When the New York Giants traded away star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. last offseason, many wondered if Sterling Shepard was ready to step up and lead the team.
To help quell those fears, the Giants then signed veteran wide receiver Golden Tate to help fill the void left by Beckham’s departure, but he was almost instantly suspended four games for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
In addition to Tate’s suspension, the Giants also saw a slew of injuries to their receivers and tight ends — from Evan Engram to Sterling Shepard, and from Rhett Ellison to Tate.
In fact, it had gotten so bad at one point there were reports that Shepard had been contemplating retirement following a series of concussions.
But in the midst of the injuries and a disappointing season, the Giants may have struck gold with their fifth-round rookie Darius Slayton. Slayton had 48 receptions, including eight touchdowns and continued to impress all year long.
Assuming all of those players remain healthy in 2020, do the Giants actually have a surplus of receivers? Certainly, a player like Tate or Shepard would command some draft capital in a trade. However, as we saw this year, it is crucial to have depth — especially with wide receivers.
Rookie Daniel Jones never really had all of his weapons on the field for most of the season, so it’s hard to know just how much potential the Giants have on offense, but there’s no denying there’s a load of talent in the WR/TE rooms. Not to mention running back Saquon Barkley, who is an elite pass-catcher despite his misuse.
In hindsight, it’s amusing to look back at the panic following the OBJ trade. The Giants have quite a bit of depth at the position and pending health, could be in position to really excel with their group of pass catchers.
Can they put it all together in 2020? That remains to be seen, but they certainly appear to be in much better shape going into 2020 than many believed they were entering 2019.
