We are entering year three of the Joe Schoen/Brian Daboll regime and arguably a pivotal year for the Giants organization. The Giants in year one had a 9-7-1 record along with a playoff win but digressed in year two with a 6-11 record. After reviewing all the moves in free agency and in the draft by GM Joe Schoen, there are still some question marks that need to be answered. Here are my top 5 questions entering the 2024-25 season:
1.What can we expect from the Quarterback position? GM Joe Schoen did not address the quarterback position in the draft, although rumors suggest he tried trading up without success. Regardless, the Giants will be starting training camp with three primary quarterbacks (Daniel Jones, Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito). Unless there’s a major shakeup, Daniel Jones will be the starter which will not sit well with many Giant fans. Jones is coming off a poor season along with two injuries (neck and knee) which eventually ended his 2023 season early. GM Joe Schoen has added talent along the offensive line and also has given Jones much needed weapons, so it’s now or never for Jones to produce.
2. Will the Offensive line be better? GM Joe Schoen added five OL in free agency and none in the draft. Among the five new additions, Jon Runyan Jr. and Jermaine Eluemunor are projected as starters along with Andrew Thomas, John Michael-Schmidt and Evan Neal. It will be up to new OL coach Carmen Bricillo to bring out the best of each player and give the Giants a respectable ranked offensive line.
3. Who will play CB2 across from Deonte Banks? Banks had a solid rookie season, but there is a major question mark on who will be CB2? Currently the Giants have Nick McCloud, Aaron Robinson, Tre Hawkins, David Long Jr., Cor’Dale Flott and Andru Phillips to compete for the CB2 spot. Flott & Phillips have also played the slot. Many believe they are more suited inside.
Robinson has missed more games than he has played, McCloud and Long have had some success, but their respected resume does not deliver a warm and fuzzy feeling. Lastly, Hawkins showed immense promise in training camp last season, but slowly digressed as the season unfolded. Bottom line: major concern until any of these candidates proves me wrong. Perhaps the CB2 is currently not on the roster, stay tuned.
4. Did we do enough along the Defensive line? The Giants defensive line over the last two seasons gave up roughly 148 and 135 yards on the ground respectfully. A replacement for Leonard Williams never happened, so there should be concern. GM Joe Schoen signed Jordan Phillips and traded for Brian Burns, which should definitely help, but was it enough? The Giants last two Super Bowl Champs were notorious for their pass rush and run stuffing ability based on talent and depth. Not sure if this current roster has enough.
5. Can the Giants succeed with a running back committee? The Giants decided to let RB Saquon Barkley test free agency and he ended up signing with the Philadelphia Eagles. Although I thought the decision by Joe Schoen of letting Barkley go was the right choice, there is still a big question mark did Joe Schoen do enough with a backfield of Devin Singletary, Eric Gray, Gary Brightwell and Tyrone Tracy? There is still plenty of time to answer all these question marks as the current roster is far from completed. Until such changes are made, these concerns are real.