Could the New York Giants finally return to playoff football this upcoming season? Kyle Brandt of NFL Network thinks so.
It was January 2017 when the New York Giants last took part in a postseason matchup. A blowout defeat at the hands of the Green Bay Packers was the final result, and Big Blue hasn’t even come close to sniffing playoff football ever since. The team has won a total of just 12 games from that day to this current moment.
There’s no issue with remaining optimistic though, and that’s exactly the attitude Kyle Brandt of NFL Network is portraying. On Good Morning Football, the television host noted that he believes New York will return to the playoffs this upcoming campaign.
“Welcome my friends to the year of Saquon Barkley, when he will emerge nine months from now as the best running back on the planet…” he said. “I think there’s a cautionary tale in the sense of Christian McCaffrey last year, who had one of the most historic running back seasons ever, and yet the Panthers were a forgettable team that did not make the playoffs. I don’t think that’s going to be this Giants team because I think Daniel Jones is better.
“I think all of us who are oohing and aahing over McCaffrey and Derrick Henry, deservedly so, this fall are going to be saying ‘Oh my God, Saquon Barkley is that good.’ He is the guy who gets the Giants to the playoffs with Daniel Jones.”
Barkley, Jones, and first-round pick Andrew Thomas will certainly help the Giants on the offensive front, but it’s the defensive side of the ball that’s really improved on paper. After the team finished 25th in total defense and 28th in pass defense last year, Dave Gettleman signed inside linebacker Blake Martinez, outside linebacker Kyler Fackrell, and cornerback James Bradberry. He additionally selected Xavier McKinney, arguably the top safety in this year’s draft, during the second round.
Going from a four-win team to a playoff ballclub is a stretch. But with the postseason format now allowing seven teams from either conference, it definitely becomes an easier accomplishment than it once was.
