The NFL offseason will be in full swing before we know it, with coaching changes, free agency and the NFL draft reshaping the 2023 fantasy football landscape. With that in mind, the Fantasy Life squad is breaking down every NFL team to determine what went wrong in 2022 and identify paths to improvement. Who knows, maybe an NFL GM will read this and realize those fantasy nerds aren’t so crazy after all – we all want the same thing: more points and more wins!!!

Team Summary

I’m still trying to figure out how the Giants made the playoffs last season. By most measures, this was not a very good football team. In fact, New York allowed more points than they scored in 2022.

The Giants ranked 29th overall per Pro Football Focus (PFF), and they ranked in the bottom 10 teams on both sides of the ball. And despite having been ranked just 21st per Football Outsiders' Defense-adjusted Value Over Average metric (DVOA), the Giants somehow managed to win their Wild Card matchup over the Vikings.

Things finally came crashing back down to Earth for the Giants in the divisional round, as they suffered a crushing 38-7 loss to the Eagles. Still, the fact that they even made it to that point seems like a minor miracle.

Now, they need to prove that 2022 wasn’t a fluke.

One thing the above metrics can't fully measure is just how good of a head coach Brian Daboll is, but he won the NFL's Coach of the Year award and seemingly got the best out of what little talent he had to work with on a weekly basis.

Heading into 2023, it seems that the primary pieces will be back.

Daboll will have stability at two major positions with Daniel Jones re-signed to a four-year, $160 million deal and Saquon Barkley returning on the franchise tag. With Daboll, Jones, and Barkley reunited, the trio will be looking for even more success in Year 2.

Can they pull it off?

Let’s dive into what the Giants should do this offseason to maximize their odds to return to the playoffs next year or even win the NFC East.

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Add receiving help for Jones

Jones entered last season as a lame-duck QB with the team having declined his fifth-year option, which is a rarity for QBs with first-round draft capital.

The two sides had been expected to part ways this offseason. The Giants had been expected to move onto a new rookie QB, and most had expected Jones to serve as a backup or low-cost starter for a new organization in 2023.

Of course, things turned out quite differently.

After signing his recent extension this offseason, Jones now projects to be the starter in New York for the foreseeable future. We can ultimately debate whether or not he’s worth $40 million per year (I personally don’t think so), but the Giants have made their decision.

One reason the Giants likely felt comfortable shelling out the big bucks for Jones is that he produced with minimal supporting talent around him. By the end of last season, New York's pass-catching corps was arguably the worst in the league.

Sterling Shepard and Wan’Dale Robinson both went down with season-ending injuries, Kadarius Toney was traded to the Chiefs, and Kenny Golladay turned to dust just two years after the Giants signed him to a lucrative deal. That left Jones with a collection of misfits and castoffs as his primary receivers.

That said, New York does appear to have found a steal in Isaiah Hodgins, who they claimed off waivers last year.

A former sixth-round pick by the Bills in 2021, Hodgins had a strong finish to last season by scoring in five of his final seven games. He was particularly impressive in their playoff victory over the Vikings, as Hodgins logged eight receptions for 105 yards and a score in that game.

Isaiah Hodgins

Jan 15, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins (18) makes a catch for a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings during the first quarter of a wild card game at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

With Robinson projected to return from injury in 2023, he and Hodgins give the Giants at least some foundation at the wide receiver position. That said, the two are much better suited as complementary pieces than focal points of the offense.

New York needs to continue to add receiving help for Jones, but unfortunately, this free agent wide receiver class is one of the weakest in years. Only two wide receivers are ranked among the top-50 free agents per The Athletic, and both come with significant question marks.

The first is Odell Beckham Jr., and given how tumultuous their prior breakup was, I doubt the two sides are eager for a reunion. The other is Jakobi Meyers, who played over half his snaps from the slot last season. That’s where Robinson played over 80% of his snaps as a rookie, so Meyers may not be the best fit either.

Instead, the Giants should be looking to add receiving help in the draft.

There’s no consensus top prospect at wide receiver in this rookie class, but Quentin Johnson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba (JSN), and Zay Flowers are generally in the conversation for the top three.

Johnson is a prototypical alpha at 6’3 and 208 lbs. while Flowers fits the mold of players the Giants have gravitated towards in the past, like Toney and Robinson. As for JSN, he got some pretty strong praise from last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year:

While New York doesn't have a premium first-round pick, there are still some rookie wide receivers who could make an immediate impact likely to be available at pick No. 26 (really the 25th overall with Miami's pick forfeited).

Although Johnson and JSN might be gone by pick No. 26, Flowers and other wide receivers should be in consideration there for the Giants.

In addition to the wide receiver position, New York could and should also explore options at tight end to add receiving help for Jones. Fortunately, this year's free agent class is better-stocked at tight end than it is at wide receiver.

In particular, Mike Gesicki is someone who could be extremely undervalued. He wasn’t especially productive during his tenure with the Dolphins, but he remains an athletic marvel.

It was difficult for Gesicki to shine as a receiver in Miami. Early in his career, he suffered from mediocre QB play from Ryan Tannehill and Ryan Fitzpatrick. And while Tua Tagovailoa was an upgrade, Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill became the focal points of the passing offense in recent seasons.

Still, Gesicki's testing numbers were off the charts back at the 2018 NFL Combine. He scored in the 95th percentile in 40-yard dash time, 98th percentile in SPARQ-X, and 100th percentile in catch radius. The NFL is full of freak athletes, but Gesicki is simply a different breed.

Gesicki could be a prime candidate to break out in 2023 with a change of scenery.

Continue building the offensive line

The Giants have invested heavily in the offensive line in recent years. They spent the No. 4 overall pick on Andrew Thomas in 2020, and that pick has worked out beautifully. Thomas blossomed into one of the best offensive tackles in football last season, ranking third at the position per PFF.

New York doubled-down on the position last year by selecting Evan Neal with the No. 7 overall pick.

Neal got off to a rough start as a rookie – only one qualified tackle was worse per PFF – but that's not to say that Neal can't improve. After all, Thomas graded out as PFF's 59th-best offensive tackle as a rookie before moving up to 19th as a sophomore and then finally finishing as the No. 3 tackle last year.

It wouldn't be a huge shock if Neal were to improve in Year 2.

However, the Giants' interior offensive line needs a ton of work. Jon Feliciano ranked 31st in PFF grading among centers last season, and he’s thankfully no longer under contract. Mike Glowinski and Nick Gates each finished outside the top 28 at guard, and Gates is also a free agent.

The team could look to address these positions in free agency, but as with wide receiver, the cupboard is pretty bare at offensive line in this free agency class. Only five interior offensive linemen rank inside the top 50 free agents per The Athletic’s rankings, and only one made the top 30.

Fortunately, the Giants have a decent bit of draft capital in the middle and late rounds to bolster the interior offensive line. New York has two third-round picks this year, and they are expected to have 11 total picks once the compensatory draft picks are finalized.

That would give the Giants multiple dice rolls on Day 2 and 3 of the NFL Draft on players who could help bolster the offensive line.

With nearly $200 million invested in Jones, now they need to protect him and help him succeed. If Neal can improve along with some new talent added to the interior offensive line, hopefully Jones will have better pass protection in 2023.

Evan Neal

Jan 8, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Giants offensive tackle Evan Neal (73) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Add an impact defender in the secondary

While Daboll and Mike Kafka got plenty of credit for turning lemons into lemonade on offense, Wink Martindale should get more credit for the Giants' defensive performance last year.

The team ranked 31st in defense per PFF, but New York was 17th in points allowed per game. That’s a pretty massive discrepancy, and it's especially impressive considering that Martindale only had a few blue-chip players on defense.

Dexter Lawrence was an absolute force of nature last year and ranked as one of the best interior defenders in football. The team has reportedly started working on an extension for him, and it's well-deserved.

Lawrence and Leonard Williams solidify the roster at defensive tackle, and Kayvon Thibodeaux has the potential to become a similar impact player off the edge. Overall, the Giants have an outstanding foundation along the defensive line.

The bigger issues lie in the secondary, and more specifically, at safety.

While the loss of James Bradberry in free agency last offseason took a toll on the Giants, cornerbacks Adoree Jackson and Cordale Flott both earned top-40 PFF grades at the position in 2022, and Aaron Robinson was also impressive in limited snaps.

Although New York still has work to do at cornerback, upgrades can be made via the draft rather than with a marquee free agent signing. The Giants really need to focus on fixing their issues at safety.

Last season, four Giants players logged enough snaps at safety to qualify for PFF rankings, and none of them graded out inside the top 50. In fact, New York's fourth-round pick in 2022, Dane Belton, ranked dead last among safeties.

Fortunately, the Giants can look to address the safety position in free agency. Even after extending Jones and tagging Barkley, New York still has the 10th-most salary cap space in the league. And after they inevitably cut Golladay, the team will be looking at more than $20 million in cap space.

That amount should put them in play to add an impact safety in free agency.

Jessie Bates, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Jordan Poyer all stand out as excellent players that could immediately upgrade the Giants' secondary in a major way.

The top safety options won’t come cheaply, but their contracts are slightly cheaper than cornerbacks, on average. With a robust market, the Giants could end up getting an excellent deal on a really good safety this offseason.

We've got a lot of fixing to do! But we're well on our way.

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