5 of the Most Underrated New York Giants from the 2014 Season
If you turned away from the New York Giants’ 2014 season—no one would blame you if you did—you probably missed the performances of a handful of players who didn’t make the papers very often but whose play certainly made a lot of noise.
The following slides pay tribute to those underrated players, recapping their contributions and projecting what kind of roles they might have in 2015 and beyond.
K Josh Brown
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When one mentions the Giants special teams, often the adjectives used aren’t favorable.
That is not, nor should be, the case with kicker Josh Brown.
The 35-year-old Brown, in his second season with the Giants but who just completed the first year of what Over the Cap lists as a two-year contract worth $2.5 million, converted a career-high 92.3 percent of his field goals. His two misses came on a blocked 29-yard attempt and a 42-yarder.
Brown, who per Pro-Football-Reference.com has made 34 career kicks of 50 or more yards, also converted all four of his long-distance field goals and made all 44 extra-point attempts. That's the eighth time in the last nine seasons he’s been perfect on his PAT tries.
He was also solid on kickoffs, booting 46 touchbacks while having just 32 kickoffs returned for an average of 18.3 yards per return. That’s excellent production from a man who is gearing up for his 13th NFL season in 2015.
What has been the key to Brown’s recent success? He told Jeff Roberts of The Record that being cut by the St. Louis Rams in 2011 was the best thing that could have happened to him:
"It was very humbling, and it was an opportunity for me to reevaluate my priorities and the things that needed to be addressed in my life that were unhealthy. It's been a long two years, but it really has helped me to get back to enjoying kicking. And I kind of rebuilt myself in the three-and-half months that I was off. Being cut was the kick-starter to starting to recognize the inadequacies of my character and allowed me to see the things I needed to improve on.
"
2015 Outlook
Brown is in no danger of being purged from the roster this offseason, not after the year he had. However, he is entering the final year of his contract and will turn 36 in the process.
While kickers can perform well into their 40s if they keep themselves in good shape, Brown is probably not a long-term solution for the Giants, especially since Brown is facing a personal dilemma regarding his future.
"I'd like to play until I'm ready to retire, but I have three children that I hardly see," Brown told Roberts. "That's becoming a very large issue."
FB Henry Hynoski
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Fullback Henry Hynoski didn’t get a lot of press in 2014. He probably should have, though, for many reasons.
First, the 26-year-old bounced back from not one, but two devastating injuries from the year before (knee and a fractured shoulder).
Facing a challenge to regain his 2012 form, Hynoski dedicated himself to training, telling me for B/R that one of his offseason goals last year was to reduce his body fat while maintaining enough of an anchor to hold up in the lead-blocking role.
Second, he was Pro Football Focus’ second-best overall fullback, behind Anthony Sherman of the Kansas City Chiefs, and the second-highest graded run-blocker with a 6.2 grade.
Third, although he didn't have a single pass thrown his way in 2014 (the first time that’s happened in his pro career), he did receive a career season-high seven carries, including four opportunities in the final five games of the season.
While not posting astonishing yardage, four of those carries went for first downs.
Fourth, Hynoski was one of the unsung heroes on kickoff coverage, according to Inside Football, who listed him as the “best blocker on kickoffs” and as a player who “made sound decisions.”
2015 Outlook
Despite all the positive attributes he brought to the table in the first year of the new West Coast offense, Hynoski saw his offensive snaps reduced from 428 in 2012, his last full 16-game season, to 209 in 2014, per PFF.
The reduction in his workload naturally brings up a question regarding what the Giants might do with the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent.
According to Over the Cap, Hynoski’s one-year, $1 million contract from last season paid him a base salary of $725,000.
Would the Giants be willing to invest even more in a position that seems to be fading from the offense’s landscape given the other needs it has and given its penchant for using a tight end more and more in situations where a fullback was used?
Hynoski certainly hasn’t done anything to not warrant being re-signed and might have even done enough to earn a two-year contract given his talents.
It will be interesting to see if the Giants agree or if they plan to use tight ends full-time to play the role of the fullback.
RB Orleans Darkwa
3 of 5
In head coach Tom Coughlin’s tenure with the Giants, rookie running backs almost never get onto the field right away—not unless the injury bug hits the unit hard.
That was the case in 2014 season, as the Giants lost David Wilson early in training camp, lost Peyton Hillis to a season-ending concussion in November and had to go a few weeks without starter Rashad Jennings.
Rookie Andre Williams, who got off to a slow start, seemed to be functioning well by the end of the season. But the most impressive rookie running back was one who wasn’t with the team during the spring or summer.
That would be Orleans Darkwa, who was signed off the Miami Dolphins practice squad in November after Hillis and Michael Cox (broken leg) were both lost for the season.
Darkwa not only picked up the team’s third-down playbook quickly enough to inspire the coaches’ confidence in him, he also made his presence felt on special teams, where he racked up seven tackles.
Getting back to the offensive side of the ball, the 22-year-old Darkwa had five carries in seven games played. He totaled 21 yards on the ground, including a 12-yard touchdown, and added two receptions for 17 yards.
While those numbers are far from being gaudy, they are still impressive enough for Darkwa, undrafted out of Tulane, for the coaches to perhaps envision what a this intriguing prospect might be able to contribute with full offseason and training camp under his belt.
2015 Outlook
Darkwa, who told me for B/R that he plans to train this offseason in Miami with a group of NFL players that will include fellow Giants running backs Jennings and Williams, and linebacker Jon Beason should be in training camp this summer.
While it is too soon to anoint him as the team’s new third-down back, there is no question that Darkwa, signed through 2015 at a reasonable $510,000 base salary, per Over the Cap, is someone to watch.
Given how quickly he picked up the offense and how well he executed it in his limited role, he would appear to have the inside track on a roster spot if he stays healthy.
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DE Kerry Wynn
4 of 5
When the final training camp cuts were announced, there was some minor outrage that the Giants decided to keep undrafted rookie defensive Kerry Wynn ahead of another undrafted rookie, defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles.
It didn’t help matters that Wynn not only made the 53-man roster instead of the practice squad, he was also inactive for the team’s first 11 games. That decision, at the time, seemed somewhat outrageous given that injuries were starting to pile up, yet a roster spot was being devoted to a player who couldn’t get on the field.
It turned out that the coaches knew something the rest of us on the outside didn’t regarding the development of the former Richmond defender. In the final five games, Wynn finished with 16 tackles, including two tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hits and one interception.
How good was Wynn in those final five games? Per Inside Football, Wynn looked right at home at the pro level as an edge defender against the run who had success against naked bootlegs and the read option.
2015 Outlook
If Mathias Kiwanuka’s contract is terminated, that will leave the Giants with just four defensive ends: Jason Pierre-Paul (assuming he is franchised or re-signed), Damontre Moore and Robert Ayers Jr.
Given that Wynn can line up at defensive end and at defensive tackle, he will almost certainly get an opportunity to compete for a bigger slice of the pie in Steve Spagnuolo’s new defense.
However, it might behoove Wynn to add some additional some strength to his 6’4”, 264-pound body. That would allow him to hold his ground better at the point of attack and to shed blockers.
CB Chandler Fenner
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As the Giants' punt coverage unit struggled to be an asset, one young player certainly did his part and did it well.
That young player is cornerback Chandler Fenner, a 24-year-old out of Holy Cross who just finished his second NFL season.
According to the Giants’ 2014 defensive statistics distributed to the media, Fenner finished with seven tackles on special teams, including five solo, the fourth-best mark on the team.
Unfortunately, Giants fans might remember Fenner more for being isolated one-on-one against Dallas receiver Dez Bryant in the first meeting of 2014 at Dallas.
With the game tied, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo connected with Bryant on a 3rd-and-6 for a 44-yard completion that would set up the go-ahead score.
"The kid tries really hard, but he just doesn't have a lot of experience," head coach Tom Coughlin told reporters after the game.
2015 Outlook
Ideally, the Giants will be able to re-sign unrestricted free-agent cornerback Walter Thurmond to re-join a starting unit that will include Prince Amukamara and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
That would then leave two projected openings for younger cornerbacks from a group that will include Fenner, an exclusive rights free agent who should be receiving a tender from the Giants, and Bennett Jackson, the latter being last year’s sixth-round draft pick who landed on the Practice Squad-Injured Reserve list.
All contract data via Over the Cap, unless otherwise sourced.
Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. Follow me on Twitter @Patricia_Traina.
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