Great question. I think you can get games going back to 2009, so if you want to relive the 2011 season, I think you can. I’d check out the new special features they’ve added as some of those look interesting.

With most of the top free agents now off the board, @EDSFootball goes three rounds deep in his latest mock draft.


Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
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.

Share on XFollow Patricia_Traina
Home/News