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Giants aim for quality rebuild behind Joe Judge, Daniel Jones

By Charles Vitolo

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - DECEMBER 15: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Saquon Barkley #26 of the New York Giants in action against the Miami Dolphins at MetLife Stadium on December 15, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. New York Giants defeated the Miami Dolphins 36-20. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - DECEMBER 15: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Saquon Barkley #26 of the New York Giants in action against the Miami Dolphins at MetLife Stadium on December 15, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. New York Giants defeated the Miami Dolphins 36-20. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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Under new leadership with head coach Joe Judge, the New York Giants are hoping to find success in a tough NFC East.

Best-case scenario

Having one of the youngest rosters in the league will put a damper on any playoff aspirations in 2020, but the team’s main goal should be playing competitive football into the late fall/early winter.

It feels like the Giants haven’t played a game that matters after Halloween in quite some time. Getting that done while seeing Daniel Jones continue to mature into a quality quarterback is the best-case scenario for 2020.

Judge making it through the season without ruffling any feathers due to his hard-nosed style and getting the players on board in earnest would be a major win as well.

Lastly, the combined losing streak of 13 games to the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys ending would be a major step in the right direction.

Worst-case scenario

Daniel Jones, and in turn the entire New York Giants team, regressing in 2020 and losing more games than they did in 2019. Being the youngest team (or one of the handful of, depending on final cuts) will not cut it as an excuse for this team this year.

Left tackle Andrew Thomas is going to be watched very closely as well and if he gives off any type of Ereck Flowers vibes, it’ll send the fans into a tizzy. He’ll be tested early and often starting with the Steelers in Week 1.

Biggest offseason move

The savvy maneuvering that brought Markus Golden back for just $4.1 million has to go down as the best offseason move. Golden seemed bound to receive $10M+ on the open market but the market didn’t agree.

General manager Dave Gettleman made the wise move of slapping the rarely used ‘UFA’ tender on Golden when he saw the market wasn’t loving the veteran pass rusher, and now, he’s back at well under his market rate at New York’s most dire position of need.

Draft pick who makes the big impact

With the injury to second-round safety Xavier McKinney, the clear choice is Thomas. After watching Jones fumble the ball time and again in the pocket last season, he should get better blindside protection from the hulking rookie.

Overall expectations

A minor step forward and begin to buy into new head coach Joe Judge’s selfless program.

Again, it looks like another year where the Eagles and Cowboys will reign supreme in the NFC East, so coming in third and being competitive throughout the season are realistic expectations. That may not sound like much, but after the last few years around New York it would be a godsend.

Jones will have the most impact on whether that happens and it appears he’s made all the right moves – including organizing and leading unofficial workouts – to make that possible.

Lastly, expect the G-MEN to break their embarrassing streak of losing a combined 13 straight games to the Eagles and Cowboys.