Poll results: Giants fans overwhelmingly love Kenny Golladay deal

New York Giants fans appear to be overwhelmingly in favor of the four-year, $72 million mega-deal the organization signed wide receiver Kenny Golladay to over the weekend.

Needing a No. 1 wide receiver to help the development of Daniel Jones and boost an offense that finished 31st in the NFL last season the Giants landed the player considered the best receiver on the open market.

In our poll asking Giants fans to grade the signing, 66 percent (3,322) of 5,049 voters gave the signing a ‘A’ grade. Assigning a ‘B’ grade were 1,399 voters (28 percent). That makes 94 percent of voters strongly in favor of the move. Only 4 percent (216 voters) gave the move a ‘C’ grade, 46 voters (1 percent) gave the move a ‘D’ grade and 66 voters (also 1 percent) gave the move an ‘F’ grade.

Reaction around the Internet

The move has continued to cause ripples and generate commentary across NFL media circles.

Peter King is not a fan of the move. Here is what he said in Monday’s ‘Football Morning In America’ column:

THE NY GIANTS paid too much for Kenny Golladay, a receiver I like, but $18 million in this financial climate? For a receiver who didn’t find big money till day six of free-agency? The Giants will have three players not named Daniel Jones or Saquon Barkley account for about $60 million of their 2022 cap. Not good. But a player like Golladay is borderline essential to the development of Jones, so I understand the push to get him. He’s going to have to produce very big (something like 90 catches, 1,300 yards, 10 TDs) for the deal to be worth it.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated expressed surprise and detailed some of the reasons why the Giants wanted to fully vest whether or not Golladay would fit Joe Judge’s locker room. To be honest, there’s nothing in Breer’s commentary that wasn’t already reported, but here it is:

I’m surprised Kenny Golladay is a Giant. And I’m surprised he’s one at the rate they landed him at—$18 million per year, mostly because the market Golladay expected cratered. It’s been no secret that things didn’t end well in Detroit. Golladay, a quiet, reserved type, had issues in 2020 that really hadn’t surfaced as much before, issues probably best illustrated by the star receiver missing a Saturday meeting, less than 24 hours before a game prior to his hip injury. There were some internal questions on whether or not he could’ve returned from the injury (he missed the last nine games of the year), and those sorts of questions can, obviously, create friction on both sides of the table. And all of that came after an altercation he had over the summer, which led to the police being called, an incident the league looked into. A couple things here helped Golladay overcome all this with the Giants. First, his agent got a letter the league wrote seven months ago clearing him completely, as the police had, in that incident, and declaring its investigation closed—the Lions actually helped in that process, and the letter was important mid-week. On top of that, the incident wasn’t an issue for Detroit; it came before the Lions offered Golladay a multi-year deal at a pretty significant number. Second, the Giants did a lot of homework. GM Dave Gettleman has ex-Lions exec Kyle O’Brien on his staff, and coach Joe Judge has close relationships with a decent number of Golladay’s Detroit coaches and teammates, and Judge canvassed both for intel. The third piece was Golladay’s free-agent visit—notable because visits generally don’t happen for top free agents in the NFL. The Giants spent a solid 24 hours with Golladay, from dinner on Thursday through a full day of meetings Friday. They wound up really liking him. He decided to stay another night in the area, went to dinner with Giants safety Jabrill Peppers and a few others, and on Saturday the deal was done. So here’s my read: Ownership has wanted a No. 1 receiver since Odell Beckham was traded, Gettleman wanted to get Daniel Jones that help, and Judge, while particular on who he’s bringing into the building, wants to get to a place where the culture he’s building can absorb some level of risk. And the truth is, after the Giants did all that work, it seemed like less of a risk anyway. The Giants’ own faith is reflected in what is a very strong deal. Basically, it assures the receiver $28 million over one year or $40 million over two if he doesn’t make it to a third year with the team. If he does, he’ll pull down $54 million over that period. And, again, I was surprised that the Giants and Golladay got here. But, really, I think it’s credit to the team (for being open-minded), to Golladay (for winning what was basically a job interview), and to his agent, Todd France, (for the contract) that they did.

Walter Football gave the move an ‘A.’

Daniel Jones had an impressive rookie year, but struggled in his sophomore campaign. There won't be any excuses if he disappoints again, however. Saquon Barkley will return from injury, and Nate Solder will be back from his opt-out. The Giants also signed Kyle Rudolph and now Kenny Golladay, who joined the team for a huge contract that includes $40 million in guarantees.

I love this signing for the Giants. I would ordinarily grade something like this as a B+ because this signing is not a bargain - it's not an overpay either; Golladay is getting exactly what he deserves - but it's something that New York absolutely had to do. The front office had to make sure Jones succeeds and doesn't become a bust. Also, Jones is on his rookie deal, so this is the exact time the Giants should be spending big bucks to bolster their roster. Golladay, a legitimate No. 1 receiver, will make the Giants a Super Bowl contender if Jones makes the leap he should have made last year.

Finally, I’m sure you will enjoy the fact that Eagles fans are not happy.