As Giants rebuild in the ‘shadow of Saquon,’ do they have the weapons to compete?

Ralph Vacchiano

NFC East Reporter

Nick Sirianni sometimes runs into Giants fans in the Philadelphia area and engages in trash talk. If the Philadelphia Eagles coach really wants to get under their skin, he knows exactly what to say.

“You know,” he tells them, “I got your best player.”

That’s probably not so funny to Giants fans still reeling from the defection of running back Saquon Barkley, who moved 90 miles down the Jersey Turnpike in March to join Sirianni’s Eagles. He wasn’t just the Giants’ “best player”. He was their only real weapon on offense. He was the only game-breaker on that side of the ball. He was the only one opposing defenses feared.

So when he signed his three-year, $37.75 million contract with Philly, the Giants’ already decrepit offense was left almost completely barren. And that was before tight end Darren Waller retired on Monday, thinning out the Giants’ offensive weapons even more. The Giants have high hopes that quarterback Daniel Jones will recover from his torn ACL in time to start on Opening Day, and that he’s primed for the breakout season they hoped he’d have last year.

But even if he’s back and begins to play up to his potential, it might be hard for him to rise above a very questionable surrounding cast.

Of course, that’s not how the Giants see it. They are embracing the optimism of spring in what might be delusional ways. Devin Singletary, the running back brought in to replace Barkley, said the offense has the potential to be “explosive”. Jalin Hyatt, a receiver they took in the third round last year, said the wide receiver room is “stacked”.

And they all seem to have enormous hopes that their offense can be led — if not completely carried — by 20-year-old Malik Nabers, the receiver they drafted in the first round.

“I think he can be a tremendous weapon for us,” Jones said during minicamp on Tuesday. “I mean, he can do everything. There is not much that he can’t do really from a…

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Publish date : 2024-06-12 13:45:27

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