Are the NY Giants contenders again after 2022 NFL Draft?

Now that the madness of the 2022 NFL Draft is over, all eyes are on what happens next with the NY Giants. After drafting 11 new players and a plethora of undrafted free agents, the offseason continues with rookie minicamp then eventually training camp, preseason action, and before you know it, the regular season will be upon us.

On paper, the Giants got some very high grades and well, a lot of praise from their fans for what is seemingly a good job well done for all the selections they made in this year’s draft. Everything considered and just a few days after the draft is over, it begs to ask a simple question in the grand scheme of things.

Are the Giants contenders again after such a solid draft class? Well, to be fair, it is way too early to assume the Giants will indeed be playoff-bound this upcoming season, especially if the conversation steers to if this team is dare I say it, Super Bowl-bound. As a football fan of over 30 years, I’ve always taken the approach of staying positive but understanding the reality of the situation.

The NY Giants are better on paper but still have a lot more work to do

It would be a flat-out miracle if the Giants, after coming off a 4-13 season in 2021, were able to double those wins in 2022. That would be a more realistic ceiling for the Giants but with how unpredictable the NFC East has been over the years, it wouldn’t be out of the question to see if the Giants do achieve eight or nine wins in 2022 that they could indeed win the division or even earn a wild card spot.

At the end of the day, with a new general manager, head coach, coaching staff, and a ton of new players, it’s going to take some time before everything falls into place. Patience will be key as the Giants try to usher in a new era of competitive, successful, and consistent football. The Dallas Cowboys are the team to beat as they’re coming off a 12-5 season and will likely continue that momentum in 2022.

The Giants definitely improved some key areas they needed to this offseason thanks to their new draft class. They bolstered their offensive line, added better pass rushers, drafted decent players for depth, and gave quarterback Daniel Jones some new offensive weapons to work with.

At the end of the day, the Giants did their best to put themselves in a better situation this time around when compared to last season. That’s a positive thing to feel hopeful about heading into the new season in just a few months.

Luckily, a team that only won four games last year can only go up if you think about it. Especially since a new leadership regime is in place to right the ship and fix the glaring issues left by the previous regime. Again, all that takes time as the Giants still have a lot of work to do before they’re truly ready to be contenders again.

Anything better than four wins in 2022 should be considered a great thing since it means it’s the start of building a better foundation for the future. Ideally, any new draft pick takes at least about three full seasons to see if they’re worth keeping around for the long run. That’s a good measuring stick to see if the Giants can at least be playoff-bound by 2023 or 2025 at the latest.

If it’s sooner than that then well, the Giants would have done the unthinkable in the biggest sports market in the world by bouncing back beyond everyone’s wildest expectations after such an abysmal season. If any of their new draft picks really take off in their rookie seasons and live up to all the hype, the Giants could see themselves back in the spotlight for all the right reasons once again. Much sooner than many would have dared to expect.