The 7 Best and Worst Moves of New York Giants' 2013 Offseason

The 2013 offseason has been an active one for the New York Giants.

The G-Men cut important franchise players like Ahmad Bradshaw and Chris Canty and made a slew of new acquisitions from division rivals, including Dan Connor, Cullen Jenkins and Mike Patterson.

After missing out on the postseason one year after winning the Super Bowl, New York put together a strong draft in hopes of building a contender of the future.

That said, we're going to analyze the best and worst moves of the Giants' 2013 offseason.

Best: Signing Dan Connor

This may seem like a small move for the Giants, but given the amount of injuries and lack of depth the G-Men have had at the MLB position in years past, the inking of Dan Connor was a smart move.

Connor does come with some injury woes from his time with the Carolina Panthers, but New York has given the 27-year-old a chance to prove his worth on a one-year deal.

While the signing of Connor did result in the departure of linebacker Chase Blackburn, the Giants do have more depth at middle linebacker with Mark Herzlich competing with Connor for the starting gig in the middle of the Giants defense.

Connor will bring an added toughness to a Giants defense that ranked 31st in the NFL in 2012.

Worst: Not Parting Ways with David Diehl

As good as David Diehl has been for the Giants, he's not the player of the past.

Diehl has steadily declined over the past few seasons, so much so that Football Outsiders ranked him No. 20 among all 32 starting right tackles during the 2012 season. 

Also going against the Giants is the fact that they'll take a $3.125 million cap hit during the 2013 season for keeping Diehl on the roster.

After his 2012 performance, I'm willing to bet most fans like myself expected to see Diehl searching for employment with another NFL franchise. Instead, he's still slated to be a starter along New York's offensive line. 

Best: Signing Cullen Jenkins

After releasing Chris Canty, the Giants needed to bolster the interior of their defensive line, and they did just that by acquiring two former members of the rival Philadelphia Eagles.

New York signed Cullen Jenkins and Mike Patterson, but I think the Jenkins signing is the more important one for Big Blue.

Jenkins will be a run-stopper for the Giants. He has shown the ability to rush the passer during his nine-year career, and could potentially be the starter alongside Linval Joseph.

The Giants ranked 25th against the rush last season and could use an athletic body on the interior of the defense, which is what they'll get in Jenkins. 

Worst: Guaranteeing Two Kickers

Replacing Lawrence Tynes was a great move for the Giants; giving two kickers guaranteed deals was not.

Granted, the Giants aren't wasting too much money on Josh Brown ($940,000) or David Buehler ($630,000). With that being said, I don't see the sense in giving both kickers guaranteed deals. Buehler, in particular, hasn't been a placekicker in the NFL since 2010 (contract details via Spotrac).

I understand the need to replace Tynes—who went 33-of-39 last season—but the Giants don't have extra cash to be spending on a kicker who probably won't even see the field.

I like the signing of Brown, who was solid for the Cincinnati Bengals last season, but there's no need to give two kickers guaranteed money.

Best: Drafting Damontre Moore

Getting a talent like Damontre Moore in the third round of the draft was a steal for the G-Men.

With the departure of Osi Umenyiora, the Giants needed to bolster the defensive end position, even with Mathias Kiwanuka probably playing more DE this year.

Moore was a beast last season at Texas A&M, racking up 86 total tackles and 12.5 sacks while striking fear in the eyes of opposing offensive linemen.

While there are some character concerns—the New York Daily News' Ralph Vacchiano cites a lack of work ethic between games—it sounds like Moore is ready to put in work as a Giant and prove the doubters wrong.  

With Justin Tuck coming off two down seasons in 2011 and 2012, Moore could be a key piece along the Giants' defensive line in the coming years with Jason Pierre-Paul.

Worst: Not Addressing the CB Position in the Draft

Not only did the Giants not release Corey Webster, but they failed to address the cornerback spot in the NFL draft.

Although Webster did restructure his deal, New York is thin at corner, with Terrell Thomas coming off a third ACL surgery and Prince Amukamara having trouble staying on the field. When healthy, Thomas and Amukamara are solid corners, but it seems that the Giants are plagued by a rash of injuries to their secondary each season.

Bolstering the cornerback position seemed like a must in the draft, and while the G-Men did address other needs like the offensive and defensive lines, ignoring the corner spot could come back to haunt the Giants if the injury bug bites in 2013.

After all, banking on Thomas and Amukamara to remain healthy hasn't exactly worked out for Big Blue in the past. 

Best: Thinking Past the Eli Manning Era

As Giants fans, we hate to even entertain the idea of Eli Manning not quarterbacking the G-Men. However, at the age of 32, those days are closer than we think.

I thought drafting Ryan Nassib was a smart move for the Giants. Nassib has great size (6'3", 228 pounds) and was a durable and reliable quarterback at Syracuse.

In his three complete seasons leading the Orange offense, Nassib threw for 67 touchdowns to just 27 interceptions and sported a completion percentage above 60 percent.

Learning from one of the best in the game today in Manning will only help the young QB blossom into an eventual NFL starter, hopefully for the Giants.

The 2013 quarterback class wasn't a highly touted class, but Nassib could emerge as the cream of the crop in the Giants' system.

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