The NY Giants’ offense, despite a season that began with optimism as quarterback Daniel Jones entered his second NFL season and Jason Garrett arrived as offensive coordinator, was among the most disappointing units in recent memory.
As Jones regressed dramatically, completing 62.5 percent of his passes for just 2,943 yards with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, his supporting cast offered little support and the Giants finished with the NFL’s 31st ranked scoring offense.
In an era where offensive firepower reigns supreme and is critical to championship contention, the NY Giants averaged just 17.5 points per game, were one of just two teams (the Jets being the other) to average fewer than 300 yards per game, and were one of just four teams with fewer than 200 passing yards per game.
It’s difficult to win that way. Even with a top-15 defense, as the Giants’ boasted in 2020.
If the Giants are going to make even incremental steps towards returning to the postseason for the first time since 2016, these three young players on offense must step up in 2021, in a big way:
LG Will Hernandez
Will Hernandez, chosen in the second-round of the 2018 NFL Draft, seemed to quickly fall out of favor with Joe Judge, Garrett, and the new coaching staff.
It didn’t help that the Giants went through two offensive line coaches and will have a third in 2021 with Rob Sale’s arrival, but Hernandez could be facing a make-or-break season ahead.
Hernandez was supplanted in the starting lineup by rookie Shane Lemieux, who was utterly disappointing, finishing the season with a 32.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, and a 16.9 pass blocking grade as the Oregon alum allowed five sacks and 25 pressures in 504 total snaps.
Yet, the coaching staff viewed Lemieux as a better option than Hernandez.
There is a legitimate chance that veteran guard Kevin Zeitler is released as a cap casualty, which would give Hernandez the opportunity to push for either the starting left or right guard role, presuming the Giants don’t sign a marquee free agent at the position. However, regardless of where he plays, Hernandez will need to be much better than he was in 2020, with 58.1 overall record with 25 pressures and one sack allowed in 525 snaps.
WR Darius Slayton
Perhaps the hype train rolled out of the station too quickly for Slayton, the NY Giants’ fifth-round pick in 2019.
Slayton, one year removed from a 740-yard and eight-touchdown 14-game rookie campaign, Slayton managed to stay healthy for an entire season in 2020 but caught just two more passes than he did as a rookie for 11 more yards but just three total touchdowns.
If the Giants were counting on Slayton to emerge as a true No. 1 wide receiver or even a deep threat capable of altering the outcome of a game, his play did not reach either of those levels in 2020.
There is going to be plenty of pressure, and the organization has plenty of motivation, to acquire a marquee free agent wide receiver and also invest an early-round draft pick in the position this spring. Slayton might just be best suited to be a supporting role player in the passing game rather than its star attraction.
If Slayton’s first two seasons are any indication, he is a fine third option in most offenses, second in some, but if this offense is going to manage to be anything close to prolific, he is going to need to elevate his game significantly.
QB Daniel Jones
Nothing matters more to the NY Giants’ postseason chances in 2021 or the trajectory of the franchise than determining if Daniel Jones is a legitimate franchise quarterback, which after his 2020 campaign remains an open question.
Jones, chosen No. 6 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, has been on the field for just eight wins, and continues to turn the football over at an alarming rate — 16 times this past season, alone. In addition to Jones’ 22 career interceptions, he has also fumbled 29 times, while tossing just 35 touchdowns in two seasons.
Now, the Giants’ offensive line very much remains a work in progress, and Jones has withstood XX pressures, but elite quarterbacks overcome that pressure and elevate the play of the rest of the offense. Jones has only sparingly shown that ability through two seasons and might not get a fourth opportunity to if he doesn’t take a monumental leap forward in his third.
Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL.