The New York Giants are excited about their prospects on offense this season. There’s an interesting mixture of old and new faces converging within the unit.
The team used first-round draft picks on offensive players the last four years and have supplemented those players with other high round picks and select free agents.
Here’s a quick outlook of the Giants’ 2020 offense.
Coaches
Gained: Joe Judge, Jason Garrett, Marc Colombo, others
Lost: Pat Shurmur, Mike Shula, Hal Hunter, others
Jason Garrett, a former Giants backup quarterback and head coach of the Dallas Cowboys the past 10 years, is the new offensive coordinator.
Garrett will bring a balance and some semblance of structure to the offensive game plan. He is a creative, aggressive play caller who has both the experience, temperament and talent to turn the Giants into a high-powered, respectable offensive team.
The staff is full of familiar faces: Marc Colombo (offensive line), Tyke Tolbert (wide receivers), Jerry Shuplinski (quarterbacks), Burton Burns (running backs) and Freddie Kitchens (tight ends) bring a legacy of success and experience to the Giants.
Verdict: Substantial upgrade
Offensive line
Gained: Andrew Thomas, Matt Peart, Shane Lemieux, Tyler Haycraft, Cam Fleming
Lost: Nate Solder, Jon Halapio*, Mike Remmers, George Asafo-Adjei, Evan Brown
Left tackle Nate Solder has opted out of the 2020 season, so the Giants will have a new face at that spot this year. It could be first round draft pick Andrew Thomas, Nick Gates, free agent Cam Fleming or third round pick Matt Peart. Let the competition begin.
Two of those four will be the Giants’ starting tackles. The center position is also up for grabs. Spencer Pulley will have to fend off Gates and rookie Shane Lemieux.
The guards are set. Will Hernandez and Kevin Zeitler both have Pro Bowl talent and Colombo could be the coach to get them there.
Halapio may be re-signed when healthy. *
Verdict: Upgrade
Wide receivers
Gained: Alex Bachman, Binjimen Victor, Austin Mack, Derrick Dillon, Tony Brown
Lost: Russell Shepard, Amba Etta-Tawo, Cody Latimer, Bennie Fowler, T.J. Jones
There’s no home hitter in the group, but the Giants do have a productive trio in Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate and Darius Slayton. The fourth and fifth spots are wide open.
Corey Coleman is back for another shot, as is special teamer Cody Core. Da’Mari Scott will get his chance in camp as well.
After that, there’s two interesting UDFAs out of Ohio State (Binjimen Victor, Austin Mack), one from Colorado (Tony Brown) and one from LSU (Derrick Dillon) that could stick.
Verdict: Downgrade
Tight ends
Gained: Levine Toilolo, Kyle Markway, Rysen John
Lost: Rhett Ellison, Scott Simonson
This is a unit that has two faces. One when Evan Engram is healthy and one when he is not.
Engram is a dynamic playmaker who adds a special dimension to the offense. He is not a prototypical in-line tight end, which gives Garrett a lot of flexibility.
Behind Engram are two former Stanford players — Kaden Smith and Levine Toilolo. Smith has shown red zone ability and the 6-foot-8 Toilolo is an excellent blocker.
If the Giants choose to carry a fourth player at this position is would likely be the well-traveled Eric Tomlinson.
Verdict: Lateral move
Running backs
Gained: Dion Lewis, Javon Leake, Sandro Platzgummer
Lost: Javorius Allen, Austin Walter
One name says it all here — Saquon Barkley. The former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year is not only the Giants’ best rusher, he’s their best receiver, too. He’s poised for a heavy workload in 2020 after a high ankle sprain ruined his sophomore season last year.
Behind Barkley is free agent addition Dion Lewis, Wayne Gallman, Jon Hilliman, rookie Javon Leake and fullbacks Eli Penny and George Aston.
Looks like a solid group, but it’s Barkley’s world.
Verdict: Upgrade
Quarterbacks
Gained: Colt McCoy, Cooper Rush, Case Cookus
Lost: Eli Manning
The Giants have a ton invested in Daniel Jones and this offense is all about supporting him. If everything goes according to plan, no one other than Jones will take a snap under center in a regular season game for a long time.
The Giants added veteran backup Colt McCoy and former Cowboys backup Cooper Rush to the room, so there may not be room for Jones’ caddie, Alex Tanney, this year.
Verdict: Downgrade
