The New York Giants are not looking good in a variety of offseason power rankings, recently checking in near the very bottom on a list by CBS Sports, only beating out the lowly Miami Dolphins.
They put on a similar showing in Peter King’s offseason movement power rankings, doing only slightly better than the CBS Sports counterpart, landing at No. 28 overall.
28. +NEW YORK GIANTS (5-11)
Every reporter and TV screamer and columnist has weighed in on Eli Manning and Daniel Jones and the sanity of the general manager. So let’s spend one paragraph on one of the most interesting things we’ll witness this year: exactly who will be impactful, and who will line up where, on the Giants defense. By my count, nine of the 11 starters on defense on opening day (if they open in a nickel package) could be new to the team over the last 15 months: defensive linemen B.J. Hill and Dexter Lawrence, linebackers Alec Ogletree, Oshane Ximines and Lorenzo Carter, and defensive backs Sam Beal, Deandre Baker, Antoine Bethea and Jabrill Peppers. Chemistry class will be in session at Giants camp in July. It had better be—because no one knows how productive the post-Odell offense will be.
The Giants, of course, aren’t concerned with the post-Odell offense, which actually put up more points in his absence last season than they did when he was on the field.
Defensively, there are most definitely some questions. The unit has been almost completely overhauled over the past two years, and chemistry will be a major issue. And while some also question the talent in comparison to what’s been lost (Jason Pierre-Paul, Landon Collins, Damon Harrison, etc.), the reality that needs to be remembered is that the Giants weren’t winning with those guys.
New York clearly has a lot to prove, but they’re far more confident in themselves than anyone on the outside is.
