As the 2021 NY Giants football season approaches, the staff at GMENHQ decided to weigh in on who they thought would lead the team in each of the major statistical categories.
We are a little over two months away from the NY Giants kicking off their season vs the Denver Broncos. In what has seemed to be an eternity since we’ve experienced a regular football atmosphere, all signs point to a return to normalcy come September 12th at MetLife Stadium.
This offseason has been a busy one to say the least for Giants general manager Dave Gettleman and company.
From the free agency splash of signing wideout Kenny Golladay to the additions of Kadarius Toney and Azeez Ojulari via the NFL Draft – there is no doubt that the GMEN will be fielding a more complete and talented roster in 2021.
With this upgraded roster comes greater expectations as well, especially for third year quarterback Daniel Jones, who has been the clear winner of the offseason moves thus far.
After an underwhelming sophomore campaign sidetracked by injuries, a young offensive line, and lack of dynamic playmakers, Jones enters year three with a clear WR1, a healthy Saquon, more speed on the outside, and a more experienced offensive line. Even the biggest Danny Dimes stans understand that this season is critical for the long-term plans of both Jones and the organization.
Defensively, Patrick Graham returns most of his production from 2020, a defense that surprised many by finishing 9th in points/game, 10th in rush defense, 12th in sacks, and 12th in total defense – despite not having a true edge rusher, CB2, or healthy Xavier McKinney.
After bringing back Leonard Williams and adding Ojulari in the Draft, Adoree Jackson in free agency, and getting McKinney back on the field is all the more reason to be excited for this unit heading into the fall.
While it’s certainly an exciting time to be a NY Giants fan considering the team that’s been put together with Joe Judge leading the way, it’s also fair to understand that the excuses are dwindling, and the results have to start showing up in the win-column.
With all that said, it’s time to take a look at our staff predictions for the NY Giants’ team leaders in the major statistical categories for the upcoming season:
Passing Yards & Touchdowns
Stephen Samra: Daniel Jones – 4,129 yards & 30 TDs: The NY Giants signal caller takes a year three jump – and his stats put him up there with players who did so last year, like Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield.
Matt Lombardo: Daniel Jones – 4,450 yards & 31 TDs, 24 interceptions: The NY Giants did everything possible to set Jones up for success in 2021. The combination of adding Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney, and re-injecting Saquon Barkley into an offense in a 17-game schedule should boost Jones’ numbers overall, but turnovers could remain an issue.
John Esposito: Daniel Jones – 4,245 yards & 32 TDs: Daniel Jones takes a big step this year and proves his haters wrong in a big way.
Danny Friedman: Daniel Jones – 4,100 yards & 29 TDs
Connor McJunkin: Daniel Jones – 4,374 yards & 33 TDs: Jones showed in his rookie campaign and even last year that he can stretch the field vertically, and did so with much lesser talent than he will have in 2021. As long as Jason Garrett utilizes this strength, I don’t see how Danny Dimes fails to put up these type of numbers with Golladay, Shepard, Engram, Barkley, Rudolph, Slayton, and Toney at his disposal.
Rushing Yards & Touchdowns
Stephen Samra: Saquon Barkley -1,352 yards & 13 TDs: The league needs a reminder – Saquon Barkley uses his generational talent and inspiration from Adrian Peterson to have a tremendous season.
Matt Lombardo: Saquon Barkley: 1,225 yards & 11 TDs: Barkley might not reach his dynamite output from his rookie season in 2018, but if he can stay healthy and on the field for the majority of 17 games, he’ll come close. The NY Giants would be wise to give a decent share of carries to Devontae Booker to keep Barkley fresh and healthy.
Carly Mersky: Saquon Barkley – 1,105 yards & 5 TDs: I think my choice is obvious because he’s coming back after missing most of the season last year. They’ll ease him back but I think as the season progresses he’ll get more touches and look like vintage Saquon.
John Esposito: Saquon Barkley – 1,465 yards & 13 TDs: I strongly believe we’ll see a huge bounceback year from Saquon. So-much-so that he’ll be the 2021 Comeback Player of the Year.
Danny Friedman: Saquon Barkley – 1,100 yards & 7 TDs
Connor McJunkin: Saquon Barkley – 1, 262 yards & 9 TDs: It’s no secret that when healthy Barkley is a Top-3 running back in the NFL. It’ll be interesting to see the workload he gets early in the season coming off a major injury, but with a (hopefully) better OL and more dangerous passing attack, Barkley should pick up steam later in the season and easily be a Comeback Player of the Year contender
Receptions, Receiving Yards, Receiving Touchdowns
Stephen Samra
- Receptions: Sterling Shepard – 83: In what could be his final chance in New York, Sterling Shepard proves how valuable he is as Daniel Jones’ safety blanket.
- Receiving Yards: Kenny Golladay – 1,047 yards: The NY Giants’ big ticket item will continue to stuff the stat sheet.
- Receiving TDs: Kenny Golladay – 13 TDs: In Detroit, Kenny Golladay was a touchdown machine – he continues that trend in New York.
Matt Lombardo
- Receptions: Kenny Golladay – 80
- Receiving Yards: Kenny Golladay – 1,175 yards
- Receiving TDs: Kenny Golladay – 8 TDs
Kenny Golladay was the NY Giants’ prized free agent acquisition, and he is the most dominant and complete target Daniel Jones has had at his disposal at any point during his football career. The NY Giants might have overpaid, but it was an absolutely necessary investment for a team aiming to evaluate its quarterback, and I’d expect Golladay to deliver with a monster season.
Carly Mersky
- Receptions: Sterling Shepard – 100
- Receiving Yards: Kenny Golladay – 1,220 yards
- Receiving TDs: Kenny Golladay – 13 TDs: I feel like KG will have the ball in his hands the majority of the season, especially since was the biggest free agent signing of the off-season and will be WR1 in this offense.
John Esposito: Kenny Golladay will lead in all major receiving categories. The prized free agent pick up will prove that he was well worth the money.
- Receptions: 84
- Receiving Yards: 1,236 yards
- Receiving TDs: 12
John Friedman
- Receiving Yards: Kenny Golladay – 950 yards
- Receiving TDs: Kenny Golladay – 8 TDs
Connor McJunkin
- Receptions: Sterling Shepard – 80: This is solely hindering on Shep’s health in 2021 and staying on the field. If he can, he will benefit greatly from the presence of Golladay and the attention he will demand. He tied his career-best with 66 grabs in 2020 despite missing 4 games. Being back in the slot where he is best should lead to a career-year for #3.
- Receiving Yards: Kenny Golladay – 1,207 yards: Golladay won’t be far behind Shep in receptions, and coupled with his ability to bring down contested passes, it should lead to a career year for KG, who has yet to surpass 1,200 receiving yards in a season.
- Receiving TDs: Kenny Golladay – 12 TDs: Sometimes the easy answer is the right answer. Golladay is going to be able to win 50-50 balls in the endzone and will be a force downfield. He’s going to get his targets each week which will lead to a lot of big plays for this offense.
Tackles
Stephen Samra: Blake Martinez – 147: Could it really have been anybody else? Blake Martinez paces the defense in tackles, just coming up short of last year’s total.
Matt Lombardo: Blake Martinez – 168: Simply put; Martinez is a tackles machine. Add in a 17th game, and presuming the veteran linebacker stays healthy, he’ll easily surpass his career-high.
Carly Mersky: Blake Martinez – 95: Martinez is a tackling machine. He leads the league in tackles over the past four years and will definitely lead the team in this category for the upcoming season.
John Esposito: Blake Martinez – 153: A tackling machine with great DL depth this year should help him eclipse last year’s number.
Danny Friedman: Blake Martinez – 145
Connor McJunkin: Blake Martinez – 129: Losing Dalvin Tomlinson will reflect in Martinez’s tackle numbers, which I see slipping slightly despite an overall upgraded defense around him. He is still the leader of the unit who will be near the top of the league in tackles yet again.
Sacks
Stephen Samra: Leonard Williams – 12.5: Even with more talent at the defensive end position, the team’s best pass rusher is still Leonard Williams. He rewards the NY Giants for paying him by continuing his strong play.
Matt Lombardo: Leonard Williams – 8: Williams is coming off a career-high sacks, the only time he’s reached double-digits since being drafted No. 6 overall by the Jets. New contract in hand, look for Williams to be dominant once again, but last year felt more like an aberration than a trend.
Carly Mersky: Leonard Williams – 13: Williams had a monster season last year racking up double-digit sacks, and I think he’ll do it again in 2021.
John Esposito: Azeez Ojulari – 8.5: Ojulari comes right in as a starter and contributes in a huge way in 2021. I see him being a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate
Danny Friedman: Azeez Ojulari – 8.5
Connor McJunkin: Azeez Ojulari/Leonard Williams – 9: While I’d love to see Williams notch another 10+ sack season, I think it will be very difficult to mirror the success of last year. But, coupled with Ojulari, the combo of the two should be an absolute headache for opposing offenses.
Interceptions
Stephen Samra: Xavier McKinney – 5: Two-words – ball hawk. Xavier McKinney made a huge interception against Dallas in Week 17, and it will prove to be a preview of things to come.
Matt Lombardo: Logan Ryan – 3: The addition of Adoree’ Jackson could make it less likely that teams throw to the perimeter, which could create more opportunities for Ryan to prove a ballhawk.
Carly Mersky: James Bradberry – 6: Bradberry is a Top-10 CB in the league and I feel like he’ll only continue to prove that in 2021.
John Esposito: James Bradberry – 5: I’m sure teams will attempt to stay away from him but he will get his chances and will continue to make plays for this defense.
Danny Friedman: Xavier McKinney – 4
Connor McJunkin: Xavier McKinney – 5: Bradberry proved himself last year and teams are going to avoid throwing his way if they can help it. McKinney is a playmaker that hauled in two INTs in the season finale vs Dallas (1 called back) and is going to have a monster year in that secondary. He is a better version of Landon Collins that has a knack of finding the ball.