NFL.com: The New York Giants Have A Top 10 Roster
NFL media analyst Bucky Brooks released his top 10 rosters in the NFL and surprisingly the New York Giants ranked at number nine, one slot above their NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys.
For a team that has missed the playoffs the last four seasons, it’s somewhat shocking to see the Giants listed with eight playoff teams, especially when the 12-4 New England Patriots have been omitted.
Here’s Brooks’s writeup:
“Despite all of the criticism general manager Jerry Reese has received for failing to add a host of premier players in recent drafts, the Giants sufficiently filled the voids on their roster through aggressive free-agent additions. The acquisitions of Harrison, Vernon and Jenkins immediately upgrade the playmaking potential of the defense. With Pierre-Paul poised to bounce back from a subpar season following his self-inflicted hand injury and Rodgers-Cromartie regarded as a premier cover corner, the Big Blue defense could return to the ranks of the elite this season. Offensively, the combination of Manning and Beckham strikes fear in the hearts of defensive coordinators around the NFL. If the Giants get any contributions from Victor Cruz and/or Sterling Shepard opposite OBJ, this offense will be a problem for opponents down the stretch.”
Brooks obviously believes that Jerry Reese’s $200 million spending spree will pay off in 2016. Of the seven blue chip players listed, three (Olivier Vernon, Damon Harrison and Janoris Jenkins) were acquired this offseason. Historically however, free agent acquisitions don’t necessarily lead to more wins. According to the Boston Globe, over the past decade, win totals for teams that picked up a top free agent didn’t improve by much. “If you include all top-ten free agents, there’s a little upward blip, amounting to something like .1 additional wins, but again that is basically nothing.”
Vernon would certainly fall in the category of a top-ten free agent acquisition as would Jenkins. As many know, Pro Football Focus believes signing Jenkins was one of the ten worst offseason moves in the NFL.
Brooks’s assertion that the defense could become “elite” is probably tough for Giants fans to swallow. Just this week, Vincent Frank of Sportsnaut projected New York’s defense as one of the ten worst in the NFL. Going from the league’s worst in terms of yards allowed to elite is another huge leap. Most Giants fans would settle for a middle-of-the-road defense to go along with the eighth best offense in the league.
That being said, the Giants should be improved with a full season of JPP and, if healthy, some contribution from Victor Cruz. With the addition of Sterling Shepard, Manning could have the most potent receiving threats of his career. Despite the Giants offensive trio being called “average” by ESPN, there’s no reason to believe the offense will degrade from 2015.
Depth is something that Brooks doesn’t address, but was the Achilles heel for the Giants these past four years. They were bit by the injury bug and didn’t have the talent on their depth chart to forge ahead. It’s hard to buy that the Giants are a top-ten roster, but after a full offseason with little praise for the GMen, it’s reassuring to hear anyone outside the New York media market heaping praise on Reese and the 2016 Giants.