Based on the expectation they had coming into the season, the 2017 season is the most disappointing season in the 93-year history of the New York Giants. The only positive is that the Jints can feature youngsters moving forward.
Some predicted they would represent in the NFC in Super Bowl LII. Instead, the New York Giants are 0-5 and with Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall lost for the year. You have to wonder when or if they’ll win a game this season.There’s nothing the Giants can do to salvage this season, and the Giants might be on their way to having the first pick in next year’s draft.
So they must plan for the future and determine which young players can help them going forward.
Here are three players the Giants need to feature for the remainder of the year to see if they have what it takes to help the team for years to come:
1. Wayne Gallman
The Giants running game has been almost non-existent this season. But over the past two weeks, Gallman has given the ground game life carrying the ball 22 times for 99 yards.
Based on production, Gallman and Orleans Darkwa need to be ahead of Paul Perkins on the depth chart. The Giants need to continue to give the rookie Gallman more playing time to see if he and Darkwa can be the Giants 1-2 punch at running back or to see if he can be the workhouse in the future.
2. Roger Lewis
Lewis was the lone Giants receiver that finished the game in the Giants 27-22 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. In that game, he once again showed he can be a productive receiver scoring on a 29-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.
He will be Eli Manning’s go-to receiver until Sterling Shepard is able to return from his ankle injury. Even when Shepard returns, Lewis needs to play a pivotal role in the Giants passing game to see if he’s ready to be the third receiver on the depth chart next year.
Brandon Marshall is due to make 5.5 million next year, but after having ankle surgery and the fact that he’ll be 34 and the lack of production he’s shown this season, the Giants may decide to cut him. The question then becomes, “Is Lewis ready to step in to play behind OBJ and Shepard, or do the Giants need to go get another receiver?”
3. Davis Webb
The Giants shouldn’t end Eli Manning’s consecutive game streak and start third-round draft pick Davis Webb. But later in the season, they need to bench Manning to give Webb some experience and see what he has.
Webb has a strong arm, but he needs to work on his touch, and it’s vital that he gets game experience this season. Let him play in the second half of the last month of the season to see if he improves from week to week.
The Giants are on their way to having a top-five pick, so they need to see if Webb has potential to be the heir apparent to Manning, or if they should draft Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson or any other top quarterback prospect in next year’s draft.
