Why the NY Giants’ rebuild is further along than the Jets’

Future Assets

When examining the rebuilding process of these two organizations, we need to take into consideration future assets that the two teams have available, such as cap room and future draft picks, as they will undoubtedly play a major role in what the NY Giants and NY Jets are able to do to better their football teams moving forward.

When considering the anticipated cap space for the two teams over the next three seasons, I used projected numbers provided by OvertheCap.com. Those numbers do not reflect potential cuts, contract restructuring, trades, league increases to cap space, or other potential changes to the future cap, as they are difficult to predict.

In 2021, Over the Cap predicts that the NY Giants will have $52 million in cap space and that the NY Jets will have $48 million. In 2022, they predict the Giants will have $137 million and the Jets will have $110 million. In 2023, they predict that the GMEN will have $227 million and Gang Green will have $207.

While there is exactly zero chance that the cap numbers for 2022 or 2023 will be that substantial due to extensions and signings, it is important to take note, as it is indicative of the number of long-term contracts the two teams have.

Based on the predictions from Over the Cap, the Giants would have $51 million dollars more than the Jets in cap space over the next three seasons, which gives Big Blue a sizeable financial advantage over their cross-town counterparts over the next three years.

However, the Jets hold an advantage when it comes to draft capital, as the Giants currently hold all of their first through seventh-round draft picks, with an exception of a fifth-round pick next year, which was sent to the Jets as part of the Leonard Williams trade.

In addition to holding the fifth-round pick of the Giants next season, the Jets also stockpiled significant draft capital due to the Jamal Adams trade to the Seattle Seahawks, which netted them the first-round picks of the Seahawks in 2021 and 2022, as well as a third-round pick in 2021. However, they did forfeit a fourth-round pick in next year’s draft as part of the deal.

In total, the Jets currently own two first-round picks, a second-round pick, two third-round picks, two fifth-round picks, a sixth-round pick, and two seventh-round picks in the 2021 draft. This is in addition to holding the two first-round picks and all of their other picks in the 2022 NFL Draft.

If Jets general manager Joe Douglas can draft in a similar fashion to what he was able to do in helping to build the Eagles Super Bowl Championship team while adding to what looks on paper to have been a solid 2020 draft. The Adams and Williams deals should go a long way in assisting with his rebuild.

Advantage: Draw

It’s too hard to call this one. Who ultimately gains the win in this category will be determined by who the two teams sign in free agency and how well their draft picks do. For now, I will say both teams look to be in good shape in regard to future assets.