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2020 Recap
Division: NFC East
2020 Finish: 6-10 (2nd in NFC East)
2020 Tendencies:
- Passing Ratio: 56% (16th)
- Neutral Game Script: 55% (23rd)
- Offensive Scheme: West Coast
Personnel Groupings:
- 11 Personnel (1RB, 1TE, 3WR) = 55%
- 12 Personnel (1RB, 2TE, 2WR) = 27%
- 13 Personnel (1RB, 3TE, 1WR) = 10%
- 22 Personnel (2RB, 2TE, 1WR) = 6%
- 21 Personnel (2RB, 1TE, 2WR) = 1%
Coaching Room
Head Coach: Joe Judge
Joe Judge was hired as the head coach of the New York Giants to change the culture and win football games. In 2020, he led the Giants to a 6-10 record and a second-place finish in the NFC Least. In the previous three years, the Giants were a combined 12-36 so it was a step in the right direction. Judge came to New York with no previous head coaching experience but was part of three Super Bowl winning teams in New England and two BCS titles (2009, 2011) during his time with the Alabama Crimson Tide. He coached under Nick Saban for three years at Alabama (2009-2011) as a Special Teams Assistant and eight years (2012-2019) under Bill Belichick as a Special Teams Coordinator and even pulled double duty in 2019 as a wide receiver coach. In those 11 years with Alabama and New England those teams were 134-34. He has seen first-hand what it takes to lead young men to battle and how to create a culture of winning that resonates throughout the locker room.
Offensive Coordinator: Jason Garrett
Jason Garrett, the Red Clapper, came to New York after spending the last ten years as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. During his tenure with Dallas he led them to an 85-67 record, but they were never able to make a deep run in the playoffs and the Jones family decided to go another direction. He was the OC in Dallas from 2007-2010 and had some success finishing in the top-5 in total yards in 2007 and 2009 while also finishing in the top 10 in passing yards all four years. The Giants are hoping he can help develop Daniel Jones like he did Tony Romo and Dak Prescott. Jason Garrett used 12 personnel 27% of the time in 2020 so it made sense to add Kyle Rudolph to this offense. I expect a big year from Saquon Barkley in this offense much like the way JG used Ezekiel Elliott in Dallas. Giants fans have to hope that this offensive line can simply protect Daniel Jones and create run gaps for Barkley.
Overall Rank: 24th/32
OL Room
LT Andrew Thomas – PFF 62.4, Pass Blocking 54.7, Run Blocking 62.4
When Nate Solder opted out in 2020 the Giants were forced to plug in a rookie at left tackle. Andrew Thomas led the league in most sacks allowed (10) and the most quarterback pressures (57) allowed and his PFF Grade in pass blocking ranked him 82nd out of 89 qualified tackles. He will have to improve in the passing game to give Daniel Jones the confidence to sit in the pocket and deliver the football downfield.
LG Will Hernandez – PFF 58.1, Pass Blocking 50.9, Run Blocking 59.1
Will Hernandez has started in 39 out of 45 games during his three years in the NFL, but his overall grade dipped for the third consecutive year. He ranked 21st out of 77 tackles graded in 2018 with an overall grade of 67.9 and then followed that up with a grade of 58.4 in 2019 and in 2020 dipped to 58.1. Will Hernandez will see some competition in camp from Zach Fulton who ranked 44th with a grade of 63.0.
C Nick Gates – PFF 59.7, Pass Blocking 63.1, Run Blocking 61.0
Nick Gates was an UDFA that had never played center in college or at the NFL level until last season. The coaching staff was confident that he could make the switch, and although his PFF grade dropped from 77.7 to 59.7, they saw enough in Gates to believe that, with a full off-season, he could take a big leap in year two.
RG Kenny Wiggins – PFF 61.8, Pass Blocking 63.4, Run Blocking 57.6 *2019
Kenny Wiggins will replace Zach Fulton who suddenly retired in August along with Todd Davis (LB) and Joe Looney (C). Wiggins was not a full-time starter until his fifth season with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017. He has played in 79 games during his eight-year career, but only started in 38 of those games. Wiggins only played one snap in 2020, but in 2019 he registered 438 snaps while playing left tackle (1 snap), left guard (145 snaps), right guard (283 snaps), and even tight end (9) in plus protection.
RT Matt Peart – PFF 69.7, Pass Blocking 46.9, Run Blocking 81.7
Matt Peart only played 150 snaps in his rookie season last year and like the rest of this unit, he struggled in the passing game with a PFF grade of only 46.9, but overall he graded at 69.7 and 81.7 in the run game. Peart will compete with Shane Lemieux who graded out as one of the worst tackles in the NFL last season giving up 5 sacks in only 504 snaps with an overall grade of 32.2. This is a serious case of who is the best of the worst for the starting nod at RT.
New Toys: Kenny Wiggins and Jonotthan Harrison
Old News: Cameron Fleming (16/16), Kevin Zeitler (16/16)
Overall Rank: 32nd/32
QB Room
Daniel Jones (QB23)
Daniel Jones’ NFL career can be described as the good, the bad, and the ugly. We hear all the time about how he needs to prove he can be a franchise quarterback in 2021 or the Giants need to move on. It is simply not that easy when you break down the numbers. He has been playing behind one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL and I can’t say they will be any better in 2021. Jones has been sacked 83 times, hit an additional 121 times while attempting a pass, and been pressured another 308 times. His receivers in 2020 struggled to separate from defenders with an average of only 1.48 yards of separation per target and only average 2.5 yards after the catch per target to go along with 55 drops. His offensive coordinators and/or play callers his first two years were Pat Shurmer (HC) and Jason Garrett (OC). To sum up his first two years in the league just think back to the game against the Philadelphia Eagles when he pulled the ball on a zone-read and should have scored on what would have been an 88-yard touchdown, but instead tripped over a blade of grass and was tackled at the 8-yard line. Now that we’ve talked about the Bad and the Ugly, let’s talk about the Good. When considering the offensive line, the coaching, and the lack of big plays from the wide receivers, he still completed 62.5% of his passes including 69.4% on play-action and 38.9% when pressured which ranked 9th and 11th in the NFL, respectively in 2021. He has also rushed for over 700 yards with an average of 6.4 yards per carry over the last two seasons. The Giants have added Kadarius Tony, Kenny Golladay, and Kyle Rudolph as pass-catchers and get Saquon Barkley back.
Fantasy Outlook
Passing: 603 attempts, 62.6% Completion, 4076 yards, 26 touchdowns
Rushing: 65 attempts, 406 yards, 3 touchdowns
Total Fantasy Points: 303.6
New Toys: Mike Glennon
Old News: Colt McCoy (4/2)
Fantasy Position Rank: 25th/32
RB Room
Saquon Barkley (RB8)
Saquon Barkley can flat out do it all. He has the perfect blend of size and speed with the agility and power to be a threat to score every time he touches the ball. He burst onto the scene as a rookie with a total of 2028 scrimmage yards, 15 touchdowns and 5.8 yards per touch. Those accomplishments landed him in the Pro Bowl and the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. He followed that up in 2019 with 1441 scrimmage yards and 5.4 yards per touch. Unfortunately, his 2021 season was cut short when he suffered a torn ACL in Week 2 against the Chicago Bears. There are some concerns about Barkley’s durability after suffering a high ankle sprain in 2019 and the ACL tear last season. Recent reports indicate that Barkley is still shooting to be back for Week 1, but it could be closer to Week 3. We will continue to monitor that throughout the pre-season.
Fantasy Outlook
Rushing: 279 attempts, 1257 yards, 10 touchdowns
Receiving: 84 targets, 60 receptions, 527 yards, 3 touchdowns
Total Fantasy Points: 316.3
Devontae Booker (RB59)
Devontae Booker spent his first four seasons in the NFL with the Denver Broncos, where he was drafted in the fourth round out of the University of Utah. In his rookie season he had 205 touches for 877 yards and 5 touchdowns, but he only averaged 3.5 yards per carry. He regressed for the next 3 years in Denver and saw his workload diminish to only 2 carries for nine yards in 2019. Booker signed with the Las Vegas Raiders prior to the 2020 season and finished with 110 touches for 507 yards and three touchdowns averaging 4.5 yards per carry. He now lands in New York after signing a two-year contract worth up to $6 million. Booker will be the primary backup to Barkley and could see some quality touches early in the season if Barkley misses any time. Booker brings versatility to the Giants as a triple threat in the run game, passing game, and on special teams.
Fantasy Outlook
Rushing: 65 attempts, 268 yards, 2 touchdowns
Receiving: 36 targets, 24 receptions, 165 yards, 0 touchdowns
Total Fantasy Points: 79.5
New Toys: Alfred Morris, Gary Brightwell
Old News: Wayne Gallman (15/10)
Fantasy Position Rank: 18th/32
WR Room
Kenny Golladay (WR32)
Kenny Golladay is the alpha wide receiver the New York Giants have been missing since Odell Beckham left New York to join the Cleveland Browns. Golladay arrived in New York after being signed as an unrestricted free agent and gives the Giants a true X receiver that a Jason Garrett offense needs to be successful (Dez Bryant and Amari Cooper). In 2019, Golladay led the NFL in touchdowns (11) and deep targets (37) while also finishing in the top ten in yards per reception (18.3), total target distance (1,826), yards (1,190), yards per target (10.3), and average target distance (15.7). Kenny Golladay suffered a hip injury that caused him to play in just 5 games in 2020 but will be ready to go when training camp opens July 27th. The combination of Kenny Golladay’s success on deep routes and Daniel Jones (deep ball completion percentage of 46.2 ranked #7 in 2020) success throwing deep should be fun to watch.
Fantasy Outlook
Receiving: 121 targets, 78 receptions, 1105 yards, 7 touchdowns
Total Fantasy Points: 230.8
Sterling Shepard (WR71)
The addition of Kenny Golladay will allow Sterling Shepard to line up more in the slot which is a more natural position for him. He lined up in the slot 125 times (23.6%) in 2020. Shepard has missed 10 games over the last two years with various injuries but should have room to work in 2021 if he can stay on the field. Shepard tied his career high in 2020 with 66 receptions and had his best year with a 73.3% catch rate. Volume is king for wide receivers and he could see 100 targets for the third time in six years.
Fantasy Outlook
Receiving: 90 targets, 58 receptions, 631 yards, 4 touchdowns
Total Fantasy Points: 144.9
Kadarius Toney (WR105)
Kadarius Toney broke out in 2020 as the Florida Gators lead receiver with 70 receptions, 984 yards, and 11 touchdowns. Toney does not have top end speed, but he has elite quickness to get in and out of breaks and can decelerate or accelerate in a flash which will create mismatches in the quick game. I expect Toney to get some rushing opportunities and should be used in pre-snap motion and in the screen game. He has the ability to become an elite route runner if he embraces the time it will take to master his craft.
Fantasy Outlook
Receiving: 36 targets, 24 receptions, 240 yards, 2 touchdowns
Rushing: 9 rushes, 6 yards, 1 touchdown
Total Fantasy Points: 71.4
New Toys: John Ross III
Old news: Golden Tate (12/4)
Fantasy Position Rank: 27th/32
TE Room
Evan Engram (TE17)
Evan Engram ranked in the top ten in almost every metric in 2020 when it comes to the tight end position including air yards (790), routes run (487), targets (4), target share (21.8%), and yards after catch (276) to name a few. I can keep going, but you get the point. The problem in 2020 was he was 2nd in drops with 10 and had a catch rate of only 57.8%, but too much was made of his drops because it has not always been the case. In 2019, he only dropped 2 balls with a drop rate of only 2.9%. I believe the drops in 2020 can be attributed to Engram simply trying to do too much. With the addition of Kyle Rudolph to help in the run game and potentially be a security blanket for Daniel Jones, it’s important that Evan Engram establishes himself early and often both in the preseason and when the season starts.
Fantasy Outlook
Receiving: 90 targets, 59 receptions, 564 yards, 5 touchdowns
Total Fantasy Points: 145.2
New Toys: Kyle Rudolph
Old News: N/A
Fantasy Position Rank: 10th/32
2021 Full Player Projections
Make Your Own Projections With Our Template!
Strength of Schedule (SOS): #29 (.465 118-136-2)
2021 Predicted Finish: 7-10 (3rd NFC East)
Note: all projections are PPR scoring
