When the clock hit zero on Sunday, it was a wrap for the New York Giants as far as the 2019 season goes.
After a successful summer and preseason, the Giants ended up finishing 4-12 and with the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
There was a lot of losing, especially during a nine-game streak of futility that lasted over two months. But the Giants, who were viewed as a young rebuilding team, were able to let a lot of their young players grow and develop on the field.
Rebuilding teams go through a lot of difficult times, just like the Giants did when they had a rookie quarterback in Eli Manning in 2004, but hopefully for the team’s sake, it will lead to better times with Daniel Jones now under center.
So who are the end of the year award winners for the Giants in the 2019 season?
Most Valuable Player: Daniel Jones
For someone who was handed the entire offense of the Giants in Week 3, Daniel Jones had a heck of a season.
Jones finished the season playing in 12 games, starting 11 of them. He threw for 3,027 yards with 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Jones missed two games during the end of the season due to an ankle sprain, in which, Eli Manning got to end his tenure with the Giants and say goodbye to the fans he played in front of for 16 years.
But for a rookie to step in and play for a rebuilding team, Jones played exceptionally well. Even Manning’s rookie season was not as good as Jones’, no matter what the win-loss record said.
Despite the Giants going 4-12 and Jones going 3-9 as the starter, Jones has given the fan base every reason to believe that he can be the franchise quarterback of the future.
Jones was definitely the Giants team MVP in 2019, which is a great building block for his future, along with the Giants as well, who invested a lot in him.
Offensive Player of the Year: Saquon Barkley
Last season, Saquon Barkley showed the entire NFL how good he was, racking up over 1,300 rushing yards and 2,000 total yards on a bad team.
This year, Barkley missed three games due to a high ankle sprain, and yet, he still finished with 1,002 rushing yards on 217 carries with six touchdowns. He also had 52 receptions for 428 yards and two touchdowns, which gave him 1,430 total yards and eight touchdowns.
Fans can only wonder how good his numbers would have been if he didn’t miss those three games due to injury or had better blocking in front of him.
It’s so clear that Barkley is not only the best player on the Giants, but he’s one of, if not the best running back in the NFL.
Defensive Player of the Year: Markus Golden
Golden was on a one-year, prove-it deal with the Giants, and he did just that.
Golden played in all 16 games and recorded 10 sacks on the season to go along with 72 total tackles. The double-digit sacks were the first by a Giants linebacker since Lawrence Taylor.
Even during games where Golden didn’t get a sack, his presence was felt by bringing non-stop pressure every single game.
Golden looked like the player that the Arizona Cardinals had back in 2016 when he had 12.5 sacks. In 11 of the 16 games, Golden had at least a half sack.
With the season Golden had, he deserves a long-term deal and if the Giants were smart on this, they’d make sure to lock Golden up before he ever hits the open market in March.
Rookie of the Year: Darius Slayton
With the departure of Odell Beckham Jr., the injuries to Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram, and Golden Tate not getting on the field until Week 5, the Giants were desperate for someone to step up and show that they could be productive.
That’s exactly what Darius Slayton did for the Giants.
After not playing in the first two games, Slayton debuted in Week 3 with an 82-yard performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which was Daniel Jones’ first NFL win.
Slayton had three games where he had multiple touchdowns and he led all NFL rookies with eight receiving touchdowns.
In 14 games, Slayton had 48 receptions for 740 yards and eight touchdowns. Slayton not only led all rookies with the touchdown receptions, but he also led all Giants receivers in yards as well.
Slayton has a very bright future ahead of him catching balls from Jones, as they have developed a good rapport with one another and should continue to only get better.
Assistant Coach of the Year: Thomas McGaughey
Both of the main coordinators, Mike Shula and James Bettcher, had horrific seasons and their returns to the team are uncertain and nobody would blame the Giants if both were relieved of their coaching duties.
However, McGaughey, who was in his second season with the Giants, has developed into a solid special teams coordinator and has really solidified the special teams unit.
Riley Dixon was extremely solid under McGaughey and has the position on lock down for the Giants. His ability to pin teams down using talented and well-prepared gunners was crucial.
The team mixed and matched when it came to the kick and punt returners, but it was never an area where the Giants struggled, and McGauhey was the reason why — his players were always prepared.
In reality, McGaughey might have been the best coach of the entire staff and hopefully he will be brought back in 2020 as part of the new staff.
Biggest Surprise: Kaden Smith
Evan Engram was supposed to thrive with the departure of Odell Beckham Jr., but he had issues staying on the field because of injuries, especially late in the season. Rhett Ellison also dealt with injuries and ended up on IR, so the Giants needed someone to step up at tight end.
Fortunately for them, the Giants had claimed Kaden Smith off waivers back in September after he was waived as a third-round draft pick by the San Francisco 49ers.
Smith appeared sparingly for the Giants, but didn’t get a true opportunity to play until Week 12 against the Chicago Bears, when he caught five passes for 17 yards and recorded his first NFL touchdown.
After that game, he continued to not only shine in the passing game, but also proved he was a quality blocker — an area in which Engram has never excelled.
Against the Washington Redskins in Week 16, Smith had six catches for 35 yards with two touchdowns, one of which was the game-winner in overtime (over Landon Collins).
On the season, Smith finished with 31 receptions for 268 yards and three touchdowns. Most of his numbers came in the final seven games, but he clearly showed that he deserves more time to play and potentially start in 2020.
Biggest Letdown: Will Hernandez
After a tremendous rookie season in which he was clearly the Giants’ best offensive lineman, Hernandez took a step back in 2019.
There were so many times this season where Hernandez looked lost and missed several blocks, which lead to plays getting blown up.
It’s alarming as this kind of thing was seen in 2016 when Ereck Flowers took a massive step back and then never recovered and only got worse. But Flowers’ problems were more mental and technical than anything else, and things simply fizzled.
Hernandez doesn’t seem to have the same kind of mindset Flowers did, as he was always playing hard despite some of the mistakes he made. Hernandez also knows what it’s like to play during bad times, as he was on a terrible college team and yet, he never stopped playing hard.
Maybe it was a “sophomore slump,” but Hernandez certainly regressed a bit. But he does strike many as someone who is willing to improve and should get better for next season.
