The ESSENTIAL Football Show 2025 Cap Space: - $9.4 million (as of 5/3)
2026 Cap Space: $43.4 million
2027 Cap Space: $148.3 million
2026 Draft Picks: Own Picks Rounds 1, 2, 4-6, plus Dallas 6th
If the Joe Schoen-Brian Daboll regime is going to rally, and bring the New York Giants back into contention in the NFC East, it’s going to feel like a heck of a comeback.
It’s an odd set of circumstances, because if a new general manager and head coach had made these exact same decisions, I think I would be fairly excited about this roster build. To use a more exact example, if we dropped Broncos head coach Sean Payton into this situation, and assumed he could get something similar from to what he could from Bo Nix from Giants 1st round pick Jaxson Dart, I would consider the Giants a dark horse candidate to make the playoffs this year.
The problem is that this isn’t a first year GM and head coach; Schoen and Daboll are entering Year 4, presumably with a mandate to make (or at least push) for the playoffs, and outside of the on-field coaching in Year 1, which got a below-average roster to a 9-7-1 record and a Wild Card win in Minnesota, there hasn’t been a whole lot to write home about.
Even in the midst of that first season, there was reason for concern. In theory, the Giants were supposed to lay their foundation in the 2022 NFL Draft, when they held the 5th and 7th overall picks, which they used on edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux and offensive tackle Evan Neal.
The picks have not lived up to expectations; Thibodeaux has developed into a useful starter after a rough rookie season, but he isn’t a true game-changing player, while Neal played himself out of the starting lineup and is firmly entrenched as a backup entering the final year of his rookie deal.
The issues have extended beyond that pair of picks; in 2022 and 2023, New York’s picks in the first three rounds were Thibodeaux, Neal, receiver Wan’Dale Robinson (43rd, 2022), guard Joshua Ezedudu (67th, 2022), cornerback Cordale Flott (81st, 2022), cornerback Deonte Banks (24th, 2023), center John Michael Schmitz (57th, 2023), and receiver Jalin Hyatt (73rd, 2023).
It’s a rough haul, and while the Giants may have rebounded in 2024, they exacerbated their issues in the draft with a series of unfortunate decisions in free agency, whether it be extending quarterback Daniel Jones despite the fact that running back Saquon Barkley was clearly the engine of their 2022 offense, letting Barkley and safety Xavier McKinney walk in free agency the next offseason, or trading for edge rusher Brian Burns, who didn’t exactly turn out to be the missing link for this team, instead of drafting from a pool of linemen who would have included Washington Commander Jer’Zhan Newton, Tennessee Titan T’Vondre Sweat, and Los Angeles Ram Braden Fiske.
That last point may be the toughest thing about observing this Giants build; they seem to force a lot of things, whether that be their vision of what Daniel Jones would become once they started paying him more money, how much more productive Thibodeaux would be if they just added Brian Burns, how well Darius Slayton will fit into the offense if they give it just one more shot after six years of appearing to want nothing more than to find an upgrade on him despite his consistently solid production, a bizarre tango that predates the Schoen-Daboll regime.
The tough part is where that ends up putting them. Instead of moving on from Daniel Jones, and letting things come to them, they signed him to an extension that was widely criticized at the time, and it blew up in their face. Instead of taking the long view when Jones was returning from multiple serious injuries ahead of his third season, they traded for Burns, and while I’m sure they’ll figure things out with the addition of 3rd overall pick Abdul Carter, it’s a lot clearer how Carter would have fit into New York’s top four alongside All-Universe defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, Thibodeuax, and one of the aforementioned defensive tackles than with Burns.
In any case, this is the road they’ve taken, and there’s a chance this could all come together, because this roster is not bereft of talent. Things would just feel a lot brighter if this were the first dice roll of a new regime, rather than the Hail Mary from a pair of decision-makers on their last legs.
Quarterback
Starter: Russell Wilson
Backups: Jameis Winston, Jaxson Dart (1st Rd)
Running Back
Starters: Tyrone Tracy
Backups: Devin Singletary, Cam Skattebo (4th Rd), Eric Gray
Wide Receiver
Starters: Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton, Wan’Dale Robinson
Backups: Jalin Hyatt, Zach Pascal, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Ihmir Smith-Marsette
Tight End
Starters: Theo Johnson, Daniel Bellinger
Backups: Chris Manhertz, Greg Dulcich
Offensive Line
Starters: Andrew Thomas, Jon Runyan, John Michael Schmitz, Greg Van Roten, Jermaine Eluemunor
Backups: James Hudson, Aaron Stinnie, Evan Neal, Marcus Mbow (5th), Stone Forsythe
Offense Overview
Russell Wilson can still sling it down the field - if you kept it to the highlight reel from the Baltimore playoff loss, you’d come away wondering why there isn’t more interest in this player - but everything else about Wilson’s game has aged poorly.
Wilson has never been great operating over the middle, and the superpowers that once allowed him to compensate for that just aren’t there anymore; if I had to point to a single play to illustrate this, I’d pull his scramble from Week 16 against the Ravens, when Wilson tried to cut loose from the Baltimore 23 in a 7-7 game.
(insert clip)
In his prime, Wilson runs this in for a touchdown, and the Steelers have a 14-7 lead five minutes into the second quarter. In 2024, Wilson didn’t reach the end zone, got stripped by Ravens safety Ar’Darius Washington, and watched from the sidelines as Lamar Jackson and the Ravens marched the field on the next drive and took their own 14-7 lead, which they would not relinquish.
That gap put a ceiling on Pittsburgh’s offense last season, and while Wilson will certainly benefit from playing with superstar receiver Malik Nabers, the 2024 Giants weren’t a Russell Wilson away from being competitive. The offensive line will get Andrew Thomas back at left tackle, but their other four starters fit firmly in the “mediocre” designation, and two of those players, right guard Greg Van Roten and right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, are up around the ten-year mark in experience, and there’s not much in the way of proven depth if either of them is injured.
The Giants found some solid players on offense in the 2024 Draft to complement the spectacular Malik Nabers, but while running back Tyrone Tracy and tight end Theo Johnson are players you want on your roster, they would need to take a big step to be considered true game-changers. Beyond them, Slayton should provide steady production across from Nabers, while Wan’Dale Robinson will apparently continue to be an unbelievably inefficient, high-volume target in the short area of the field.
Perhaps Jalin Hyatt, who was brought in as a field stretcher, will get a bit of life if backup Jameis Winston gets to start a few games in this process, but once Winston’s unique brand of decision-making caused steam to start spewing from the ears of a beet-red Brian Daboll, it doesn’t look like Jaxson Dart will get dropped into the best situation. The offense has two cornerstone pieces - Thomas and Nabers - and a lot of question marks.
Defensive Tackle
Starters: Dexter Lawrence, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Roy Robertson-Harris
Backups: Darius Alexander (3rd Rd), Jeremiah Ledbetter, D.J. Davidson
Edge
Starters: Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux
Backups: Abdul Carter (1st Rd), Chauncey Golston, Victor Dimukeje
Linebackers
Starters: Bobby Okereke, Micah McFadden
Backups: Darius Muasau, Chris Board
Safety
Starters: Jevon Holland, Tyler Nubin
Backups: Dane Belton, Anthony Johnson Jr.
Slot
Starter: Dru Phillips
Backups: Cor’Dale Flott
Outside CB
Starters: Paulson Adebo, Deonte Banks
Backups: Tre Hawkins, Korie Black (7th Rd)
Defense Overview
This is the fun side of the ball for the Giants. I mentioned before that there would be a more straightforward position fit if the Giants had acquired a defensive tackle last offseason instead of an edge, but given the rave reviews on 3rd overall pick Abdul Carter, I’m excited to see how defensive coordinator Shane Bowen deploys his crew, particularly on 3rd downs.
The Giants took a huge hit in watchability when an elbow injury forced Dexter Lawrence out of the lineup, but Sexy Dexy should be back at full strength in 2025.
Carter gets the rookie headlines for obvious reasons, but the other exciting addition to this group is 3rd round pick Darius Alexander, a Toledo prospect who draft analysts noted for flashing some big-time traits and pass rush upside. If Alexander forces his way into the pass rush package, it could allow the Giants to kick Carter, who played off-ball linebacker prior to this season, to be a stand-up, move-around pass rusher in a lethal five-man package.
There are less fireworks in the backend, but if the front plays its part, free-agent additions Jevon Holland and Paulson Adebo could solidify a defensive backfield that struggled badly last season; with Dru Phillips in the slot, Tyler Nubin and Holland at safety, and Deonte Banks and Adebo at outside corner, the Giants have made the requisite investments to expect at least decent results, though they need Banks to rebound from a rollercoaster of a 2024 season.
Overall Outlook
It’s all about expectations in New York.
If there is a genuine mandate to contend for the playoffs, and the Schoen/Daboll regime is going to be out the door if they get off to a 2-6 start, then ownership probably should have moved on from them before the season.
A more reasonable stance, given where they drafted the quarterback, would be to have this pair back on a two-year timeline, with the idea that Dart will be brought along at his own pace as a rookie, with the definitive moment coming somewhere in Year Two, when the front office will have had another offseason to build up the team around him.
Unfortunately, decisions in the NFL aren’t always reasonable. We might see Coach Daboll develop Jaxson Dart and go on to battle for the NFC East crown in what would be an incredibly entertaining division, but we also might see the Giants starting over with an entirely new plan come 2026.