ORLANDO, Fla. — Giants Coach Brian Daboll is entering a critically important season, largely because his offense has mostly underwhelmed the past two years.
Regardless of who plays quarterback for the Giants in 2024 – Daniel Jones or his high draft pick replacement – one thing remains clear: The Giants have a ton of questions about their offensive weapons.
They just lost star running back Saquon Barkley to the Eagles in free agency. Tight end Darren Waller, who struggled while debuting with the Giants last season, is considering retirement. And Daboll still doesn’t have a true No. 1 wide receiver.
These are major issues – and why some observers think the Giants might take a receiver like Rome Odunze or Malik Nabers (and not a quarterback) at No. 6. Even if Waller does return, the Giants can’t count on him to be a top threat.
Daboll was mostly evasive (about everything) Tuesday morning during his media session at the NFL’s annual meeting. But for what it’s worth, he did express confidence in the Giants’ young receivers, Wan’Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt.
This Giants regime – Daboll and General Manager Joe Schoen arrived together in 2022 – drafted Robinson in Round 2 two years ago and Hyatt in Round 3 last year. They’ll need a lot more production from both players in 2024. The Giants’ receiving yardage leader last season was Darius Slayton (770 and four touchdowns). He’ll return in 2024. Then came Waller (552 and one), Robinson (525 and one), and Hyatt (373 and zero). Barkley had 280 and four.
Not exactly an elite returning group, regardless of Waller’s status. The Giants in 2022 finished 22nd in Pro Football Focus’ offensive ratings. In 2023, amid significant quarterback and line injuries, they were 31st.
“I really think some of those young receivers – when you take a holistic view of it – did some really good things (last season),” Daboll said. “Maybe the production wasn’t exactly what any of us would like. But I thought their quickness and their speed and some of their instinctive-ness have showed up. So it’ll be good to continue to work with them and build them.”
As Daboll noted Tuesday, Robinson’s 2023 season – even though he played 15 games – was impacted by a late November torn ACL in 2022.
“He’ll be healthy in the offseason (now),” Daboll said.
As for replacing Barkley – which is a tall order – Schoen unsurprisingly did not make a big-swing move. He signed Devin Singletary to what is essentially a two-year, $11.25 million contract, putting more resources into edge rusher and the offensive line.
Which means lots of lingering questions for Daboll’s weapons.
BRONCOS: Denver is signing former Detroit wide receiver Josh Reynolds to a two-year, $14 million free agent contract, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Reynolds’ signing continues a makeover of the Broncos’ offense that included trading away former first-round pick Jerry Jeudy to Cleveland for a pair of mid-round draft selections. Reynolds, who caught 40 passes for 608 yards and five touchdowns last season for the Lions, joins a receiving corps that features Marvin Mims Jr., Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick, who has missed each of the last two seasons with injuries.
PANTHERS: Carolina bolstered its pass rush, agreeing to terms with veteran free agent Jadeveon Clowney, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft.
Clowney, 31, agreed to a two-year, $20 million contract worth up to $24 million with incentives, according to a person familiar with the situation.
JAGUARS: A registered sex offender who worked for the Jacksonville Jaguars football team lost his job for not disclosing his offender status — then he hacked the Jumbotron, federal officials said.
What investigators found when they searched his devices led to a sentence of 220 years in federal prison.
Samuel Arthur Thompson, 53, of St. Augustine was found guilty on charges related to possessing, receiving and producing child sex abuse material, violating registration and notification requirements as a sex offender, sending damaging commands to a protected computer, and possessing a firearm as a felon, officials said.
Thompson was hired to work on the Jaguars’ Jumbotron in 2013, but he didn’t tell his employers he was convicted of a sex offense in 1998 in Alabama, officials said. Five years went by before his employers eventually learned of his status and decided not to renew his contract.
Before he stopped working for the Jaguars, Thompson is accused of installing software that would enable him to control the Jumbotron remotely. Then he used that software to hack into the Jumbotron for three games in the 2018 season, causing the video to malfunction, photos show.
Investigators were able to trace the hack to Thompson’s home, and they seized his electronic devices when executing a search warrant in July 2019, officials said in a criminal complaint.
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