Following the team's best season since 2016, the NY Giants are primed and ready to enter 2023 with a new and improved roster. While not everything is going to be perfect for the Giants this season, we have few doubts that the team will see massive improvements.
With being said, here are five dream scenarios for the Giants heading into the 2023 season. Some are more realistic than others, but at the end of the day, you never know what this team can do considering the number of changes that were made to the roster:
5. Darren Waller plays all 17 games and shows out
This is by far the most realistic one. However, it could be just as impactful as any other considering how elite of a talent Darren Waller is when healthy. This sort of receiving talent is something the Giants haven't had since they traded away Odell Beckham.
In Waller's last healthy season, he caught 107 passes for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns. Considering the fact that the Giants haven't had a receiver top 1,000 yards since 2018, having a healthy Waller seems almost necessary. Having a player of this magnitude would open up the offense an insane amount.
That's the best part about Waller, he doesn't even have to have insane individual numbers. Just having him as a threat will make life easier for the Giants' offense as a whole. New York has had some talented players on offense, but none like Waller. This sort of player can break a defense down simply by running a route.
Waller has notoriously struggled with injuries since 2020. However, with a new team, environment, and training staff, we're hopeful that the 30-year-old TE can remain healthy and have arguably his best season yet.
4. Saquon Barkley and Joe Schoen come to terms on a team-friendly deal
One of the biggest storylines from the NY Giants this offseason has been the potential Saquon Barkley contract extension and his refusal to sign the franchise tag. While we understand Barkley's frustration and him wanting to get paid big money, his reported price tag is simply too outrageous to pay.
Barkley is a top-five running back in the NFL, no doubt. However, with the value, or lack thereof, the position has, it's hard to justify paying him so much money. Despite this, wouldn't it be nice if the two sides could come together on a deal that wouldn't kill the Giants' cap space?
It may not be the most likely outcome, but with the way the running back market has looked this offseason alone, we doubt Barkley gets anything close to what he's reportedly asking. Dalvin Cook, a four-time Pro Bowler, was recently cut because the Vikings couldn't trade him, and Miles Sanders, who ran for 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns, signed for just $6.3 million per season.
Barkley is better than both of these guys, don't get us wrong. However, it doesn't change the fact that running backs simply aren't valued like they used to be. Alongside this, Schoen and Brian Daboll both come from the Bills, who used third-round picks Devin Singletary and Zack Moss in the backfield in favor of a pass-heavy offense.
In a dream world such as this, though, the Giants can hopefully manage to find a middle ground with Barkley in order to keep the two-time Pro Bowler for the foreseeable future. Running backs may not be highly valued anymore, but there's no doubt that Barkley is a massive piece of the Giants' offense.
3. The NY Giants have 5+ Pro Bowlers
Last season, we saw the NY Giants turn in just two Pro Bowlers in the form of Dexter Lawrence and Barkley. While New York definitely had some players like Andrew Thomas get snubbed from the game, we doubt that it happens again in 2023.
Not only will there be a number of players improving as they earn more experience, but with how good the Giants were in '22, it'll be hard for the voters to not pay attention to the team and its players this season.
While Barkley, Lawrence, and Thomas are seemingly locks to make the Pro Bowl at this point, in a dream world, the Giants have even more players make the games. Guys like Waller, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Daniel Jones, Graham Gano, Leonard Williams, and more are all primed for big-time seasons and could very well make the game.
Obviously, the Pro Bowl isn't the be all end all, but it would be nice to see these players get the recognition they deserve. They can play as well as they want, but the voters must recognize these talents if the league wants the Pro Bowl to be taken seriously. We can't see another top-three player at a position get snubbed like Thomas was last season.
2. Daniel Jones will surpass 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns
Following his best season yet, we're incredibly confident that Jones will continue to improve. However, to what extent will this improvement be? It seems pretty obvious that Jones will surpass his yardage and touchdown total from last season. However, in a dream world, Jones very well could put up some Pro Bowl-level numbers considering how better the offense around him got this offseason.
Not only did Schoen add a Pro Bowl-level tight end, but he also made major improvements to the Giants' receiving core as a whole while also adding arguably the best center in the 2023 draft class in the form of John Michael Schmitz. Considering how well Jones played in '22 with a much worse core, it's easy to say we'll see an increase in numbers.
Last season, Jones completed 67.2% of his passes for 3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Alongside this, Jones ran the ball 120 times for 708 yards and seven touchdowns. Keep in mind that this was with a bottom-five offensive line and arguably the worst pass-catching core in the entire NFL.
Entering 2023, there are no excuses for Jones not to improve. Whether it's a marginal jump or we see him blossom into a superstar, it will be exciting to see how Jones performs nonetheless. If he manages to make the leap into stardom though, that once-criticized extension could look like a steal in no time.
1. The NY Giants are your Super Bowl 57 champions!
This may sound crazy, but hey, in this scenario we're living in a dream world. Last season, we saw the NY Giants make the divisional round of the playoffs where they would eventually lose to the Eagles, who were the Super Bowl runners-up. Now, in 2023, the Giants have improved in almost every facet and have some playoff experience under their belt.
It's a little crazy, but anything is possible and with the way some teams collapse in the playoffs, the Giants could very well find themselves in the Super Bowl. This would be the team's first appearance since 2011 and with the way underdog stories usually go for the Giants, they very well could be Super Bowl champions.
The Giants have the coach, culture, fanbase, and arguably the personnel to, at the very least, make a deep run in the postseason. While realistically, the Giants are a couple of pieces away from contending, you never know what could happen in the playoffs.
If everything goes right, the Giants could see all five of these scenarios come true. They aren't all the most likely, but they are still possible. Regardless, it's going to be an incredibly fun season to watch for fans.
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