NY Giants sign Kenny Golladay, landing best WR available: Grade
The NY Giants filled the most glaring need on the roster, and made the most significant upgrade of the offseason to bolster quarterback Daniel Jones’ supporting cast, signing Kenny Golladay, the premier wide receiver available in free agency.
NFL Network first reported Golladay’s agreement with the Giants.
Golladay is coming off an injury-riddled 2020 campaign, where suffered through hip and hamstring injuries that held him to just five games, catching 20 passes for 338 yards and two touchdowns.
However, for his career, Golladay averages 16.8 yards per reception and has caught 21 touchdown passes through 47 games.
Arriving in East Rutherford, Golladay emerges as Jones’ most prolific weapon in the passing game. Golladay sits atop a depth chart that also includes new free agent addition, John Ross, in what promises to be an overhauled position group by the time the season kicks off this fall.
Here’s a look at the good, the bad, and the grade for the NY Giants’ signing of Kenny Golladay:
The good:
Golladay is an ideal fit for what the NY Giants so desperately needed to infuse into a listless offense and to shepherd Jones’ development to the next level.
In 2019, the last season that Golladay was fully healthy, he caught 65 of his 113 targets for 1,190 yards and 1ll touchdowns, while averaging 18.3 yards per reception. According to Pro Football Focus, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford had a 107.9 passer rating when targeting Golladay, who averaged 4.7 yards after contact per reception.
At 6-foot-4 and 213 pounds, Golladay has the ideal frame to be a lethal red-zone target, which could jumpstart the Giants’ mediocre offense inside the 20 yard-line. The NY Giants ranked 31st in red-zone efficiency, scoring touchdowns on just 46% of trips inside the 20. Meanwhile, in 2019, Golladay caught 14 passes for 100 yards and 19 touchdowns in the red-zone.
Golladay’s addition has the potential to be the most impactful acquisition to Jones developing into a franchise quarterback, and the NY Giants’ offense becoming more prolific that Dave Gettleman has made in his tenure as general manager.