Analysis

9/8/22

4 min read

Sports Info Solutions: New York Giants 2022 Team Preview

Daniel Jones

The New York Giants enter the 2022 season with another new head coach, which is now their fifth in the last six years. Brian Daboll comes in from Buffalo looking to lead a Giants team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2016 back to relevance. 

Last season under coach Joe Judge, the Giants trotted out one of the worst offenses in the league. Injuries to key positions certainly did not help the cause, but the Giants ranked at the bottom of the Total Points leaderboard in every facet of the offense.

Developing Daniel Jones

In contrast, Daboll led a Bills offense that ranked close to the top in nearly all of the Total Points categories on offense (except for blocking, which was similar to the Giants). He can also be credited in part for the rise of Josh Allen, who was a rookie in Daboll’s first season as the Bills' offensive coordinator. During that time, he took Allen, who ranked 33rd in Total Points in 2018 to now fifth in 2021.

Daboll will once again have to work the same magic he did with Allen in developing quarterback Daniel Jones. Jones ranked 28th in Total Points Above Average in 2021, the highest ranking in his first three years with the Giants. Jones will have to show improvement in a more successful scheme this year if he wants to remain the Giants QB of the future.

Improvements on Offense

Saquon Barkley will once again be the leader of the Giants backfield after a disappointing performance in 2021. Along with missing four games due to an ankle injury, Barkley ranked 76th out of 91 RBs with at least 50 carries in Yards Per Attempt (Y/A) at 3.7 and 87th in Total Points Above Average with -13.8. 

Assuredly this is not all on Barkley. The Giants, once again, had one of the worst offensive lines in football. The Giants finished 26th in 2021 in both Run Blocking and Pass Blocking Total Points. In order to address this issue, the Giants drafted tackle Evan Neal with one of their two top ten draft selections. 

Last season, Neal was a force on the Alabama offensive line and was fourth in the country in Total Points with 43.5. By pairing him with 2020 first-round pick Andrew Thomas, who showed improvement in 2021, the Giants' offensive line has the chance to make a much-needed step forward in 2022.

The Giants' pass catchers, along with every other aspect of the offense, must prove their skill with the improvements in the offensive scheme, QB play and offensive line play. Last year, Giants leading wide receiver Kenny Golladay posted only 521 yards and zero touchdowns on 76 targets. 

Both 2021 first-round pick Kadarius Toney and 2022 second-round pick Wan’Dale Robinson promise to be featured heavily in the offense this season.

Scouting the Defense

On the defensive side of the ball, the Giants drafted Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux with the 5th overall pick in the draft. Thibodeaux should help improve a pass rush unit that ranked 24th in Pressure Percentage and 25th in Total Points last season. 

The Giants will also need to replace their former Pro Bowl cornerback James Bradberry since he's with the Eagles. Luckily, cornerback Adoree Jackson returns as the secondaries' leader in Total Points Above Average (ahead of Bradberry) with 13.

There are a lot of questions heading into Year 1 of the Daboll regime. He and new general manager Joe Schoen will have to evaluate the roster, especially QB, and see what they have moving forward to build on.

James Weaver contributed to this report. 

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