How well are the New York Giants set up for the next three seasons? Not all that well, if you believe ESPN's NFL Future Power Rankings, where the Giants are 20th out of the league's 32 teams.
ESPN experts John Clayton, Louis Riddick and Mike Sando rated each team on a weighted scale of 0-100 in five categories: roster (excluding quarterback), quarterback, draft, front office and coaching.
Here is part of the ESPN explanation for why the Giants rank in the league's bottom half:
Tom Coughlin could eventually find himself in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he turns 69 in August, and it's unclear what the longer-term future holds. That could explain why the Giants fell from seventh to 23rd in the coaching category, which contributed to a two-spot drop in the overall standings. The Giants now rank between 20th and 22nd in every category but quarterback, where a bounce-back season from Eli Manning helped the team secure its only high ranking (10th overall, up from 11th in 2014).
Valentine's View
You can be certain that in any long-term ranking such as this that the Giants will take a hit for having a 69-year-old coach and a 34-year-old quarterback in the final year of his contract. That's a given, and it will naturally bump the Giants down a few spots.
Look closer, though, and what it comes down to is that the Giants are still paying for their draft miscues from 2010-2012. Out of those three classes the Giants have only three truly productive players -- Jason Pierre-Paul, Prince Amukamara and Rueben Randle. There are other factors, but this void is the biggest reason for the Giants' failings in recent years. The 2013 and 2014 draft classes have been better and if 2015 continues that trend the Giants could move up in this ranking a year from now.
For now, though, I find this placement completely understandable. Your thoughts, Giants fans?