Giants' Early Report Card for Most Impactful Offseason Decisions

The New York Giants entered the offseason with a ton of work to do. The franchise was seeking a new front office and a fresh start after five consecutive losing seasons.

The Giants also faced a tough cap situation, which led to the release of several players, including tight end Kyle Rudolph, running back Devontae Booker and punter Riley Dixon. Linebacker Blake Martinez agreed to take a pay cut to stay in New York. Wide receiver Sterling Shepard has also agreed to restructure his contract in order to free up cap space.

We're now a week into 2022 free agency, and while the Giants haven't been especially active, they have made a few moves.

Let's analyze three of the biggest decisions New York has made this offseason and grade them based on factors like value and potential impact.

Hiring GM Joe Schoen and Head Coach Brian Daboll

John Minchillo/Associated Press

The Giants decided to pluck their new front office from the Buffalo Bills, and it wasn't a bad strategy. Buffalo has recently cast aside years of futility to become one of the best teams in the AFC, and Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll were part of the turnaround.

New Giants general manager Schoen spent five seasons as Buffalo's assistant GM. Daboll spent four years as the Bills offensive coordinator before taking the head-coaching job in New York. Both know what it takes to build a successful franchise out of the proverbial ashes—Buffalo hadn't been to the playoffs this century before the 2017 season—and are well-suited to lead New York's turnaround.

We haven't gotten to see Schoen make many personnel moves because of the cap situation, but he's been calculated. Daboll, meanwhile, seems to be a perfect fit for the Giants and quarterback Daniel Jones.

With the Bills, Daboll helped Josh Allen go from being a talented-but-raw dual threat to being one of the best quarterbacks in the entire league. He's already working to build an offense that augments what Jones does well.

"Him asking for my ideas and some of the things that I've liked to run...was cool," Jones told ESPN's Jordan Raanan.

There's a lot left to prove here, but this is also the most sensible front-office paring New York has hired in years.

Grade: B+

Signing Tyrod Taylor

Justin Rex/Associated Press

While the plan is to develop Jones into a legitimate franchise signal-caller, the Giants needed a Plan B. They got it by signing Tyrod Taylor to a modest two-year, $11 million deal.

Taylor is about as good of an insurance policy as New York could have hoped for. He has 53 starts on his resume, has gone 26-25-1 as a starter and was even a Pro Bowler in 2015. Taylor also fits the scheme Daboll is likely to craft in New York this season.

Jones is a mobile and athletic quarterback, and Daboll is likely to utilize his traits as he did with Allen. This means that designed runs, run-pass options and play action should be staples of the playbook. Taylor is also a dual threat who has 2,001 rushing yards on his resume.

Should the Giants need to rely on their backup—as they did for six games this past season—they shouldn't have to alter the playbook much, if at all.

Plus, having Taylor under contract for two years is big. If Jones doesn't pan out, Taylor can serve as a bridge for an as-yet-undrafted quarterback. That's just smart roster planning.

Grade: A-

Signing Mark Glowinski

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Like the Taylor signing, the addition of Mark Glowinski may fly under the radar for many fans. The former Indianapolis Colts and Seattle Seahawks guard isn't a household name, but he's a quality interior lineman who should immediately aid the Giants offense.

While Glowinski is a better run-blocker than he is a pass protector, he was responsible for only two sacks allowed and two penalties in 2021, per Pro Football Focus. He played 81 percent of the snaps in 2021 and 100 percent of them in both 2019 and 2020.

Rebuilding the offensive line was a must. New York averaged just 4.0 yards per carry last season, while Jones was under pressure on 23.3 percent of his dropbacks. Adding Glowinski is a strong first step in the right direction.

New York also signed Jon Feliciano and will likely use one of its first-round draft picks (Nos. 5 and 7) on a lineman. But the Giants got a starting-caliber guard at a bargain price when they signed Glowinski to a three-year, $18.3 million deal.

Grade: B+

Contract information via Spotrac. Advanced statistics from Pro Football Reference unless otherwise noted.