The New York Giants were the talk of last offseason, with their centennial season on deck and two superstars set to hit the open market.
Unfortunately for the Giants, their 100th season did not go as planned. Not only did both Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney walk in free agency, but Big Blue finished 3-14.
In preparation for its centennial season, the franchise held various festivities and promotions to celebrate the milestone. One of the most significant was the Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants series.
The HBO series took us inside general manager Joe Schoen and the Giants' front office as they navigated the offseason through the NFL Combine, free agency, and the NFL Draft.
With Barkley and McKinney headlining last year's free-agent class and the Giants searching for their next franchise quarterback, following Big Blue's moves was entertaining. Still, Hard Knocks backfired on the Giants and became the talk of last offseason.
The series gave Giants fans and NFL fans several viral moments and clips on social media, especially around the team's meetings involving Saquon. The phone call between Schoen and Barkley and owner John Mara saying if Saquon went to the Eagles, he would have a tough time sleeping at night were two moments that had people talking.
— TG Videos (@TalkinGiantsVid) July 10, 2024
It's safe to say Hard Knocks exposed New York's front office and made Schoen and owner John Mara look terrible to the rest of the league. The series also made the Giants look bad because the team had Daniel Jones under contract, and Hard Knocks showed Schoen and Daboll actively recruiting quarterbacks.
Although the Giants settled on Malik Nabers in the NFL Draft and did not draft a quarterback, the series showed New York looking for Jones's replacement while he was still a member of the organization. It's safe to say his tenure with the Giants was over before the season started.
Hard Knocks officially put the Daniel Jones-Giants era to bed
The Giants ultimately released Jones halfway through last season, and he signed with the Minnesota Vikings to serve as Sam Darnold's backup. While Jones' tenure in Minnesota was short-lived, he was able to get a fresh start elsewhere, and the Giants could finally move on from the Dave Gettleman era.
Jones will have a fresh start in Indianapolis with the Colts, where he will compete with Anthony Richardson for the starting quarterback job ahead of 2025.
If the Giants learned anything from last offseason, it's to stay away from the cameras around this time of year. Last year, the team was exposed for its offseason decisions, and the series hurt its reputation.