It was no secret that New York Giants General Manager Jerry Reese had his work cut out for him in reinventing a team that had just struggled to a 7-9 season and had an aging, underachieving roster.
On defense, the Giants were an inconsistent, below average unit that ranked eighth worst in yards allowed and gave up nearly 24 points a game. Specifically, New York needed to upgrade its defensive line and secondary, both of which were too often torched by the league’s best offenses.
The offense, specifically the offensive line, was also in need of a makeover after allowing quarterback Eli Manning to be sacked 39 times, a large number for a team that struggled to score as it was, averaging a paltry 18 points per game.
The Giants looked to reinvent their offensive line by first releasing center David Baas and signing Kansas City Chiefs guard Geoff Schwartz, who several analysts have deemed one of the best interior lineman of last season. Then, in a move no one saw coming, New York signed Denver Broncos center J.D. Walton, who hasn’t played a snap since 2012 while recovering from an ankle injury. He is, though, a 27-year-old in his peak years who has immense talent and an amazing upside if he can stay healthy. Both moves were made, no doubt, to follow through on the front office’s desire to in an effort to inject the roster with youth and remove the aging players who have begun to drag them down.
In addition, the Giants made no effort to sign the often hurt Hakeem Nicks, who, when healthy, is one of the most reliable wide receivers in football. The decision makes sense, although a perfectly relevant argument can be made that Nicks deserved, at the very least, an offer from Reese. Nicks, when healthy, has some of the most reliable hands in football and seems to catch everything thrown his way, which gives the Giants another option on the outside to complement dynamic playmaker Victor Cruz.
The Giants were hoping to replace Nicks with either the Balitmore Ravens Jacoby Jones, or the Carolina Panthers Ted Ginn Jr., but missed out on both. Nevertheless, New York appears confident that the offense will get back on track with Cruz, Rueben Randle and Jerrel Jernigan occupying the top three wide receiver positions while using May’s draft to replace tight end Brandon Myers. Myers, a hot commodity on the free agent market last season at tight end, was disappointing in his one year with the Giants and was subsequently let go, leading many to speculate that the Giants would use their first round draft pick on University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill tight end Eric Ebron.
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The Giants then moved to defense, where a similar youth movement has been in the works. New York signed linebackers Jon Beason and Jameel McClain to solidify that position, but is still searching for a cornerback to take the spot opposite Prince Amukamara. If they can’t sign free agent Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, then they’ll have to settle for Trumaine McBride, who would be best served as a backup to provide some depth.
Then, in a curious move, the Giants allowed defensive lineman Linval Joseph, an young, highly productive pass rusher in his prime, walk and sign with the Vikings. New York then allowed fellow pass rusher Justin Tuck test free agency without much desire to resign their star defender. Soon after, Tuck visited and later signed with the Raiders, leading to a changing of the guard on the Giants’ defensive line.
The Tuck departure hurts for no other reason than seeing one of the greatest Giants of all time, who led the team to two Super Bowl wins, donning another team’s uniform. Nevertheless, Tuck’s price tag was too much for what he’s worth at this stage of his career, and it made sense for New York to part ways with him.
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The Joseph move, though made little sense. Joseph is a disruptive presence that can rush the quarterback and cause havoc in the backfield who is entering the prime of his career and provides the Giants with much needed depth on the line. With both Joseph and Tuck gone, the Giants are in desperate need for quality depth to spell their remaining pass rushers.
With Tuck leaving, the team loses a once dominant force who could rush the quarterback with the best of them but who has become less productive now that he’s reached his 30s.
While it’s difficult to see veteran stalwarts like Tuck and Joseph be sent elsewhere, especially after being vital cogs in the Giants’ defense for so many years, it is encouraging to see as a Giants fan that Reese has recognized that the team needed to be put in a state of flux in order to be successful in the long term. Whether newer, younger players will pay dividends for New York down the road, though, remains to be seen.