New York Giants Offseason Preview
John Harbaugh is here to chew bubblegum and rattle cages. But Todd Monken took the bubblegum with him to Cleveland.
Part 2 of an ongoing series of offseason previews which will run over the next couple of weeks.
2025 Season in a Nutshell
Brian Daboll got dragged out of team headquarters on a Hannibal Lecter gurney in November, but not before going full Sid from Toy Story on Jaxson Dart.
Yes, Daboll earned two movie villain references. He was that cuckonanners.
Coaching Situation
John Harbaugh …
Wait, the Giants actually hired John Harbaugh? They didn’t find some way to screw up negotiations at the 11th hour and hire one of Tom Coughlin’s old quality control assistants instead? That means the Giants have to be taken seriously. I can’t just reflexively clown on them anymore!
This is going to take some getting used to.
Todd Monken was supposed to arrive as Harbaugh’s plus one but took a wrong turn on I-280 and ended up in Cleveland. Harbaugh took his time searching for a replacement. Longtime (John and Jim) Harbaugh lieutenant Greg Roman interviewed with the Jets at the same time. Giants fans shoveled mountains of snow to form an icy barricade between Florham Park and East Rutherford to keep Roman away. (Just kidding. The mountains of snow were already there.)
Harbaugh eventually settled on Andy Reid sidekick and former Bears head coach Matt Nagy, who was once the NFL Coach of the Year. You can look it up! Nagy is unpopular with the cool kids but made Mitch Trubisky look like a sharpshooter for a year and a half. He’s fine.
Harbaugh has imported some former Ravens lieutenants on defense. That could be a problem, because his last really good Ravens defensive lieutenant is busy coaching the Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
Harbaugh is also apparently rattling the cages of some Giants-for-life in-house employees who have been around since the days when they swept up around Lawrence Taylor’s locker. (Speaking of mountains of snow…) Few organizations could benefit more from a vigorous cage-rattling.
Quarterback Situation
Jaxson Dart is a cross between Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones, Scrappy Doo and that kid in your middle school who used to stab the desk between his fingers with a pen knife during study hall.
State of the Roster
Dart, Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo will either give Harbaugh the nucleus of an explosive offense or an impressive injured reserve.
The defensive line, spearheaded by Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence and Abdul Carter (who stopped cutting class soon after Daboll left), is nasty. The offensive line, as usual, needs rebuilding around Andrew Thomas. The secondary does not so much need rebuilding as abiogenesis.
The Giants even need basics, like a kicker who isn’t hurt all the time like Graham Gano. After all, Gano’s replacements inevitably end up doing stuff like this:
Cap and Draft Stuff
The Giants have just $4 million in paper cap space but can clear more with some restructurings (Thomas, Lawrence) and cuts (Devin Singletary, Gano). The in-house free agent list doesn’t feature many must-keeps: Wan’Dale Robinson is worth an offer, Evan Neal should be given a bus ticket and a hearty handshake.
The Giants will pick fifth in the first round of the draft, then 37th overall in the second round. They lack a third-round pick due to the trade that allowed them to draft Dart. They have some extra sixth-rounders.
One Thing the Giants Must Do
Send Dart to Yankees spring training for sliding practice.
In Summary
The Giants will be fashionable worst-to-first candidates because of Harbaugh, the pass rush and the Oft Injured Trio on offense. There’s about a 50% chance of a quick, dramatic turnaround and a 50% chance of further growing pains, exacerbated by offensive should-be stars with violent play styles (Dart, Skateboo) or multi-chapter injury histories (Nabers, Thomas). The Giants haven’t entered the offseason with a 50-50 chance of being relevant since Coughlin left, so they’ll gladly take it.
