While the New York Giants defense is undergoing a major makeover thanks to a new coordinator leading the way, the offense is also undergoing a facelift — even with its coordinator sticking around.
Despite a couple of head coach interviews, Mike Kafka remained this offseason and was promoted to assistant head coach, but he will most likely be conceding his hold on play-calling duties. Brian Daboll has been calling plays throughout the spring, and while he hasn’t made a final decision about the season, all signs point to the head coach taking over.
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“It’s collaborative,” Kafka said of his involvement if he’s not calling plays. “From Day 1, it’s been that way.”
The scheme has been a Daboll-Kafka production since they arrived in 2022, so what changes we’ll see this year (if any) remains a bit of a mystery.
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New Giants running back Devin Singletary, who spent time with Daboll in Buffalo when Daboll was the OC, called the coach a “fearless” play caller. One way that fearlessness manifested itself was in his aggression on first downs. During Daboll’s four-year tenure as Buffalo’s offensive coordinator, the Bills attempted the third-most pass attempts on first down in the league, per TruMedia. Over the last two seasons, the Giants have ranked 26th in that metric. Obviously, Daboll was working with superior talent in Buffalo, most notably at quarterback with Josh Allen. Still, it’s possible we could see the Giants dial up a few more pass plays early in their sequences. especially now with star running back Saquon Barkley gone.
Like any good coach, Daboll will play to his personnel, but it’s certainly something to watch for when the new season kicks off.
The expected change at play caller isn’t the only thing that will be different for the Giants offense this year. The Giants have made major changes at almost every offensive position. We’re highlighting three of them.
Wide receiver
Then: No true No. 1 option
Now: A top pick joins the team at WR
The Giants haven’t had a true No. 1 receiver since the days of Odell Beckham Jr. The last time a Giants receiver topped 1,000 receiving yards was six years ago when Beckham tallied 1,052 yards in 2018. That drought could very well end this year, however, as the team drafted Malik Nabers with the No. 6 pick in the 2024 draft.
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Nabers spent the spring flashing Beckham-like qualities, most notably by making some impressive one-handed catches. While Nabers is still a rookie and finding his place, he’s clearly a different type of talent that hasn’t been seen at the Giants facility in years.
Malik Nabers, oh my 😯
(via @charlottecrrll)pic.twitter.com/UugVdAbNzg
— NFL (@NFL) June 12, 2024
All eyes will be on the rookie once training camp starts next month, and given his immense talent, it would not be a surprise if he quickly becomes the focal point of opposing defenses’ attention, too. The team’s best weapons last year in the running (Barkley) and passing game (Darren Waller) are gone, meaning Nabers will be the top playmaker defenses will try to take away.
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Nabers will need to overcome that attention, but that should help free up his counterparts in the wide receiver group.
As with Nabers, the others at the position looked sharp throughout the spring. Wan’Dale Robinson looked more comfortable and said he feels like’s back to his full self after having a true offseason to focus on training rather than rehab (he tore his ACL in Week of the 2022 season).
Second-year receiver Jalin Hyatt said he’s feeling more at ease in the offense after working out this offseason with quarterback Daniel Jones, paired with his trips to Texas to work with his personal receivers coach. And while reliable veteran Darius Slayton skipped early OTAs in an effort to upgrade his contract, he’s since returned to the fold with incentives added to his deal.
As a whole, the group looks stronger than it did last year and should benefit from having a true No. 1 threat at the top of their ranks.
“We’re ready to throw it, and Dabs can see it,” Hyatt said of bringing in Nabers along with bringing back Robinson, Slayton and himself. “I think our receiver room, we’re stacked and we’re ready to prove what we can do.”
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Running back
Then: A superstar in Saquon Barkley
Now: Can Barkley be replaced?
Barkley’s departure will certainly be felt this year and likely for years to come. The star running back and face of the franchise left for division rival Philadelphia. His absence leaves not only a major gap in the running game but the team’s offensive firepower as a whole.
Even in a down season last year, Barkley remained the offense’s focal point with the ability to change the game each time he touched the ball. Defenses had to respect that. During Barkley’s best recent season (2022), defenses presented the Giants with an eight-man box on more than 36% of his carries. It’s no coincidence that 2022 also served as Daniel Jones’ best career season.
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Will any Giants running back on the current roster be able to command that kind of respect? In short: Probably not.
The Giants signed Singletary to a three-year, $16.5 million deal as a veteran replacement. In five seasons — four with Buffalo and one with Houston — he’s been solid, if unspectacular. Singletary’s career mark of 4.6 yards per carry is excellent, but he’s never produced a 1,000-yard season despite playing in 16-17 games four seasons in a row. He’s coming off a career-high 898 rushing yards in Houston last year, but does he have the talent to keep defenses honest the way Barkley did?
“Our focus (is to) win games,” Singletary said. “We aren’t really worried about the shadow of Saquon or none of that. You know, it’s just finding ways to win games.”
The 26-year-old Singletary headlines a young and inexperienced running back room. The Giants drafted Eric Gray last year, but he never seemed to earn the team’s trust as tallied just 17 carries in 13 games behind Barkley and Matt Breida. The Giants drafted Tyrone Tracy Jr., who primarily played receiver until his final year in college, in the fifth round this year. They’ve also got Jashaun Corbin (three career carries) and 2023 undrafted rookie Dante Miller on the roster.
No one here should be expected to replace Barkley, and even as a group, replacing the effect Barkley had on defenses will be an immense challenge to overcome.
Offensive line
Then: Inconsistency and injuries
Now: Veteran-laden line
After a decade of poor play, fans can be forgiven if they’re sick of asking themselves the same question every offseason: “Did the Giants do enough to fix the offensive line?” Time will tell if this year in the year things will change, but there’s no doubt the Giants certainly tried to upgrade their offensive line.
The changes started the day after the season ended when the team fired position coach Bobby Johnson. Days later, the Giants hired Carmen Bricillo from Las Vegas.
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From there, the Giants turned to free agency, signing Jon Runyan Jr. and Jermaine Eluemunor, each of whom has a track record of staying healthy. No reminder is needed why that’s so important this year after injuries derailed the Giants from the get-go last season.
New York also signed Aaron Stinnie, Austin Schlottmann and Matt Nelson to smaller contracts in an effort to fortify its offensive line depth.
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The Giants are hoping to be able to deal with injuries better than they did last season. That is already being put to the test with right tackle Evan Neal missing time this spring as he rehabs from surgery to repair a fracture in his ankle. In his absence, the first-team offensive line looked like this: LT Andrew Thomas, LG Eluemunor, C John Michael Schmitz, RG Runyan, RT Josh Ezeudu.
Assuming Neal is healthy and plays well enough, the veteran additions should add some stability — even in the face of injury.
(Photo of Brian Daboll and Malik Nabers: Chris Pedota / NorthJersey.com / USA Today)
