Giants Mailbag: Will they add QB in NFL Draft, lure Bryce Huff from Jets?

This is an important offseason for the Giants. They wildly exceeded expectations in Joe Schoen's and Brian Daboll’s first year, setting unrealistic expectations for 2023. The step back was expected.

They’re headed into Year 3 now, though. That’s usually when, at the minimum, you see a team begin to turn the corner. Will that happen for New York this year? With a strong offseason, it should.

With that in mind, we figured it would be a good time to open the mailbag and address your concerns about the state of the Giants.

@AustinMatra: How will Evan Neal factor into the Giants' future plans?

He’s their right tackle … right now. I’d expect the Giants to actively look for his replacement this offseason, though. This could come in the first round of the draft (Notre Dame’s Joe Alt, Penn State’s Olu Fashanu) or free agency (Michael Onwenu, Jonah Williams, Jermaine Eluemunor). They’ll kick Neal inside once they find that player.

The Giants simply cannot continue to play Neal at tackle or go into next season expecting him to be their starting right tackle. He improved a little toward the end of the season before suffering a season-ending ankle injury, but there’s far more bad film than good.

Neal had a ProFootballFocus grade of 41.8 as a rookie. It dropped to 39.8 in Year 2. That’s not good. He allowed a pressure rate of 15.5 — fifth worst among offensive tackles. Remember Ereck Flowers? Giants fans loathed him. His ProFootballFocus grades during his three years with the Giants: 54.9, 69.4, 66.8.

The hope is that Neal can improve at guard. Granted, there are some worries. Neal flashed power in college, but not with his feet. He was on the ground often — problems that have continued in the NFL and could be amplified inside. Flowers, coincidentally, also kicked inside and found new life in the NFL as a result.

@GOATNYG: Do you think Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll’s confidence in Daniel Jones will rely on a restructure? If they restructure him it will be harder to move on in 2025. If they don’t, they can move on after this year.

The Giants made the right decision paying Jones. Let’s get that out of the way. The criticisms thrown their way for doing that are ridiculous. The Giants went 9-7-1 in 2022. They were not in a position to draft Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud as a result. Schoen was not in a position to trade up for either because of the number of holes elsewhere — he needed his picks. There was not a quarterback available in free agency (Derek Carr, Jimmy Garoppolo) who would have been a substantial improvement over Jones. By paying Jones, Schoen created the cap flexibility to round out the roster elsewhere.

The only thing you can rip Schoen for as it pertains to his quarterback is not picking up the fifth-year option. Even then, though: Did anyone see Jones playing that year like he did? He was varying degrees of awful his first three.

The conundrum facing the Giants is that the player they paid is not the player they now have. The injury red flags around Jones are very, very real. He’s now had two neck injuries and a torn ACL. You cannot look past that. You can’t commit to that in the short-or long-term.

The Giants can look to other places to create cap space if they need it. Restructuring Jones is not an option. They need to maintain that escape hatch after this year, where releasing Jones would free $19.3 million with a $22.2 million dead charge.

@Justloco718: Didn’t Daniel Jones get the low end of all the quarterback contracts when he signed his extension? I don’t see why the $40 million is such a big deal to people.

People just want to fixate on that number because of Jones’ struggles. You’re right, though. The Giants were honest with themselves when they extended Jones a year ago. They believed him to be a top-15 quarterback with the chance to be in that No. 10, No. 11 range with improved talent. His average salary per year is $40 million. That puts him tied for 10th with Dak Prescott and Matt Stafford. He should be jumped this offseason or next when Kirk Cousins (free agent), Jared Goff (Lions), Jordan Love (Packers) and Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars) receive their new deals, pushing him down into the teens.

It’s a perfectly fine contract based on the quarterbacking landscape. Picking on Jones and what he makes is the low-hanging fruit. Kyler Murray (Cardinals) and Russell Wilson (Broncos/soon-to-be free agent) have annual salaries of $46.1 and $49 million, respectively.

@GMachine99: What are the chances Schoen is looking to get his quarterback this offseason? Would John Mara interfere?

He’s looking. He has the means and willingness to trade up to get one, too, unlike his first two years in charge. The problem is quantity. There are three quarterbacks worthy of a top-10 selection: Caleb Williams (USC), Drake Maye (UNC), and Jayden Daniels (LSU). Williams is the consensus top prospect. You can flip Maye and Daniels as you like. You’re going to need a top-three selection if you want to pick one of them

The Giants select sixth. They have the ammunition to move up (thanks to the Seahawks' second-round pick as compensation for Leonard Williams). The issue is that the Bears, Commanders and Patriots (picking No. 1-3) all need quarterbacks, too, and have very little interest in moving back.

Michael Penix Jr. (Washington) and Bo Nix (Oregon) are considered the next best options. They’re not near the caliber of player as those aforementioned three, though. Penix has serious injury concerns while some scouts question Nix’s ability to process at the NFL level. Could someone like Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy be an option in the second round?

Schoen wants a quarterback. It might just be impossible to get one with franchise potential.

@Mpmoran19: Could Bryce Huff be a fit for the Giants if they stick with a 3-4 defense?

Huff could fit on any defense. He played defensive end for the Jets, but could easily make the transition to outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme. He might even be better there. I understand the politics of why the Jets haven’t re-signed Huff to this point. They selected defensive ends in the first round of the last two drafts (Jermaine Johnson, Will McDonald). They have to get those guys on the field. It’s just hard to replace Huff’s pass-rushing production.

Before we get to these numbers, remember this: Huff played just 480 defensive snaps this year — under 50 percent of the team’s total. He still had a career-high 10 sacks and 21 quarterback hits. He had an unbelievable pass-rush percentage of 21.8 — the highest among rushers with at least 200 pass-rush snaps.

Yes, meaning that was better than Cowboys all-world rusher Micah Parsons (21.3 percent). Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux played 981 defensive snaps. He had 11.5 sacks, yes, but only 16 quarterback hits (four outside his sacks) and a pressure rate of 9.2 percent.

The Giants would be wise to make a run at Huff. As would every team in need of an edge rusher.