2024 NFL Season Preview: New York Giants

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New York Giants (Last Year: 6-11)



Season Summary:
The Giants disappointed after their playoff appearance in 2022, beginning at the start of the season when they were blown out by the Cowboys. Daniel Jones regressed, so it remains to be seen if he’ll be the starter in 2024.

2024 NFL Season Preview:

Veteran Additions:
QB Drew Lock, RB Devin Singletary, WR Isaiah McKenzie, OT Jermaine Eluemunor, G Jon Runyan, G Aaron Stinnie, DE Brian Burns, S Jalen Mills.
Early Draft Picks:
WR Malik Nabers, S Tyler Nubin, CB Andru Phillips, TE Theo Johnson. Giants Rookie Forecast
Offseason Losses:
QB Tyrod Taylor, RB Saquon Barkley, WR Parris Campbell, TE Darren Waller, DT A’Shawn Robinson, OLB Isaiah Simmons, S Xavier McKinney.

2024 New York Giants Offense:
Football players and coaches typically don’t like to make excuses, but Daniel Jones never had a fair chance with the Giants, except for perhaps 2022. Jones was always paired with a poor coaching staff, a miserable offensive line and poor receiving talent ever since he was drafted. Making matters worse, he lost Saquon Barkley to a torn ACL during the second week of his sophomore campaign. Barkley wasn’t 100 percent upon his return in 2021, so with that being paired with the awful coaching and talent around him, Jones was set up for failure.

For the first time in Jones’ career, he’ll have a viable No. 1 receiver at his disposal. He’s thrown to the likes of Kenny Golladay, Darius Slayton, Isaiah Hodgins, Richie James, Kadarius Toney and Sterling Shepard in the past. Now, he’ll have the dynamic Malik Nabers at his disposal. Some teams ranked Nabers ahead of Marvin Harrison Jr., so it’ll be interesting to see how Jones fares with Nabers as a downfield threat. Wan’Dale Robinson will reprise his role as the team’s slot receiver, while Jalin Hyatt and Slayton will battle for the starting position across from Nabers. Hyatt has terrific speed, but didn’t do anything as a rookie. One of these players will have to pick up the slack with Darren Waller announcing his retirement.

Unfortunately for Jones, there’s lots of reason for pessimism, despite Nabers’ availability. One factor is that Jones is coming off a torn ACL, so he may not be as mobile as he was in the past. A second factor is that Barkley is gone. Barkley signed with the Eagles, so Jones will be missing his dynamic safety valve out of the backfield. The Giants replaced him with Devin Singletary. While Singletary thrived in Houston last year, it’s fair to be skeptical of his chances in 2024 because of New York’s miserable blocking.

And speaking of the miserable blocking, that’s the third reason why Jones may once again fail to live up to expectations. The Giants couldn’t keep pass rushers from flooding the backfield last year, and that is likely to once again be the case in 2024. The front office signed a pair of guards, Jermaine Eluemunor and Jon Runyan. Eluemunor will help, as he’s been solid for the Raiders the past two seasons. However, Runyan was one of the worst starting guards in the NFL last year. They’ll sandwich second-year John Michael Schmitz, a second-round prospect who had a horrible rookie campaign.

Aside from Eluemunor, the lone bright spot on the Giants’ offensive line will continue to be Andrew Thomas, one of the premier left tackles in the NFL. Much was expected from former top-10 pick Evan Neal, but he’s been one of the worst right tackle in the NFL over the past two years. The Giants needed to obtain some competition for him, but failed to do so.



2024 New York Giants Defense:
Though the Giants made the playoffs in 2022, they surrendered 1.6 more points per game than they scored. Their defense had some holes, ranking 18th against the pass and 30th versus the run.

New York’s defense still has some major problems, but the front office was at least proactive in one area. The Giants acquired Brian Burns in a blockbuster deal this spring. Burns is one of the most dynamic edge rushers in the league, so he’ll provide a big upgrade to the Giants’ ability to rush the passer. The Giants already had one excellent pass rusher in Kayvon Thibodeaux (11.5 sacks in 2023), so he and Burns will place an incredible amount of pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

The Giants also possess another talented player in their front seven who can help in that regard. Dexter Lawrence is an elite defensive tackle, capable of stuffing the run and generating a pass rush. The Giants don’t have much else at the position, however, thanks to the Leonard Williams trade last season. Jordan Phillips is the favorite to start next to Lawrence, but he was a huge liability for the Bills in 2023.

An improved pass rush will help the secondary, which needed all the assistance it could get. The Giants lost a key piece in their defensive backfield with Xavier McKinney joining the Packers. McKinney was an excellent safety last year, so he’ll be missed. The Giants used a second-round pick on a replacement, selecting Tyler Nubin. The Minnesota product is an instinctive defensive back, but doesn’t possess McKinney’s athleticism and upside. He’ll start next to Jason Pinnock, who is coming off a mediocre season.

It’s even more bleak at cornerback, as Deonte Banks and Cor’Dale Flott are the projected starters on the outside, while third-round rookie Dru Phillips is expected to handle the slot duties. Banks and Flott struggled mightily last year. It must be noted, however, that they’re both young and will benefit from the enhanced pass rush, but they’re both still likely to be torched often in 2024.

The linebacking corps is in better shape, thanks to Bobby Okereke’s presence. Okereke proved to be a nice signing last offseason, as he thrived in coverage and handled the run well as a three-down player. He’ll start alongside Micah McFadden, a former fifth-round pick who missed far too many tackles in 2023.



2024 New York Giants Schedule and Intangibles:
Graham Gano had an excellent 2022 season for the Giants. He was 29-of-32, which includes 8-of-9 from 50-plus. However, he was just 11-of-17 in 2023, though he hit 3-of-4 tries from beyond 50.

Jamie Gillan didn’t have a good net punting average last year, but did extremely well to pin the opposition inside the 20.

The Giants have plenty of winnable games because they play against the NFC South, the Seahawks, and the Vikings.



2024 New York Giants Rookies:
Go here for the Giants Rookie Forecast, a page with predictions like which rookie will bust and which rookie will become a solid starter.



2024 New York Giants Positional Rankings (1-5 stars):

Quarterbacks		Offensive Line		Secondary
Running Backs		Defensive Line		Special Teams
Receivers		Linebackers		Coaching