Youth Youth Youth
The NY Giants’ rookies played more downs than any other team in the NFL last year.
New York trotted out three rookies to anchor the offensive line in #1 pick Andrew Thomas, Shane Lemieux, and Matt Peart. Not to mention a second year player in Wil Hernandez along with Nick Gates at center, who never played a down at that position.
Last year, rookie Xavier McKinney came back from an injury to play a primary role at safety, while young Darnay Holmes learned the hard way about being a slot corner as a rookie. While there were bumps in the road, the Giants stuck with them and by years end they were battle tested and ready to go.
How they set the tone in 2021
The NY Giants are not going to stop with the youth.
That offensive line will be the line that trots out again (maybe with some position changes). First round pick Kadarious Toney will certainly get the ball in his hands all sorts of ways and show how electric he is. Defensively, Ojulari has the potential to have a great rookie year. Then, there’s 2021 third round pick Aaron Robinson, another draft steal, who will come in and compete with Holmes for that nickel spot.
The NY Giants took their lumps in 2020, but a brilliant free agent class along with some very smart drafting, the New York seems poised for a very big bounce back season.