With any hope of contention down the drain, the only thing left to be excited about are the rookies playing for the New York Giants.
When you consider that we’re talking about a franchise that has been around for 93 years, well, that’s a whole lot of history. And it takes a whole lot of terrible to get near the top of that list.
The Giants have suffered devastating losses in the final moments of games. Gone is the dominant defense from a season ago, replaced by an underachieving one. They lost their best player for the season in Odell Beckham Jr.
Everyone in the organization believed they could compete for a Super Bowl this season. But at 1-6 their Super Bowl dreams won’t turn into a reality this season.
Even if the Giants were to miraculously win their final nine games, it would not guarantee them a playoff spot. Of those six losses, five came against conference opponents.
The one bright spot in this disastrous season is the 2017 rookie class. They’ve shown promise and it looks like they’ll be able to contribute to the team’s future success.
First-round pick Evan Engram seems poised to make his first of many trips to the Pro Bowl. He leads the team with 30 receptions for 342 yards and three touchdowns. He has been a nightmare matchup for defenses—19 of his receptions have gone for first downs.
Over the last two weeks, Engram has 11 receptions for 142 yards and two touchdowns. He is clearly Eli Manning’s go-to guy with the receiving corps depleted by injury.
It may have served the Giants best to take an offensive lineman with their first pick. But at least they have the satisfaction of knowing they’ll have one of the best tight ends in the league for years to come.
Second-round pick Dalvin Tomlinson is having a solid season, and he has 18 tackles to show for it. The Giants like his energy and how he was able to step into a starting role after Jay Bromley went down with a knee injury.
The Giants are confident he can become one of the better interior defensive linemen for years to come.
Davis Webb, the team’s third-round pick, has been inactive all season. But he will surely see some action later this season in the second-half of games, Big Blue needs to know if he can potentially be the heir apparent to Eli or if they need to take another quarterback in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Fourth-round running back Wayne Gallman was active but didn’t have a rushing attempt in the first three games of the season. Since then, he’s carried the ball 36 times for 141 yards, and has added 11 receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown.
He’s shown explosiveness and power when running with the ball and has been a good compliment to the Orleans Darkwa in the ground game. Gallman will shine even more once the Giants address their offensive line.
Avery Moss, a fifth-round pick, has played sparingly and only has four tackles. But last week against the Seahawks he forced a fumble, so perhaps this is a sign that better things are ahead of him.
So while 2017 will forever be remembered as one of the most disappointing seasons in team history, this year’s crop of rookies offer hope for the future. In a lost season, that’s about all anyone can ask for.