Draft grades. Free agency grades. Grades, grades, grades. When it comes to the NFL offseason it seems like everybody loves to grade everything. So, of course, ESPN has graded the offseason work of every NFL team. The Giants grade? ESPN's panel of analysts gives Jerry Reese and company a C+.
ESPN says:
Keeping Tom Coughlin and using the franchise tag to retain Jason Pierre-Paul qualified as no-brainer moves in the eyes of our analysts. Vereen's addition to the offense stood out as the best move. While Riddick gave the Giants a B-plus grade, the others had them down in the C range.
"It felt like they made overpays," Yates said, echoing Williamson's thoughts. "The difference between the Giants overpaying and the Jaguars overpaying is, I don't know if the Giants need to overpay. I liked the Vereen signing, but they gave up a lot for guys who on some teams would be largely special-teamers. It also feels like Flowers is one of the projects of the first round."
Polian didn't just like Vereen's addition; he loved it. He also said he thought the Giants' offensive line was maybe one player away from becoming a first-rate unit, and that the one player could already be on the roster, perhaps. He thought Pierre-Paul would make or break the defense.
"Collins will bring a toughness to the defense," Riddick said. "On offense, Flowers gives them something along the line that they do not have: a flat-out physical, aggressive, tough football player. You can go up and down that offensive line and every guy had their time where they got their butt kicked last year. They got tired of it and wanted some attitude there."
Here is how ESPN graded the offseason work of the Giants' NFC East rivals.
Dallas Cowboys: B-plus
Washington Redskins: A-minus
Personally, it's impossible to really grade any of these moves until you see how they translate on the field. But, it's the offseason and you have to discuss something. Is ESPN on target here, Giants fans?