After an abysmal three-win season in 2024, the New York Gaints aggressively attacked the offseason. The team went after high-profile free agents, and also put together a promising draft class. Now, with multiple revamped position groups, New York is hoping it’s new additions will lead the franchise to a more successful 2025 season.
While the Giants certainly added quite a few talented players, no player is perfect. That means even New York’s best free agency signing has a weakness it needs to work on. Unfortunately, one analyst thinks the weakness of one of the Giants’ biggest signings will be hard to overlook when the team takes the field this fall.
In a recent ESPN piece, Seth Walder graded every teams’ offseason, and even listed a move he didn’t like. For the Giants, Walder graded their offseason a B, and expalined that the signing of Paulson Adebo was the move he didn’t like.
Giants criticized for the signing of Paulson Adebo
Many people feel Adebo was a good pick up because of his sticky coverage and aggressive ball skills, and Walder acknowledged those skills. However, the analyst made the case that Adebo’s target rate and yards per coverage snap are more important numbers, and should provide concern for Giants fans.
"Their most expensive free agent acquisition was Adebo. I was not a fan of the move. Adebo, who suffered a broken femur in Week 7 last season, had strong on-ball numbers over the previous two seasons combined, with minus-49 EPA allowed as the nearest defender, per NFL Next Gen Stats. But on-ball production isn't stable from year to year, and metrics that I would consider more important -- such as target rate and yards per coverage snap -- are more worrying. In his limited sample last season, Adebo was targeted 21% of the time (most by any outside corner with at least 250 coverage snaps) and had a high 1.6 yards per coverage snap allowed."Seth Walder (ESPN)
Walder raises a fair point. Last season with the New Orleans Saints, Adebo developed a bit of a boom-or-bust reputation. In seven healthy games, he recorded three interceptions and 10 pass deflections, but also gave up 39 completions for 529 yards and a touchdown, while also being flagged nine times. In his defense, though, those numbers were uncharacteristically bad.
Now, as he returns from his femur injury, he’ll look to clean up the penalties and coverage, while also remaining aggressive when the ball is in the air. If he can do that, he’ll ultimately be an elite signing for the Giants.