FanPost

Giants 3 year outlook and strategy

What's up BBV. I know I'm not around as much anymore, but I still lurk and read the comments (fatherhood is time consuming). I just wanted to stop by and talk about the state of the Giants, and the outlook for the next 3 years. I'm not going to get into crazy specifics, it's more of a general game plan, and one that could lead us to being competitive within three years if they follow it, the way I think/hope they draw it out.

Now let's start with the obvious, we're getting a new General Manager. Let's also accept a truth that many here may not have already. Judge will probably be back. Now a big reason people are down on him is the offense, and yeah, it sucks. But there have been reports that Judge was ready to fire Garrett around when he fired Colombo. What stayed his hand? I never gave it much credence, but maybe Mara did have something to do with it, and after watching the product, maybe he decides to back off Judge, and allow him to fully take control of the vision. So with that said, expect our next GM to have some real Patriots connections. I think the two most likeliest candidates are Dave Zeigler and Monti Ossenfort. Maybe Eliot Wolf or Ryan Poole, but Ossenfort has been linked to us before, and Zeigler definitely has a relationship with Judge since both were on the Patriots around the same time. So yeah, expect one of them.

As for Judge, I expect a new addition to the coaching staff on a major scale and it is OC. I think it is between two people. Freddie Kitchens is one. I know we haven't seen much improvement in the offense with him, but let's be real, this is Garrett's offense still, and there is no way a new one can be installed at this point. So there is an argument there. The other, and one I think will signal where I hope Judge is going, is the hiring of Bill O'Brien as OC for the Giants. I heard his name come up on a podcast for us back in October, and I was like, that's actually not a bad idea. O'Brien has the Patriots connection, as well as a Bama one now, and while he sucked as GM, he is one hell of a coach, and with a pure focus on the offense, I would expect a FAR superior scheme from the mess we are currently seeing right now.

Regarding Judge personally, we knew he would be dealing with growing pains. This is his first HC job in his life. But he needs to take a hard look at himself this offseason. Maybe he hires someone to help him with time management. I know people complain about how conservative he is, but given this offense, I don't know if I really blame him at this point. Bottom line, we need more from him, but I don't think he's a lost cause.

Next thing to talk about is the cap situation. It looks rough in 2022, even with the increase to the cap, we're still not even cracking $4 million (we're a little over $3 million). But, we can open up quite a bit of space. Trading Barkley net's us $7 million. Cutting Rudolph, Gates, and Dixon should open up another $11 million. That would create some breathing room. Maybe we trade out of one of our top ten slots, netting us an extra 1st in 2023, and also lowering the cap hit of our draft picks. I would trade down, with most of my draft compensation coming in 2023 honestly however I will set a clear line that the swap of 1st rounders include a 2023 1st. So we can do some Olympic moves to position us to do a few things in FA and sign our draft picks, but in 2023, we are looking at a really good cap situation. So there's that.

Now let's talk about the roster. There's talent on this team. But we also have work to do. We only have one player on the OL worth a damn, and while I think he will be elite, Thomas can't play five positions. We really need to put an emphasis on the OL. I think some secondary things on offense are finding a new TE, and looking into replacing Barkley. On defense, I think we need one more blue chip player. One impact guy will really take us over the top defensively, and given the talent we already have with McKinney, Ojulari, and Robinson, we'd have a great defensive core to roll with for a while. 2022 should focus on two things in the draft. Build the OL, and add a blue chip defender to the team. Luckily this is a deep OL draft, so even after a trade down, we should have no problem adding a starter round 1, and should be able to find another on day 2. If we're able to sign a good veteran for the OL we would have added quite a bit of talent to the OL and fast. As for the blue chip defender, we have quite a few options. We have the usual suspects to be sure, but we also have guys like DeMarvin Leal, Derek Stingley, and Kyle Hamilton. There are also players no one is talking about yet like Cam Thomas, Jermaine Johnson, and Will McDonald, that will have a GM looking real smart. So we can even go Neal and Ekwonu round 1, take one of those guys, and walk away looking like champs. Then with our 2nd 3rd round pick, and our day 3 picks we can pick up a new TE, a RB, add some depth to WR, and fill out the roster. I also think at some point it would behoove us to draft a linebacker with some speed.

Now this takes me to 2023, and this is where the plan starts to bloom. We have built a talented team, our OL looks strong, we got some nice weapons, and our defense if not already, is on the precipice of being elite. We also have two 1st round picks, and maybe more. It's time to get our QB, and who better to draft, then a guy that our OC coached to a Heisman, Bryce Young. This kid has special written all over him, gives me some Deshaun Watson vibes as a QB, and he will already have a relationship with O'Brien, and will likely know the offense the moment he steps on our practice field.

We can potentially see the Giants rise to be one of the scarier teams in the NFL in a few years, but they have to make the right moves, and show improvement from the HC on down. Now, for anyone that stuck with me this long. You can check out this mock draft which is in line with the strategy I have laid out for the team.

Ok, so this draft is going to have a lot of trades. However, I did so with the idea that I needed to load up on picks for next year, while adding talent to my current roster for this year, and I also wanted to trim picks to help lower the cap hit on the draft class some. Now, when you look at this draft, I did this with the assumption we were able to sign a quality veteran OL player (like Ryan Jensen or Ben Jones, or as a cheaper alternative, Ted Karras), which as you know, sets the table for the draft because it plugs a hole in the roster. If we don't it changes the draft plan, but let's just operate with that assumption for now.

1) Ikem Ekwonu, OL, NC State- Let's start things off the right way. Ekwonu adds a big time piece to our OL right off the bat. An ability to play 4 different positions, we can slot him in where needed as the summer shakes out be it RT, or one of the Guard spots, and be confident that he will execute at a high level.

1) Devin Lloyd, ILB, Utah- So this was the first trade. I actually traded 6 to the Broncos for them to select Kenny Pickett, adding in their 1st in 2023, and also getting their 3rd and 7th this year. So as the board unfolded it went in an interesting way. I had the option of another really good OL, and boy was I tempted given the studs to be had. But Lloyd gives us a few things the defense really needs. He brings everything we have missed with Blake Martinez, and more, like way more. He's a linebacker you're gonna mention in the same breath as guys like Darius Leonard, Fred Warner, and Devin White. This is the blue chip defender our defense needs.

2) Nicholas Petit-Frere, OT, OSU- So back to the OL we go, and why I decided to wait. The depth at OL is stupendous this year, especially when a player like NPF makes the strides in his game that he made, and lasts till the 2nd round? Yes please. Going into the year, there was nothing but talk about how he needed to harness his potential. Well he did, and now he is a semi-finalist for the Outland Trophy which goes to the best lineman in the country. Like Ekwonu, he can play 4 different positions, so we can stick Ekwonu at RT, and NPF in at guard where he has just blossomed. This pick is also another of my trades. I moved back from 44 to 48 with the Chiefs, while sending over two 7th round picks. In exchange, I got a 3rd round pick for next year.

3) Cameron Thomas, EDGE, SDSU- Ok, so this is a player that come draft time might be in the 1st round, but in all likelihood, is probably a 2nd rounder. But he fell here, so till the boards catch up, I'll take him. Cam Thomas is a monster. Everything Hutchinson has done, Thomas has done. Thomas is constantly double and triple teamed and still blows up plays at a high clip. Another impressive factor about him? He can play all over a defensive front. We can line him up as an EDGE, if we go to a 4 down front we can put him inside next to Leo with Ojulari and Roche on the EDGEs, and we can see a genuine star right here.

3) Kyren Williams, RB, Notre Dame- So as I have mentioned above, I'm hoping that one of the moves we make in the offseason is trading Barkley. We are likely to get a pick back, but what I really want is that cap space. That leaves us with an opening in the RB room however, where we only have Booker and Brightwell. Enter Kyren Williams, and he should be able to compete with Booker almost immediately for lead back duties. He can run the ball tough, is an excellent receiver, and the best part about him, he is an extremely effective pass defender. His floor is Shane Vereen, and his ceiling is Leveon Bell (think of both in their primes). Williams can be our lead guy quick, and give us a legit weapon to lean on in the back field.

3) Trey McBride, TE, Colorado State- Unlike the RB room that at least will have a few bodies, our TE room is looking pretty empty. Maybe we still have Kaden Smith, but my lord do we need something. Enter Trey McBride. Everything I read, this guy is a STUD. This guy is getting comps to guys like George Kittle and Mark Andrews. I'm very excited to break down his game, because a TE of that caliber is BIG time.

4) Cade Otton, TE, Washington- Ok so day 3 rolls around, and honestly, I'm not feeling a lot of the choices. But Otton is a receiving threat, and a try hard blocker. It's a good combo, and he helps with the depth at TE. He was also a big value pick as the board rated him 69, and this is pick 112.

5) Amare Barno, EDGE, Virginia Tech- Back to the trenches, and I add a toolsy pass rusher who can kick in on special teams and maybe fortify the depth some. I was hoping to find another OL player, but they got swept up. Maybe I could've traded up, but hey.

6) Bailey Zappe, QB, Western Kentucky- Alright, now look, my long term plan is setting up for the 2023 QB class, specifically Bryce Young, but we need a QB for 2022. Daniel Jones' career should be in question given his injury situation, and he is at this point, injury prone. Not sure I can stomach watching Mike Glennon or Jake Fromm for a year. So enter Zappe, who has been very impressive in his own right in college. He is definitely a guy who may rise up as well, but if we have him here, if he can give us a Gardner Minshew type of player, then it will certainly serve for the year if need be, and we will also have a very good back up QB heading into the future.

6) I traded our final pick to the Patriots for the 5th, 6th, and 7th round pick in 2022. This saves us a little money, and gives us more draft capital for 2023.

So here is my haul from the 2022 NFL Draft:

Ikem Ekwonu

Devin Lloyd

Nicholas Petit-Frere

Cameron Thomas

Kyren Williams

Trey McBride

Cade Otton

Amare Barno

Bailey Zappe

Broncos 2023 1st round pick

Chiefs 2023 3rd round pick

Patriots 2023 5th, 6th, and 7th round picks

Looking back on it, I could have done a few things differently, maybe consolidate some of my day 3 picks to move up for another OL player. But overall, I like what I did. I added premium talent to the OL, I added two potential game changing front seven defenders, and I added to potentially high impact weapons to the offense. I also brought in a QB who can be a long term back up for us, and most importantly, I set the table for us in 2023 to target our franchise QB. Now I know most will look at Judge and snarl, but look at it like this. Judge has a very easy link to not only the Patriots, but Alabama. If he does in fact bring in Bill O'Brien to be the OC for us, then the fit for Bryce Young to us will be as obvious as Mac Jones to the Patriots. That means we need to set the table this year. Biggest thing is to add some premium talent up front, and if things play out how I hope the extra capital will give us the ammo to trade up and put us in the range for Bryce Young.

That's the move BBV. Maybe if I have the time I'll go a little more in depth and really break it down part by part a la Invictus. But for now, here's something to chew on.

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