Giants Players Annual Report Card Reveals Players' Areas of Concern

The NFLPA might no longer be allowed to publish its annual report cards, but that hasn’t stopped leaks of the information, which ESPN obtained and shared.

And as far as the Giants are concerned, let’s just say that of the 17 categories graded by the players, there is room for improvement across the board.

Let’s take a look at the latest grades as reported by ESPN and see where there was improvement or regression, as applicable, by comparing them to the 2025 report card.

(For reference, here is the grading scale that was used last year, and which was presumably used again this year.)

Coaching Staff

Brian Daboll was replaced by offensive coordinator Mike Kafka as the Giants head coach after Week 10 of the 2025 season. | Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

This year’s report card expanded to include the coordinators and the position coaches, grouped into a single area.

But first, let’s look at the repeat area. Former head coach Brian Daboll, who earned a B+ in the 2025 report card, saw his grade slip to C. (Note: It’s unknown if the grade also took into consideration Mike Kafka, who was promoted to interim head coach after Daboll was fired following Week 10.)

The strength coaches, who received an A- grade in 2025, saw their grade dip slightly to B+ in the 2026 report card.

Former special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial received the highest grade among the coaches/coordinators, earning a B+.

Former offensive coordinator Mike Kafka received a C+, former defensive coordinator Shane Bowen received a very generous D+, and the position coaches combined for a B.

Again, it’s unknown whether the coordinator's grades factored in the promotion of tight ends coach Tim Kelly to offensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen to defensive coordinator.

But it’s a moot point anyway, as new head coach John Harbaugh cleaned out most of the previous staff, with Kelly and Bullen being among those retained from the previous staff.

For what it’s worth, Harbaugh and his Ravens staff graded better than their Giants counterparts.

Harbaugh earned a grade of B, the strength coaches a grade of A, the position coaches a grade of B, the three coordinators grades of B+ (defensive and special teams) and B- (offensive).

General Manager

There was little love for general manager Joe Schoen, who received a D+ grade from the players.

Without having seen the feedback that accompanied the grades, it’s hard to know exactly what drove this grade, though it wouldn’t be a stretch to say the team’s struggles in building personnel had a great deal to do with it, as did perhaps contract negotiations for some players.

Schoen, however, has the love, at least for now, from team ownership, who retained him in his role to lead the head coaching search. Schoen, who enters the final year of his original five-year deal, has yet to receive a contract extension, but it’s been reported that an extension is probably coming after the draft.

Team Ownership

Giants co-owners John K. Mara (left) and Steve Tisch | Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images

The Giants’ ownership group consists mainly of John Mara, who leads the Mara family side, and Steve Tisch, who represents the family. That group earned a B, which is a slight improvement from last year’s C+.

Facilities

The Giants' dining area, locker room, training room, and weight room are all undergoing renovations, and based on the grades, they were much needed.

The dining area received a B+ mark, boosted perhaps by the fact that food was also included in the grading criteria. That’s actually a half-step improvement from the previous year’s grade of B.

The training room earned a B-, the same grade it received in the prior year’s evaluation, and the weight room earned a B+, a half-grade improvement from the B- grade a year prior.

The locker room received the worst grade among the facilities at the team’s headquarters, a D, down from the C- grade reported a year earlier.

That dip in grade comes as little surprise, as over the years, not only have the quality of the lockers taken a beating from repeated use, but the team has made temporary lockers that were originally intended to accommodate the 90-man training camp roster a permanent fixture in the locker room, which has made the room crowded.

Add to that the recreational games and furniture set in the middle of the locker room, a worn-out-looking carpet, and the frequent appearance of equipment, tape, and other stuff thrown around the floor, and the locker room has evolved into something of a hazard to move about in.

Training Staff

New York Giants Senior Vice President of Medical Services Ronnie Barnes (left) with offensive lineman Evan Neal. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Giants' training staff, which remains headed by senior vice president of medical services Ronnie Barnes, received a B+ grade, up a half grade from 2025’s grade of B.

The Giants recently hired a new head athletic trainer, Adam Bennett, who previously worked at the University of Miami. Barnes will continue to oversee the training staff.

The team’s nutritionist/dietician, Matthew Frakes, now the Director of Performance Nutrition, received the highest grade in the categories, an A-. That’s a significant jump from the C+ the team previously received prior to hiring Frakes last offseason.

Home Field

The MetLife Stadium field is widely disliked by players across the league. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

No surprise here as the MetLife Stadium field received the lowest possible grade, an F-. For several years now, players on both the Giants and visiting teams have complained about the artificial turf at MetLife, which will be temporarily replaced this summer with a grass field for the World Cup before being restored to field turf.

Miscellaneous

The Giants saw a slight improvement in their grade for family treatment, jumping from a C to a B-. But they also saw a drop in the team travel grade, which went from B to C.

Overall

All things considered, the Giants' overall ranking was right about where their weekly power rankings landed: toward the bottom of the league. New York finished 25th out of 32, with the Patriots, Chiefs, Bengals, Bucs, Browns, Cardinals, and Steelers all finishing worse than New York, and the Jets, who share MetLife Stadium with the Giants, finishing 18th.

That’s a five-spot drop for the Giants, who finished 20th overall the year prior.