The New York Giants’ offense was one of the worst in the league in the red zone in 2016. They made some more moves to address that this week at the NFL Draft.
The New York Giants failed to score more than 19 points in any of their final six games last year, including their deflating loss in the Wild Card round against the Green Bay Packers.
Much of that was due to their poor performance in the red zone, where they scored a touchdown just 51.11% of the time. Not acceptable for an offense with so many stars and weapons.
This offseason, GM Jerry Reese and head coach Ben McAdoo set out to rectify the situation. They knew they needed to get bigger, faster, stronger and tougher on offense. Their top two two free agent targets, 6’4″ WR Brandon Marshall and former Vikings tough guy TE Rhett Ellison, should have served as enough but Reese went into overkill after watching his team sputter and get pushed around last year.
Marshall is not only a great red zone receiver but a heckuva blocker as well. He’ll help in both the passing and running games. Ellison, by default, gives the Giants two things they didn’t have at all last year – a fullback and a fierce-blocking TE.
In this year’s draft, the Giants decided that Ole Miss TE Evan Engram would be perfect to take the top off some of those double safety-high formations that frustrated them in 2016.
Lets’ be clear about Engram. He is not really a TE. TEs don’t run 4.48 forties. He’s a weapon. Not only does he become the biggest player past the box, he may also be the fastest. His hands and YAC are very impressive. Phenomenal, in fact. No more watching Larry Donnell and Will Tye fail down the middle of the field. This kid can catch it and go. He is a bigger version of OBJ.
Reese decided the RB he wanted in this draft was Clemson’s Wayne Gallman, who flew under the radar a bit in Dabo Sweeney’s star-studded offense. He is a tough, downhill runner that does a little bit of everything. He is the perfect fit for what the Giants want to do in the red zone and in short yardage situations.
The sixth round pick, Pitt OT Adam Bisnowaty, is certainly imposing at 6’6″, 304. Granted, he has his limitations and an injury history, but has been cited for his toughness and willingness to brawl.
McAdoo called him a player that plays “nasty” and was from “God’s country.” The Giants could use a player like that, no?
And they’re not done. They have 13 open roster spots for free agents, one of whom might be RB LeGarrette Blount who, according to NFLN’s Ian Rapoport, could be headed to the Giants this summer. Reese did not rule anything out on Saturday.
“We keep all our options open in respect to that,” he said. “We keep all our options open as we move forward. There’s a long way to go before we play. We will keep all our options open.”
