It’s amazing how much can change in a year. And that goes triple for an NFL football year. This time last year hopes were high that Brian Daboll could turn Daniel Jones into a Josh Allen-light type guy. Then this year came along and, not only did he regress, but he suffered a gruesome knee injury. Now there are big questions, not only about this year and his return, but his future with the team. 

Let’s take a moment to comb through the roster, contracts, and depth chart to make some predictions on what the Giants could do this offseason both for the fans and for the fantasy football gamers. If the Giants can start a dynasty, at least you can work on your dynasty fantasy team right?

*The salary cap numbers referenced in this article come courtesy of our friends over at Spotrac.com*

Fantasy Relevant Depth Chart

Quarterback

Daniel Jones

Tyrod Taylor

Tommy DeVito

Jacob Eason

Running Back

Saquon Barkley

Matt Breida

Gary Brightwell

Eric Gray

Wide Receiver

Darius Slayton

Isaiah Hodgins

Bryce Ford-Wheaton

 

Wide Receiver

Jalin Hyatt

Gunner Olszewski

  

Wide Receiver

Wan'Dale Robinson

Sterling Shepard

  

Tight End

Darren Waller

Daniel Bellinger

Lawrence Cager

Tyree Jackson


 

White = unrestricted free agent

Green = role is safe

Yellow = role could be in jeopardy

Red = could be traded or released

PROJECTED 2024 SALARIES: ~$222M

ESTIMATED 2024 CAP SPACE: ~$27M

Quarterback

Daniel Jones: This one is yellow for me because I don’t foresee the Giants straight-up cutting Daniel Jones this year. There’s a lot of guaranteed money and they could cut him as a post-June designation to spread the hit over two years but that’s really just pushing money to the future which is the opposite of what they want to do. I think it makes the most sense to bring in competition for Jones now then consider cutting him if need be in 2025. They might need a QB early anyway given his knee injury. 

So, you bring in affordable options to compete with Jones this year and, if the team flops once again, you’ll be in position to draft a new QB in the 2025 draft. And that’s coming from someone that was never in favor of hitching your wagon to Daniel Jones. But the wagon was hitched anyway so might as well ride it just a little longer just to be sure before hopping off for good.

Tyrod Taylor: Taylor is an unrestricted free agent this year and I don’t expect him to be back. He’s not the long-term solution for this team and that’s what they need to fill out the depth chart with at this stage.

Tommy DeVito: Tommy DeVito has been a lot of fun. You know writers like us always love a great story - extra points when the memes are good. But I think we got a long enough look at Tommy DeVito to know that he’s not the guy either. He’ll be in the mix to compete but he can also be released with zero dead cap and $915K in savings so his roster spot is not guaranteed whatsoever. 

Jacob Eason: Jacob Eason is an exclusive rights free agent so they can bring him back on a very affordable contract with no competition. It’s incredibly unlikely he’s the answer here though so they might not exercise that right. 

GIANTS QB FREE AGENCY TAKE: Realistically, the move might be to take a QB in the middle of the draft in the third or fourth round. See if you can hit on the next Russell Wilson or Dak Prescott. More likely you have a Davis Mills or Desmond Ridder that competes for a bit before you draft the QB of the future. But at least you gave it a shot. 

I don’t expect them to go in with an older guy like a Kirk Cousins, Ryan Tannehill, or Russell Wilson so, if you are going to bring in a free agent to compete, I’d like to see them go for someone under 30 that maybe deserves another crack at it. There are some names out there where, if you bring them in and they give Daniel Jones a run for his money, that might just help you confirm that Jones isn’t the guy.

POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Gardner Minshew, Drew Lock, Sam Darnold, Tyler Huntley

Running Back

Saquon Barkley: The Giants franchise-tagged Barkley in 2023 but have said they don’t plan to do so again. Which makes sense because the Giants likely have a bridge year here. So Barkley is likely hitting unrestricted free agency. He and Josh Jacobs are set to be the two most coveted free agent running backs we have seen in awhile and, for the sake of fantasy football, we are hoping they land somewhere great. 

Matt Breida: Matt Breida is an unrestricted free agent and his return is based entirely on how cheap he’s willing to come back for. Running back is a luxury position so you don’t want to load up paying for it during a bridge year. If he is back, he could be interesting for fantasy football as he’s performed admirably in the absence of Saquon Barkley. 

Eric Gray: This is the window we want to see for Day Three NFL picks. We want to see these skeleton crew teams that are doing live tryouts with a focus on the future. So, if you are in on Gray, you’re hoping they don’t bring anyone in, and the second-year player gets a fair shake. 

Gary Brightwell: Gary Brightwell has been floating around for three years now and only has 41 total carries. If he hangs around with the team, it will be because of his special teams. He actually does contribute on four different units so I could absolutely see it but he could also be released with $1 million in savings with very little dead cap. 

GIANTS RB FREE AGENCY TAKE: If the Giants aren’t going to pay Saquon Barkley, they almost certainly aren’t going to invest heavily in other free-agent running backs. I’m also not sure it’s the right timing or the right class for them to go for a high end back in the draft either. They should just piece it together to get through the year. Bonus points if they can bring in risky reclamation projects for a cheap contract. The Eagles did it last year with guys like Rashaad Penny and D’Andre Swift and they got 1,000 yards out of Swift.

POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: JK Dobbins, D’Andre Swift, Antonio Gibson, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, AJ Dillon

Wide Receiver

Darius Slayton: Darius Slayton led this team in snaps, especially down the stretch when he was playing 90-95% of the snaps. He’s under contract for this year and should be part of the mix. The concern is that they upgrade at split end which could see Slayton lose his full-time role in favor of the younger guys but those snaps could also come at the expense of others. Slayton is somehow the guy most likely to be a full-time player in 2024 and most likely to be pushed to the bench.  

Jalin Hyatt: The third-round pick won the Fred Biletnikoff award for the best WR in college, so we need more than one year to find out what he’s going to be. The hope is he can develop into a dynamic player with a diverse route tree but, at the very least, we already know he can stretch the field with his speed. 

Wan’Dale Robinson: Wan’Dale Robinson primarily man’d the slot with over 70% of his WR snaps lined up there. The question for his fantasy upside is whether he ends up as a part time slot-only type guy like Tyler Boyd or whether he plays slot in three WR sets and flanker in two WR sets like Keenan Allen, Cooper Kupp, or Chris Godwin. He’s on the third year of a rookie deal so he’ll be out there.

Isaiah Hodgins: Hodgins is a restricted free agent meaning he can be extended without competition for the $2.8 million dollar range. After a strong finish in 2022 he had a pretty rough 2023 so I would not be surprised to see them move on from him this off-season.

Sterling Shepard: Shepard has had some of the worst injury luck of any NFL player in his career. He took less money to hang around with the Giants this year, but I don’t expect them to bring him back as an unrestricted free agent. A team out there could be willing to let him compete in the slot. 

Gunner Olszewski: If they retain the former Patriot, it would be for his special teams work, primarily returning punts. He’s currently not under contract. 

Bryce Ford-Wheaton: Like most undrafted players, he can be released with almost $800K in savings with next to no dead cap. So, though technically under contract, he’ll have to his roster spot from scratch. 

GIANTS WR FREE AGENCY TAKE: Let’s consider Evan Engram. He was a top five tight end with Eli Manning. Then he struggled with Daniel Jones. Now he has been top five with Trevor Lawrence the last two years. This year he had the fourth most receptions of any player and 19 more than the next tight end. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s hard to evaluate a lot of these pass catchers without seeing them with another QB. 

I believe in guys like Wan’Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt. If you have them at slot/flanker with a big split end, that’s a solid offense. I don’t think this team should go out and spend on the top split ends like Mike Evans or Tee Higgins given the state of the team but perhaps draft one or give one of these guys a cheap look. 

POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: DJ Chark, Gabe Davis, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine-Ihkine, Chase Claypool, Donovan Peoples-Jones

Tight End

Darren Waller: Waller actually looked good at times when healthy but that’s been the story his entire career. He still has three years left on his deal and could be cut this year with $6.2M in savings, $7.8 in dead cap. Assuming he can get healthy this offseason, he should be the starting tight end for the Giants in 2024. 

Daniel Bellinger: Bellinger has not only proven that he’s a reliable blocking tight end, but he can also catch balls in a pinch. He’s on an affordable rookie deal so his role as next up to Waller is pretty safe. 

Lawrence Cager: Cager is a restricted free agent, but I don’t see them spending the $2.8 million to retain his services. You can find a third tight end that skews blocking for less. Maybe it will be him, but not for three mil. 

Tyree Jackson: Jackson is also a restricted free agent in the same situation as Cager - they aren’t going to pay him that. The converted QB will have to earn a deal as a free agent.

GIANTS TE FREE AGENCY TAKE: Unless they decide to move on from Darren Waller, the top of the depth chart is pretty set here. Waller is the starter who skews passing, Bellinger is the TE2 who comes in for jumbo sets. If anything they might add blocking depth but, given the injury history of Waller, adding one of these guys for cheap as an emergency slot-type guy would be the most interesting for fantasy football. 

POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Mike Gesicki, Tanner Hudson (RFA), Jesper Horsted, Shane Zylstra (RFA), Zack Kuntz (ERFA)

NFL Free Agency Previews

Discover our other breakdowns for the rest of the league ahead of 2024 NFL free agency: