The Dust Has Settled on Giants Free Agency

The Giants made a whole bunch of moves right as the legal tampering period opened up on March 10th. Joe Schoen and his master plan were ready to go for what will shape up to be a defining offseason for the organization. This is a make or break year, and Schoen is under a ton of pressure from ownership to put together a team that produces a quality on-field product. If all were to come crashing down again, he and others within the building will more than likely be out of a job in January of 2026.

Tracking all of the signings

New additions and notable resignings galore, the Giants made some major splashes with the contracts they handed out. They filled the vacant quarterback position (x2!), bolstered the secondary, and added offensive and defensive line depth. From a fan perspective, I'm happy with the moves Schoen made and feel like he didn't get pressured into funneling available cap space into one or two guys. For example, Will Fries is an excellent offensive lineman and the Giants could have locked him down, but the price tag was way too high. Schoen stood firm and didn't overpay. For a team that is slowly working through a rebuild with a GM under a lot of pressure, it's nice to see them stand their ground.

Overall though, the Giants picked up a bunch of fresh faces that will try to help bring this team back to relevancy in the NFC East.

• Quarterback:

  • Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston are New York Giants. Winston was signed on March 21st while the Wilson news dropped later in the evening on March 25th. The QB room has been completely flipped on it's head. Wilson is locked in for one year at $21 million, with $10.5 million of that money guaranteed, while Winston is looking at a two-year, $8 million contract. These two bring a whole new energy to the locker room. Given the dire straits the quarterback position has been in since Eli Manning retired after the 2019 season, this feels like a step in the right direction. Russ will slot in as the starting quarterback in a familiar stadium, having won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks at MetLife back in 2014. He still has some juice left at 36 years old and can reinvigorate the Giants offense with veteran leadership and a deep ball that is still very reliable.

• This news may change the way in which the Giants approach pick number 3 in this year's draft. All signs point toward them not feeling like they could trade up for Cam Ward and not being as high on a guy like Shedeur Sanders. Joe Schoen went out and solidified the position with a veteran presence and will most likely look to the later rounds of the draft for a rookie quarterback. The Giants have the 34th pick in the draft - an early second rounder - so they can look to take a flier on guys like Jalen Milroe or Jaxson Dart if they happen to fall into their hands.

  
  

• Secondary: The Paulson Adebo and Jevon Holland signings were lauded as solid pickups to help shore up the back end of a young and inexperienced secondary. Adebo and Holland slot in as starters and are are now the most experienced guys in the DB room. Those two aside, the secondary group is youthful and promising with the likes of Deonte Banks and sophomores Tyler Nubin and Dru Phillips. Not to mention, 22 year old Cor'Dale Flott is still a key piece of the backend of the defense. Things could finally click for a secondary that has not ranked within the top-15 of defenses in yards allowed since 2018.

  
  

• Defensive line: The Chauncey Golston, Roy Robertson-Harris, and Jeremiah Ledbetter signings provided some much needed depth up front. Golston will be a solid rotational piece, taking the now departed Azeez Ojulari's place behind Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns and will help fill in some gaps at the tackle spot when needed. Baldy shared a breakdown of his film from last season; he really can line up wherever a coach needs him to on the line. Robertson-Harris and Ledbetter give the Giants depth up the middle behind Dexter Lawrence. Ledbetter is a low-risk, high-reward signing that could get to the point of being the number two guy behind Lawrence this coming season. The Giants will most likely search for defensive tackle depth in the draft as well so these were solid, low-risk moves that could potentially help shore up the run defense.

  
  

• Offensive line: The Giants already have their starting line set for next year in Andrew Thomas, Jon Runyan Jr, John Michael Schmitz, Greg Van Roten, and Jermaine Eluemunor. They added experienced guys in James Hudson and Stone Forsythe, who have a collective 102 NFL games under their belt. Hudson received a two-year, $11 million contract while Forsythe got a one-year deal worth $1.3 million. There weren't any splash offensive line signings but the Giants feel content with their starting five upfront. I'm glad they didn't reach and overpay - enter Nate Solder contract - and they will most likely look to the draft for some help in the later rounds as well.

  
  

• Re-signings: This isn't a positional group but the core contract re-signings could end up being massive for this team. Against all odds, Darius Slayton finds himself staying put in New York and is the veteran presence the wide receiver room needed. Greg van Roten started 17 games on the offensive line last year and he will slot right back in at guard again this year. The Giants found their return man in Ihmir Smith-Marsiette last season and locked him up for another year. Smith-Marsiette is one of my favorite current Giants and I'm glad they brought him back on a super friendly team deal. Last but not least, the Scottish Hammer - Jamie Gillan - returns as the team's punter and is locked in for another three years.

In conclusion

All in all, I think the Giants did a pretty solid job for themselves this free agency period. They brought stability back to the quarterback room, took a few calculated risks in the secondary, didn't overpay for anyone, and made an emphasis on bringing back a few key pieces from last year's team. This sets them up nicely to put together another strong draft class.

Draft season is right around the corner with the conclusion of the combine and pro days. We are a little more than a month away from the draft in Green Bay at the end of April. The Giants own the third overall pick, an early second rounder (#34), two third rounders (#65 & 99), a fourth (#105), fifth (#154), and two seventh round (#219 & 246) picks. That's seven picks total that they can use in many different ways to shore up the team as a whole for years to come. The 2024 draft class is shaping up to be the best that Schoen has put together, I'd like to see them do the same with the 2025 class and start building some continuity and culture in the locker room.