New York Giants News

Giants news, 5/31: Darren Waller, Daniel Jones, OTA Day 4 recap, more headlines

New York Giants news for Wednesday

By JamesPHickey May 31, 2023, 6:00am EDT

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The Darren Waller difference: Giants learning how new tight end can change their offense

The presence of Darren Waller could be the catalyst for the New York Giants toward a necessary evolution to a more aggressive passing attack.

The Giants know, though, that largely risk-averse offense is only going to carry them so far. They averaged 21.2 points per game in 2022, 18th in the NFL. Enter the Giants’ aggression in the offseason in trying to add more playmakers. They added wide receiver Parris Campbell in free agency and the speedy Jalin Hyatt in the draft. The biggest swing, though, was trading a third-round pick for Waller, a tight end with two thousand-yard receiving seasons to his credit.

The addition of Waller has Giants’ offensive coordinator Mike Kafka thinking the team can now use every inch of the field:

“He makes you defend really all the depth of the field and the width of the field,” said Kafka. "He can get over the second level and work second-level defenders. He can get into the third level because he has tremendous athletic ability and speed....He adds an element that gives the offense a little bit of an edge to move him around and mix and match him with different matchups.”

BBV's Ed Valentine goes further on the Giants looking at what might work with their new tight end.

From Big Blue View

Other Giant observations

Here’s why Daniel Jones is better than Jets’ Aaron Rodgers | NJ.com

Out in Florham Park and wherever else Jets fans reside, they are celebrating the arrival of Aaron Rodgers. The bad news for the Jets is that the Giants have the best quarterback right now in the Big Apple and NJ.com’s Bob Brookover has the numbers to prove it.

Isaiah Hodgins, Deonte Banks make plays at OTA No. 4 | Giants.com

The New York Giants kicked off the second week of OTAs on Tuesday. Among the reported highlights were:

Quarterback Daniel Jones started the day with a completion to wide receiver Parris Campbell, one of the offseason additions to the franchise quarterback’s arsenal. Jones also completed touchdowns to wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins, Kalil Pimpleton and Jalin Hyatt with two, including the walk-off score to end practice.
Cornerback Deonte Banks, the Giants’ first-round selection in last month’s draft, broke up a pass.
Wide receiver Jaydon Mickens flashed his athleticism with the football in his hands, making a nice stutter-step move to get up the sideline.
Second-year tight end Daniel Bellinger made a big gain on a pass from Jones.

What is a 'dead snap'? Giants' QB to experiment with new snap | ESPN.com

The “dead snap” was not a problem between quarterback Daniel Jones and rookie center John Michael Schmitz, with Jones not having to jump or contort to catch snaps. In fact, the snaps were barely notable, which is generally a positive sign since it’s a part of the game often taken for granted.

2023 Stat Predictions for Every Projected Starting NFL QB | Bleacher Report

Jones may not be brimming with upside at the age of 26, but he has a chance to bring his arm along a little more as he prepares for a second season in Mike Kafka's system while remaining a danger on the ground. The additions of both Darren Waller and Parris Campbell should also help improve Danny Dimes' stats in 2023.

Prediction: 65 percent completion rate, 3,553 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns, nine interceptions, 109 carries, 601 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns.

Giants’ remaining offseason to-do list: Extend Saquon Barkley, find more edge help | The Athletic

The Athletic’s Charlotte Carroll goes over the items that still need to be crossed off include settling the contract stalemate with Barkley, an extension for left tackle Andrew Thomas, restructuring Leonard Williams’ contract, and adding veteran depth on the edge.

Seven teams who could fall out of the playoffs after getting in last season | CBSSports.com

CBSSports.com’s Will Brinson is not me saying the Giants won’t make the playoffs, just that there are enough questions surrounding the roster and with the team where it would be insane not to include them.

The NFC is certainly wide open and with seven available spots, the Giants taking one of them wouldn’t be surprising at all given the culture being built by Daboll and the new regime. But the division is tough and any sort of regression from Danny Dimes could cause the Giants’ ascension to wobble.

Boomer Esiason says Giants can’t let Saquon Barkley go | WFAN.com

“They keep telling you he’s the face of the Giants, the perfect guy for the Giants, well then pay the guy!” Boomer said. “He’s right in the middle of his prime, and he proved last year in this offense that he’s deserving of a legitimate contract with legitimate guaranteed money, regardless of what the analytics of the league says.”

Guaranteed money likely Giants-Saquon Barkley sticking point | New York Post

If average annual salary mattered most, Barkley and the Giants likely could have come up with a lipstick offer similar to how the Saints’ Alvin Kamara can boast that he is the second-highest paid running back ($15 million per year) but his heavily backloaded five-year, $75 million deal included a non-guaranteed $22.4 million salary in 2025 that Kamara is unlikely ever to see.

One issue for Barkley is that his easiest path to regaining the leverage lost under the tag will not materialize until after July 17, at which point he only can play on the tag because further negotiations are prohibited.