Few teams are in a more precarious spot for the 2025 season than the New York Giants, who have fallen flat over the past two years after a strong debut from GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll. A surprise playoff run to the Divisional Round in 2022 has proven to be a mirage, as the Giants have gone just 9-25 since. John Mara opted to run it back one more time, but he made very clear that his patience was wearing thin while doing so. (It certainly doesn't help that the Giants had to watch two division rivals square off in the NFC Championship Game, or that Saquon Barkley rushed for 2,000 yards to help the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl.)
Fixing a roster that went 3-14 last season and has no long-term answer at quarterback will be difficult, but Schoen is in a decent spot with about $50 million in salary cap space to start the offseason and the potential to create more via restructured contracts. While there are no franchise saviors on the market, these four players can help the Giants be much more competitive in 2025.
1. QB Russell Wilson
The top priority for Schoen is to find a solution at quarterback this offseason, with Daniel Jones gone and no passers currently signed to the 2025 roster. While there has been plenty of buzz linking the Giants to a potential deal with the Los Angeles Rams for Matthew Stafford, it is hard to see how they could absorb Stafford's huge contract and still fill enough of the roster's other holes to build an immediate contender.
The draft is the more likely avenue for the Giants to find a QB, either by staying put at No. 3 or trading up to No. 1 with the Tennessee Titans to secure their passer of the future. Any rookie picked in this class will likely need time to develop, however, which is something that Schoen and Daboll can't afford if they want to win now.
Signing a stop-gap option like Russell Wilson, who helped the Pittsburgh Steelers reach the playoffs last season, would give the Giants the ability to compete right now while buying time for a prospect to learn the ropes and become a successful starter in the NFL. Wilson's ability to connect on deep shots would be a good match with Malik Nabers, who was one of the most explosive receivers in the NFL as a rookie, and his winning pedigree could add a lot to a locker room that has experienced a lot of losing over the years.
Anyone who watched Pittsburgh's offense struggle down the stretch last season knows that Wilson isn't a perfect solution at this stage of his career. There are few places where Wilson would have an easy path to start, however, so coming to New York would hold appeal to him as well.
2. CB D.J. Reed
While the Giants' pass rush was a strength last season, their secondary was a major weakness. Schoen has taken multiple stabs at strengthening his secondary with free agents and draft picks, only to see the group get routinely shredded by opposing passers.
This free-agent class doesn't have a true No. 1 corner in it, but the Giants can stay right at home for help as New York Jets starter D.J. Reed is set to hit the market. Reed, who turned 28 in November, was highly effective as the Jets' No. 2 corner opposite Sauce Gardner and is looking to get paid after outperforming the three-year, $33 million deal he signed prior to the 2022 season.
There are questions as to whether Reed is capable of handling top cornerback responsibilities in the long run, but he does represent an immediate upgrade on what the Giants have been running out in the secondary of late. Signing a guy like Reed now buys Schoen time to address his No. 1 corner spot moving forward as Reed could easily slide down a notch in the pecking order when that time comes.
There is also a strong history of the Giants finding undervalued contributors from the Jets in free agency or trade. Kareem McKenzie, Damon Harrison, Leonard Williams and Jason Pinnock all performed better as Giants than they did as Jets, so perhaps Reed could be the next player to follow that pipeline.
3. WR Stefon Diggs
While the addition of Nabers added a lot to the Giants' offense, their options outside of him in the passing game were a bit limited. The de-facto No. 2 receiver was Darius Slayton, who seems set to finally move on in free agency, while recent draft picks like Wan'Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt haven't shown the ability to be more than bit players at the NFL level.
With opposing teams expected to focus more attention on Nabers next season, signing a proven No. 2 receiver would be a prudent move to help both him and the team's new quarterback. The Giants' cap situation likely takes them out of play for the biggest name on the board in Tee Higgins, but Stefon Diggs remains an intriguing option.
A trade to Houston didn't go smoothly for Diggs, who had to adjust to a secondary role in Houston's offense before tearing his ACL in the middle of the season. That injury could leave Diggs seeking a one-year prove-it deal to rebuild his value, and that could be a good fit for the Giants — especially if they land Wilson as their bridge quarterback.
There is also a connection between Diggs and Daboll from their time together in Buffalo. Diggs had tremendous years with the Bills while Daboll was the team's offensive coordinator, racking up 230 catches for 2,760 yards and 18 touchdowns, so landing in a system he is comfortable in (admittedly with a quarterback downgrade, since the Giants don't have Josh Allen) could be a perfect opportunity for Diggs to re-establish himself as a top-flight pass catcher.
4. DT Osa Odighizuwa
An underrated need for the Giants is at defensive tackle, where the team has almost nothing behind All-Pro Dexter Lawrence on the depth chart. That lack of depth was exposed when Lawrence suffered a season-ending injury in Week 12, leaving New York vulnerable to teams shoving the ball down their throats in the running game.
Adding a capable player next to Lawrence would be impactful since it would be harder for opposing offenses to double-team him, creating more opportunitie to cause chaos in the trenches. The defensive tackle market isn't one that gets paid exceedingly well in free agency and the draft has a lot of potential value at this position, giving the Giants an opportunity to get good value on a contract if they choose to go this route.
The lineman they should target is Dallas' Osa Odighizuwa, an ascending young player who is a stalwart against the run and has some pass-rushing potential. While the Cowboys would like to retain Odighizuwa, they also need to sign Micah Parsons to a contract extension and fill other key holes on their team, making it a luxury they maybe can't afford.
Signing Odighizuwa would give the Giants a young compliment to Lawrence who can continue to improve as he enters his age-27 season. Past Giants teams have had success on the back of a tremendous front four, and Odighizuwa would allow New York to follow that blueprint by filling the biggest hole on the defensive line.