The New York Giants made a huge splash on Wednesday as they signed six time Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall to a two year deal.
With the addition of Brandon Marshall, the New York Giants now have arguably the best receiving core in the NFL and will be one of the favorites to reach Super Bowl LII.
Here are 4 predictions for the New York Giants
Eli Manning will throw 40 touchdowns.
Eli Manning’s career high in touchdown passes came in 2015 when he threw 35. That season the only reliable receiver he had was Odell Beckham Jr. Now, he has Marshall, OBJ, and Sterling Shepard. Beckham has scored double digit touchdowns in each of his three seasons, Marshall has done it four times in his career, and Shepard scored eight touchdowns as a rookie.
Defenses can’t double team all three on every play, so at least one receiver will be covered man to man. The trio of Beckham, Marshall and Shepard will have at least 30 touchdown receptions combined. When adding the touchdowns that the tight ends and running backs will have, it will result in Eli Manning setting a career high in touchdown passes.
The Giants will score 30 points or more in eight games this season.
One of the biggest surprises last season was that the Giants failed to score 30 points in any game. With the addition of having a big target like Marshall, they’ll be more efficient in the red zone and convert those opportunities into touchdowns instead of field goals. In 2015, the Giants scored 30 points seven times, they’ll do that one better in 2017.
The Giants will draft at least two offensive linemen in the draft.
In order for the first two things to happen, the Giants must upgrade their offensive line. Last offseason general manager Jerry Reese neglected to draft on offensive lineman and it came back to bite him. Now with the receiving core intact, the Giants draft strategy will be focused on the offensive line. Expect the Giants to draft Wisconsin left tackle Ryan Ramcyk or Alabama tackle Cam Robinson in the first round if available, then add another lineman in round two or three.
The Giants will not draft Eli Manning’s successor.
In signing Marshall, the Giants made it clear that they are all in to win now. Since the season ended there has been speculation that the Giants may take a quarterback early in the draft. You can put those speculations to bed because the focus will be on finding players help to Manning win his third Super Bowl as opposed to finding his eventual replacement. Manning’s contract runs out after the 2019 season, and the Giants want to max out all they can out of the best quarterback in the franchise’s history.