Where the Giants Placed on ESPN’s Way Too Early 2021 NFL Power Rankings
The 2021 NFL league year is still more than a month away from beginning, but it’s never too early in the minds of some to set up a way-too-early power ranking for the 32 teams.
The New York Giants finished with a 6-10 record, their best record since their 11-5 mark in 2016 that yielded a playoff berth. And thanks to the poor play of the NFC East, the Giants were even in the playoff hunt down to the wire, their hopes dashed when they came up one game short thanks to letting one too many close games slip through their fingers during the year.
So in setting up their way too early NFL power rankings, ESPN has the Giants ranked at No. 25, the theme of the off-season being to find some playmakers.
Wide receiver. Tight end. Edge rusher. Cornerback. The Giants need help at all those premium positions, whether it be in free agency or the draft. Owner John Mara and general manager Dave Gettleman even admitted after the season they needed to find "playmakers" this offseason. Let the hunt begin.
The Giants, who ranked one spot ahead of the Eagles, yet below the Dallas Cowboys (No. 19) and the Football Team (No. 21), have something that none of their NFC East counterparts have: a semi-stable quarterback situation (I say "semi stable" because Daniel Jones is under contract, unlike Dak Prescott in Dallas; and there is no question as to who will be quarterbacking the Giants in 2021, unlike in Philadelphia and Washington).
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But ESPN is spot on in saying the Giants need playmakers on both offense and defense.
If the Giants are ever to get a true reading of what they have with Daniel Jones, he needs a stronger supporting cast that will help raise the Giants in the league stats from their bottom-dwelling positions such as in receiving touchdowns (12, tied for last with the Patriots) receiving yards, and at or near the bottom of the league in average yards per attempt (6.5), and total passing yards (3,336), just to name a few.
Put another way, the foundation built by head coach Joe Judge and his staff is in place and seems solid.
Now it’s up to general manager Dave Gettleman and the personnel department to bring in some guys to fill out that foundation out in place by Judge and take this program to the next level.
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