5 NY Giants Who Are Delivering the Biggest Bang for the Buck

Everyone loves a bargain, especially NFL teams, such as the New York Giants, who have had their share of struggles with getting a solid return on investment from some of their free-agency signings. 

While it’s natural for fans to want teams to make the “sexy” moves—signing the big-name free agents—sometimes signing the less-obscure players for reasonable contracts turns out to be what gets the real MVPs.

This year, general manager Jerry Reese and Company did a solid job of signing several guys to reasonable contracts.

Those players have proved to be leaders in the locker room and on the field. They have shown themselves to be hungry as they strive for one common goal: a chance for the championship.

Here is a look at five of the most underrated players signed by New York this offseason who thus far are proving to deliver the maximum bang for the buck in the Giants' 3-2 season.

All player salary information is via Over the Cap. All quotes and observations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Defensive End Robert Ayers Jr.

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Contract: two years, $3.75 million with $1.73 million in guaranteed money

Average per year: $1.875 million

Contract rank: 43rd highest of 98 4-3 defensive end contracts

When the Giants and defensive end Justin Tuck failed to reach an agreement on a contract that would have likely ensured that Tuck retired as a Giant, the team signed Robert Ayers, who had played with the Denver Broncos last year, to fill the void.

Per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the drop in production between Tuck, last year’s seventh-best 4-3 defensive end, and Ayers, the 14th-best at his position, wasn’t that steep considering Ayers was credited for playing in 514 snaps to Tuck’s 896.  

So what has Ayers, who surprisingly not been promoted to the starting lineup yet, done this season for the Giants?

In short, he has done everything asked of him and then some.

According to his weekly PFF grades, Ayers has consistently graded out on the plus side of the ledger, not just overall but also in both run and pass defense.

In 162 snaps played, he has nine tackles, two sacks, two tackles for a loss, three quarterback hits and one pass defensed.

He is also currently the third-best Giants defender, with a 10.7 grade, second only to Jason Pierre-Paul (14.4) and Johnathan Hankins (10.9) while also being well-ahead of Mathias Kiwanuka (minus-3.7), the latter of whom is starting ahead of Ayers.

The real value of Ayers, though, is that his aggressive style of play has often resulted in him opening things up for others to make plays, such as in the Week 4 game against Washington when he seemed to set up a second home in the opponent’s backfield.

Ayers might not have the numbers to show the type of impact he has made, but make no mistake about it. His play has been solid and consistent from Week 1 onward, which has made the fact he is now wearing Tuck’s old No. 91 jersey a little easier to digest.

Cornerback Zack Bowman

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

Contract: one year, $795,000, no roster bonus

Average per year: $795,000

Contract rank: 98th highest of 203 cornerback contracts

Cornerback Zack Bowman, a six-year NFL veteran, is probably one of the most underrated free-agent signings made by the Giants this season.

A noted special teams player, Bowman is in his first season with the Giants after spending the first five years of his career with the Chicago Bears.

Bowman’s biggest contribution thus far has been behind the scenes where, according to Conor Orr of NJ Advance Media, the former Nebraska standout has brought some swagger and aggressiveness to the Giants' defensive backfield that defensive coordinator Perry Fewell couldn’t wait to deploy.

"We talked, and he knew the family I came from," Bowman told Orr. "He knew I came from (former Bears head coach Lovie Smith), he knew I played with Peanut Tillman and Tim Jennings for a long period of time and that there was a reputation there.

"Hell, I had six picks one year. So coming here, (Fewell) said, ‘Hey, man. We need that same mindset as you had in Chicago.’ So of course, when these guys pop on film, I want to see them making plays."

In particular, Bowman, who has started 22 games in his career, has taken former college teammate Prince Amukamara under his wing, telling me for Inside Football that he often pulls Amukamara aside to teach him the little things that most cornerbacks might overlook.

“He’s very receptive because they’re small things I teach him to try to help him out and put him in better positions so he’s able to make more plays,” Bowman said of Amukamara. “At the end of the day, that’s the objective because the more plays he makes, the more we win.”

Whatever advice Bowman has given Amukamara, it has been paying off for the No. 9-ranked cornerback on Pro Football Focus’ list of corners who have played in 60 percent of their team’s defensive snaps.

As for his on-field contributions, Bowman has four tackles and one pass defensed in 38 defensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus, and one tackle on special teams.

Running Back Rashad Jennings

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

Contract: four years, $10 million, including a $2.25 million signing bonus

Average per year: $2.5 million

Contract rank: 31st highest of 165 running backs contracts

The Giants completely renovated their running back rotation by signing Rashad Jennings to start and by drafting Andre Williams in the fourth round to go along with their 2012 first-round pick, David Wilson.

Unfortunately, the plans for the three-headed monster didn’t quite work out due to Wilson’s neck injury making it too high of a risk for him to continue playing football. 

So Jennings, who has 478 carries for 2,073 yards in 58 games, was promoted to the No. 1 running back position on the team and hasn’t disappointed since.

Per Pro Football Focus, Jennings is the 11th-highest-graded running back in the league through five games.

So far this season, Jennings has run the ball 91 times for 396 yards, a healthy 4.4 yards per carry with two rushing touchdowns.

Where Jennings has really been a blessing for the Giants is that he is not susceptible to those ankle tackles that easily used to bring down those who played the position for the Giants in recent years.

Of his 396 yards, 204 have come after initial contact. He has also broken nine tackles so far, per PFF.

Jennings has also caught 11 of the 13 pass targets thrown his way for 109 yards. Add it all up, and he has 505 all-purpose yards, tops among the Giants skill-position players.  

Unfortunately, Jennings, who was spotted in a knee brace and walking with a heavy limp, looks like he will miss at least the upcoming game due to a sprained MCL suffered last week against the Atlanta Falcons.  

Linebacker Jameel McClain

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

Contract: two years, $4.5 million, $600 guaranteed

Average per year: $2.25 million

Contract rank: 29th highest of 93 inside linebacker contracts 

When a team has a cerebral player at linebacker who can deliver the goods at all three positions at a high level, that’s a true bargain.

That’s what the Giants have in linebacker Jameel McClain, who whenever he’s asked by reporters what role he will be playing that weekend, grins and says, “Linebacker.”

Originally projected to replace Keith Rivers on the strong side, McClain, who spent the first six years of his career as a member of the Baltimore Ravens, slid over to the middle linebacker spot when starter Jon Beason suffered a toe injury on June 12.

A gritty survivor who at one point in his life lived in a shelter, McClain has infused passion and excitement to a Giants linebacker unit that often let out a loud “Wooo” whenever it broke the huddle during training camp. 

McClain, who has started four out of the Giants’ five games so far, has 31 tackles, half a sack and two passes defensed.

Pro Football Focus has credited him with four quarterback hurries and eight stops for zero or negative yardage in five games.

In addition to being a key contributor, McClain brings a refreshingly modest perspective to his role, which while one of leadership is not how he would describe things. 

“I don’t play with the ‘leader’ word as much as everyone else,” he told me during training camp. “I believe everyone has something in them that everyone else can follow, so in that sense, everyone’s a leader.”

Maybe so, but not everyone has delivered the bang for the buck that McClain has delivered so far.

Offensive Lineman John Jerry

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

Contract: one year, $795,000 with $25,000 fully guaranteed

Average per year: $795,000

Contract rank: 62nd highest of 121 offensive guard contracts

John Jerry, who is currently the starting right guard, is the lowest-paid of the Giants offensive linemen.

Regardless, he has proved to be well-worth his weight—all 340 pounds of him—in gold.

Having put behind him the embarrassing episode in which he was named as part of the Ted Wells report investigating the Miami Dolphins workplace scandal last year, Jerry has been a model citizen for the Giants.

He stepped into the starting rotation when a preseason toe injury suffered by guard Geoff Schwartz and the sudden retirement of Chris Snee forced the Giants to rethink their plans at the position. 

Per Pro Football Focus, Jerry has yet to allow a sack and has only allowed five quarterback pressures with no hits.

Presumably when Schwartz comes off the injured reserve-designated to return list in a few weeks, Jerry will probably be the one who goes back to the bench, where he would be the first one called if there is an injury at guard or tackle.