One of the biggest complaints from fans and observers about the New York Giants was their inability to throw the ball deep on offense. A lot has changed over the past year when it comes to the Giants’ offense—especially at quarterback.
Out is Daniel Jones, who started at quarterback for the last six years and failed to live up to expectations after succeeding future Hall of Famer Eli Manning—who had no trouble throwing the ball downfield. In is a group of quarterbacks for the G-Men who can all push the ball downfield.
The first two are veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston. The third is first-round rookie Jaxson Dart, whose arrival on the field is still to be determined with Wilson and Winston ahead of him on the depth chart.
Bill Barnwell of ESPN used the superlative “Most likely to throw deep more often” when speaking about the Giants for the 2025 season. And his analysis will surely get fans fired up for a more fun offensive attack:
“The Giants will throw deep more often, but can they do it effectively? There are reasons to think the personnel should make that easier. Darius Slayton has been stuck for years as the nominal deep threat in an offense that doesn't throw deep often or well, so the addition of these downfield passers should play to his strengths," Barnwell wrote."Malik Nabers can win at all levels, giving New York two receivers who can concern other teams as deep playmakers.”
One of the biggest gripes people had with Jones was that he checked down far too often and didn’t push the ball deep enough to fully utilize the wide receivers on the team. Some wonder if the knee and neck injuries over the years had taken their toll on Jones and if the former Giant simply couldn’t play like he once did during his rookie season in 2019. His ineffectiveness is ultimately what led to his demotion and release before the end of the 2024 season.
With Jones gone, it completely resets the Giants’ offense from the previous regime—the one we saw make the postseason back in 2022 when Saquon Barkley was the focal point. Now that Wilson is the starter, at least for the time being, the G-Men will look to become a team and an offense that can push the ball downfield and score more points—something they struggled to do in 2024 when they ranked near the bottom of the league.
Wilson is known for his deep ball, so receivers like Nabers, Slayton, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Jalin Hyatt could benefit from the change at quarterback and the shift in offensive philosophy.
Whether it’s Wilson, Winston, or Dart under center for the Giants, fans will have something to look forward to, as they should see a drastic change in how the offense is operated in 2025. Given how poorly the Giants’ offense has been run over the last two seasons, the change will be a welcome one—especially if it leads to more points on the board and, potentially, more wins in 2025 and beyond.