I promise I’ll get this segment right one week. Apologies again for reintroducing the GMENHQ Mailbag a week before taking an extended absence from work for my bachelor party/routine personal care maintenance.
Two weeks ago, we talked some Jake Haener, a little Cam Skattebo, and growing offensive line concerns. Boy, does time fly when you’re having fun.
While I was out hiking and exploring breweries around Portland, OR, the New York Giants were busy handing the Texans a borderline season-ending blow on the road in Houston. J.J. McCarthy led Big Blue to a 27-21 overtime win in his first start as a Giant. I mean, tell me 2026 hasn’t gone as expected without telling me.
The 23-year-old former top-10 pick looked nothing like the Vikings failure Minnesota fans would have you believe he was after the G-Men sent a 2027 fifth-round pick to acquire him. No, he didn’t throw for 243 yards in one quarter like he did in relief of Jameis Winston in Week 6, but he finished the game 20-of-28 for 252 yards with no turnovers.
While the Giants were on their bye this past Sunday, the rest of the NFC East did Big Blue plenty of favors, collapsing in epic fashion (looking at you, Dallas Cowboys). Dallas blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead to the Arizona Cardinals at home for the first time in 204 tries (now 202-1-1). The Eagles and Commanders clashed in primetime, with the Commies coming away with a 27-10 victory.
Philly is now on a six-game losing streak. Washington is 2-4-1 with holes all over its roster. Dallas’ defense is still awful. Who would’ve thought New York’s playoff chances would be alive and well with starting QB Jaxson Dart and star pass rusher Brian Burns both out for the season? But here we are.
As always, thank you to everyone who sent in their thoughts, questions, and concerns. Time to open the mailbag.
GMEN HQ Mailbag: First-place problems and a whole lot of Jon Runyan
Bob M.: What happens if J.J. turns out to be as good as he was projected to be when he was drafted? Do the Giants trade him, or will they have an open competition for the starting QB job if he turns out to be really good? J.J. is not going to want a backup role.
Not a friend of the program, Bob, coming in with heat right off the bat. If J.J. McCarthy manages to live up to his draft pedigree by season’s end, this is going to be the question on everyone’s mind until Harbaugh chooses a Week 1 starter for the 2027 season.
McCarthy has looked good in his limited time with the G-Men, and he’s the same age as Dart, which makes for a potentially interesting QB battle in the near future. But let’s visit make-believe land for a second.
If McCarthy lights it up, the Giants are highly unlikely to just hand the job back to Dart without a good old-fashioned roster fight. Big Blue could very well hold a competition for the starting job next year or leverage one of the two young signal-callers as juicy trade bait.
But let that be next year’s problem! Fingers crossed McCarthy lives up to his draft pedigree this season. We deserve a fun, exciting, successful season.
Kieran W.: If the stats truly tell the truth, and they do, why are the Giants reluctant to trade Kayvon Thibodeaux instead of losing him for nothing at all at the end of the season?
15 tackles. Five solo tackles. One QB hit. Zero tackles for loss. Zero sacks. That's quite the stat line for a former top-five draft pick entering the final year of his rookie contract.
While I’m not necessarily a “stats are everything” guy, Kieran, it’s hard not to look at those underwhelming numbers through seven games and conclude that, in his fifth season, Kayvon Thibodeaux just isn’t going to be the defensive demon the Giants hoped they were getting when they took him fifth out of Oregon in 2022.
The reluctance to trade Thibs despite his lack of box-score production boils down to a mix of low trade market value, injuries on the roster, and a refusal to throw away a competitive season. Unfortunately, the Giants aren’t exactly overflowing with healthy pass rushers right now, so even an underwhelming Thibodeaux might be more useful than whatever they’d get back for him.
I think we’re past the point of Thibodeaux becoming a cornerstone of this defense, but as long as the team keeps winning, I don’t see why the Giants should trade him for a Day 3 pick when he could, at some point, come up with a big moment to potentially sway a meaningful game later in the year.
Obviously, the price you pay is potentially losing him in free agency without getting anything back, but I’d rather take my chances on Thibs making one meaningful play down the stretch than sell him for pennies on the dollar.
Now on to our lengthy Jon Runyan programming...
Andrew B.: Is Jon Runyan capable of getting any better? Seems every game he gets a penalty. Also, we could use one more bigger O-lineman. [Aaron] Stinnie seems too small. [Patrick] Ricard looks bigger than him. Now we need a running back. I hope they don’t trade away a draft pick. We don’t have enough now. Not that it matters, our recent ones have been so-so.
Rich B.: Why did the Giants extend LG Jon Runyan for two more years for $22 million? He’s been the weakest O-lineman, and they were looking to replace him in preseason. It doesn’t make sense!
Kieran W.: Why not try to work in replacement(s) for Runyan? Trade for a guard? Recent contract was a huge mistake!
Three questions about Jon Runyan. You guys really know how to make a guy feel loved.
I’ll start with Andrew’s question about whether Runyan can get any better. Never say never, I guess, but at 29 and in his seventh NFL season, I wouldn’t exactly hold my breath waiting for some major improvement to fall out of the sky.
His 49.3 overall PFF grade ranks 60th out of 75 qualified guards, which is pretty bad for someone the G-Men recently handed a two-year, $22 million extension. The interesting part is that his 75.2 pass-blocking grade ranks 11th. So he can clearly do something right. Unfortunately, that something doesn’t involve helping out the stagnant ground game, which is a pretty important part of being an offensive lineman.
As for the RB situation, I'm with you, Andrew. I think the Giants would be better off drafting a back in 2027 than trading away more picks for a stopgap this year. Sure, Tyrone Tracy Jr. being hurt isn't exactly the best, but he'll be back before season's end, which should be enough to keep the ground game relevant come January.
Now, Rich and Kieran, the extension is where things get particularly frustrating.
Runyan was originally set to count $11.76 million against the cap this season. By extending him, New York reportedly lowered that number to $6.98 million, freeing up roughly $4.8 million in much-needed cap space.
So, the move was clearly more about the money than anything else. However, whether that makes handing a struggling guard $19.25 million in guarantees any easier to stomach is another conversation entirely.
And that’s a real head-scratcher. New York was already looking for ways to upgrade the position before the season, only to turn around and make Runyan considerably more difficult to move on from. Make that make sense.
Trading for another guard is worth considering, although I’m with Andrew on protecting those draft picks. Now, if we’re talking about a Pro Bowl-caliber guy, that’s a different conversation. Still, burning another one on a short-term fix could create more problems than it solves, which is why I think Runyan's here to stay for at least the rest of the year.
At some point, the Giants are going to have to address the weakest link on their offensive line. Unfortunately, with limited draft picks and a $22 million commitment already staring them in the face, that might have to wait until free agency or the draft next year.
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