New York Giants News

Giants news, 2/24: PFF honors Lawrence, Thomas, Barkley, C.J. Stroud, more headlines

New York Giants headlines for Friday

By JamesPHickey Feb 24, 2023, 6:00am EST

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Good morning, New York Giants fans!

Dexter Lawrence, Andrew Thomas, Saquon Barkley make PFF's top 101 players list

Three players from the New York Giants have been named to the top 101 players of 2022 by Pro Football Focus (PFF). Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence (No. 15), left tackle Andrew Thomas (No. 16) and running back Saquon Barkley (No. 62) were all honored by PFF after the Giants went 9-7-1 and reached the Divisional Round of the NFC playoffs.

Other Giant observations

Giants must re-sign Saquon Barkley before free agency | New York Post

Ryan Dunleavy writes that “some narratives are repeated so frequently that they get accepted as truth even in the face of more accurate, newer information.”

Every recycled tidbit about the injury-related shortcomings of the Rams’ Todd Gurley, the Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott and then-Panthers’ Christian McCaffrey after they signed big extensions ignores that more recently the Vikings’ Dalvin Cook, Titans’ Derrick Henry, Browns’ Nick Chubb, Packers’ Aaron Jones and Bengals’ Joe Mixon all had career-high season rushing totals after signing extensions.

Those five running backs have average annual salaries between $12 million and $12.6 million — the third-highest through eighth-highest at the position — on deals signed in either 2020 or 2021. With the salary cap rising to $224.8 million in 2023, re-signing Barkley at $14 million per year would account for about the same pre-inflation 6.3 percent allotment, though the Giants are holding firm on the $12.5 million offer that he rejected in October.

Truth is... Daniel Jones never asked Giants for $45M/year | FOX Sports

Way-Too-Early NFL Quarterback Rankings for 2023 | The 33rd Team

The 33rd Team’s Matt Cassel has Daniel Jones as the 16th ranked quarterback in the NFL.

Daniel Jones proved he can play. Now the New York Giants may have to prove they can pay. Jones is one of the more underrated arms in the league. He is accurate, and he has arm strength that doesn’t get talked about enough. He’s also become a hybrid pocket-running passer like we’re seeing more and more in the league right now. The future is bright for Jones.

Orlando Brown, Daniel Jones, and the Tag of Destiny | Football Outsiders

From FO’s Mike Tanier:

Keeping both Jones (a long-term deal with lots of dough in 2024 and 2025) and Barkley (franchise tag, then a “thank you” bouquet) for a year would make fans happy, ownership happy, and lots of folks in the locker room happy. Walkthrough doesn’t love it, but we get it: a little marginal overpayment is often preferable to playing non-stop Moneyball.

2023 NFL free agent running backs tiers: Stacking 16 top names | ESPN.com

Need a running back? This year’s free agent class is loaded with talented ball-carriers. Here’s how the top names stack up.

2023 NFL offseason: All 32 teams’ WR situations ahead of free agency, draft | NFL.com

Top WRs under contract for 2023: Wan’Dale Robinson, Isaiah Hodgins, Kenny Golladay. Key free agents: Sterling Shepard (void), Darius Slayton (UFA), Richie James (UFA)

Year 2 of general manager Joe Schoen’s rebuild must provide playmakers for coach Brian Daboll and Daniel Jones (presuming the quarterback is retained) if the offense is to take the next step. Re-signing Hodgins, who was an exclusive rights free agent, was a perfunctory move. Next comes jettisoning Golladay, a vestige of the previous regime. Bringing back Slayton feels necessary, considering the dearth of field-stretching weapons on the market. He was the Giants’ only deep threat last season.

MBJ in the OBJ story

MBJ MBJ MBJ

Watch: https://t.co/ejUE9CiAel pic.twitter.com/jDJCIV3w7d
— New York Giants (@Giants) February 23, 2023

4 Giants storylines to watch during 2023 NFL Combine | SNY.tv

The downside to the Giants' surprising berth (and playoff victory) is that they’re slated to draft 25th. There are good players there, certainly, but they’re out of the running for the no-doubt, bonafide studs found in the top 10.

Some players Schoen and his staff could be watching, who figure to be available around there, include USC wideout Jordan Addison, cornerbacks Cam Smith (South Carolina) and Joey Porter (Penn State), and guard O’Cyrus Torrence (Florida). All of whom would step in as Day 1 starters at their respective positions.

2023 NFL free agency: Predicting where top 50 players will land | Fansided.com

42. Marcus Peters, CB, Baltimore Ravens. The veteran Marcus Peters is still just 30 years old, and up until this past season, he’s been good for at least four interceptions per year. The Giants’ defense took a step forward in 2022 and adding a playmaker on the back end like Marcus Peters could help them even more in 2023.

2020 NFL redraft: Is Joe Burrow still QB1? How high does Justin Jefferson climb? | The Athletic

4. New York Giants: Andrew Thomas, OT, Georgia Original pick: Thomas

Taking the bird in the hand over the many in the bush here. Thomas had a rocky start to his NFL career, but he quickly grew into a foundational piece for this offense and now looks like he can compete for All-Pro selections for years to come. As for other considerations, the best of those players already were off the board (Herbert/Burrow) or didn’t provide significantly more value at their respective positions than Thomas does at his. The Giants nailed this pick. It’s the only one here that didn’t require a change.

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