Way-too-early 2020 NFL Power Rankings: Giants sit at No. 26

With the 2019 football season officially over, the New York Giants gladly look ahead to what they hope is an improved 2020. After finishing 2019 with a 4-12 record for third place in the NFC East, the Giants find themselves at No. 26 in our aggregated way-too-early 2020 rankings.

USA Today: 26

They appear to have some decent pieces in place. But how will salty GM Dave Gettleman mesh with inexperienced HC Joe Judge in pressure cooker town?

Yahoo Sports!: 26

The Joe Judge hire was the biggest risk of the coaching carousel. It was curious that the Giants, who had back-to-back failures hiring Ben McAdoo and Pat Shurmur, wouldn’t make a safer hire. Judge could be a fantastic head coach, but we just don’t know.

NFL.com: 27

Eli Manning is officially retired, Joe Judge leads an overhauled coaching staff and the Giants are finally ready for a fresh start in the Meadowlands. New York would be smart to focus heavily this offseason on the trenches. Improvement is necessary by everyone on the offensive line not named Kevin Zeitler — there could be two or three new starters by September. Then there’s the defensive front, the heart-and-soul positional group of champion Giants teams of the past. GM Dave Gettleman said after the season that “everyone east of the Pacific” knows the Giants need pass-rush help, so don’t be surprised if Big Blue opens up its wallet and spends big on one of the impact pass rushers on the market (Jadeveon Clowney is a particularly attractive option if the Seahawks can’t keep him in-house).

Bleacher Report: 26

It’s the beginning of a new age in the Big Apple. With Eli Manning calling it a career, the New York Giants are officially Daniel Jones’ team. Manning wasn’t the only departure, though—head coach Pat Shurmur was shown the door, replaced by former New England Patriots assistant Joe Judge. Judge brought in former Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett as offensive coordinator, and Jones acknowledged to Michael Elsen of the team’s website that learning a second scheme in as many years will be a challenge. Getting the Giants back to respectability doesn’t rest solely on the shoulders of their young quarterback. But after an uneven rookie year, Garrett is going to have to coax significant improvement from Jones for the G-Men to have any kind of consistent success.

SportingNews.com : 24

File the Giants under sleepers for a big turnaround, too. The offense can hit another gear with Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley as the centerpieces for Jason Garrett, the defense should fill a lot more holes for Patrick Graham, and you know special teams will be sound with Joe Judge. Eli Manning’s retirement officially turns the page to Jones’ team.

ESPN.com: 29

Reason for optimism: Daniel Jones. He threw 24 touchdown passes his rookie season and did lots of good things. If he can take that next step in Year 2 — limit the turnovers, make better decisions, improve his pocket presence — the Giants will have a really good offense with Jones working alongside Saquon Barkley, Evan Engram, Golden Tate and Sterling Shepard. They will also have legitimate reasons to believe the organization is finally headed in the right direction.