Perhaps no word defines the 2020 NY Giants better than the word versatile, as the roster takes on a look that is far different than any team of the past.
In recent years, the NY Giants have had a predictable look to them. Years of failing to hit on a significant portion of their draft picks led to vastly overpaying for free agents out of desperation.
As a result, the Giants became an older team, who lacked depth because so much of their salary cap was designated to overpaid veteran free agents, some of which who aren’t even on the team anymore as the Big Blue front office has been among the league leaders in dead cap money over the past few seasons.
Midway through the 2018 season, general manager Dave Gettleman finally realized that the team was not constructed in a manner that would allow for them to be competitive in either the immediate or distant future, so he began the rebuild.
Gettleman would trade away veterans such as Damon Harrison, Jason Pierre-Paul, Olivier Vernon, and Odell Beckham Jr. and would allow high dollar free agent safety Landon Collins walk in free agency.
These moves were often met with criticism but the certainly cleared the path for the complete rebuild of the NY Giants, even if they came a year too late.
The team has become one of the youngest in the league. Future Hall of Fame quarterback Eli Manning decided to retire, paving the way for the Daniel Jones era to begin in New York.
The Giants defense has been rebuilt through the draft and with the addition of free agents who were just coming off their rookie contracts with their prior team. The NY Giants have worked diligently to fix the offensive line woes through the draft, free agency, and trades.
Additionally, the administration decided to part ways with head coach Pat Shurmur this past offseason and hired a more unconventional pick in Joe Judge. The Judge hiring gives the team a young disciple of two of the most successful coaches in football history in Nick Saban and Bill Belichick. The rookie head coach is surrounded by highly touted assistant coaches who have been highly successful in the past.
The new-look coaching staff, the strong financial situation surrounding their salary cap, the exciting young core of players that the team has added in recent years, the increased depth at many key positions, and the overall youth of the roster has many excited for what the future holds for the franchise.
Another major area where the NY Giants have made significant changes that will impact the state of the franchise moving forward is in regard to the versatility of the players on the roster.
The new-look Giants have a roster full of extremely athletic young players who are able to play multiple positions, fill multiple roles, and should allow both the offense and defense to be extremely creative in their playcalling.
Let’s take a look exactly how and where the NY Giants exhibit their strong versatility.