New York Giants- Free Agency Summary
By: Sean Scanlon
The New York Giants front office headed into this off-season with plenty of work to do. After hiring new head coach Joe Judge and his staff, the next task on the to-do list was to bring in quality players through free agency before the draft later this month. Having close to $80 million dollars in cap space to spend, the pressure was on general manager Dave Gettleman to make the right decisions in the best interest of the team. Especially after he was retained by Giants ownership, but former head coach Pat Shurmur was fired and the simple fact that the G-Men have failed to reach at least six wins in three consecutive seasons. Let’s take a look at the new players that Gettleman brought in, how they’ll fit in with the rest of the squad, and what they’ll bring to the table.
Cornerback James Bradberry, previously with the Carolina Panthers (three years, $43.5 million dollar contract): The Giants needed a proven veteran at the cornerback position to add to the young group that they already have and they got just that with James Bradberry. The former Panther is a big physical corner (6’1” 212 lbs) who should pair very well with second year corner back Deandre Baker, who will be playing on the opposite side. Although he’ll be just 27 years old this upcoming season, Bradberry has plenty of experience in the NFL starting all 60 of the games he played in during his four years in Carolina. He is also very battle-tested, having matched up against some of the best receivers in the NFL including Julio Jones, Michael Thomas and Mike Evans twice a year playing in the NFC South. Some of his strengths include his press coverage, his solid open field tackling, and how he drives on underneath routes. The best skill that he possesses is his ability to disrupt catches at the point of attack. He has never had less than 10 pass deflections in any of his four seasons in the league. Where he struggles is with his speed. Bradberry has a tough time staying on top of fast receivers on deep routes downfield and he’s also vulnerable to double moves.
Inside linebacker Blake Martinez, previously with the Green Bay Packers (three years, $30 million dollar contract): New Giants linebacker Blake Martinez is the physical presence in the middle of the defense that the G-Men have been lacking for years now. Martinez will be reuniting with new Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. Graham was the linebackers coach in Green Bay in 2018 when Martinez had arguably the best season of his young career. The 26-year-old will help bolster an impressive run defense with quality run-stuffers Dexter Lawrence, Dalvin Tomlinson and Leonard Williams already up front on the D-line. Martinez is a tackling machine. He leads all players in the NFL in combined tackles over the past three years with an absurd 443 tackles over that span. This includes having over 90 solo tackles in each of the past three seasons. Another strong aspect of his game other than his run defense is that he is a very good blitzer, especially when coming through the A-gap. He does an excellent job of timing up the snap of the ball and also using his hands to engage interior offensive lineman and shed them to get in the backfield. One flaw of his game is that he isn’t great in coverage when matching up with tight ends and running backs out of the backfield.
Outside linebacker Kyler Fackrell, previously with the Green Bay Packers (one year, $4.6 million dollar contract): Bringing in linebacker Kyler Fackrell is a perfect example of a low risk high reward signing. He is not the superstar pass rusher many Giants fans were hoping for this free agency, but he has proven that when given the opportunity that he is a very solid option to get after the quarterback. Given the only pass rushers currently on the roster with any experience are youngsters Lorenzo Carter and Oshane Ximines, Fackrell will more than likely be starting at one of the outside backer positions. He relies on his speed to win against tackles on the edge. The new Giant also has the ability to drop back into coverage when asked and he is serviceable defending against the run. Fackrell had his breakout season in 2018 when he recorded 10.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss and 12 QB hits. He wasn’t able to maintain these numbers the following season though because the number of snaps he played fell off by over 200 from 623 in 2018 to 415 in 2019. This was due to the fact that Fackrell was playing behind two star edge rushers that the Packers signed in free agency prior to the 2019 season, Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith. Despite his sack production and playing time falling off in 2019, he was still efficient rushing the QB for the amount of time he played. Playing in just 40% of Green Bay’s defensive snaps, he still produced 10 QB hits and 12 QB pressures on the season.
Offensive tackle Cameron Fleming, previously with the Dallas Cowboys (one year, $4 million dollar contract): Cameron Fleming comes to the Giants after spending his first four seasons in New England and the past two in Dallas, primarily as a backup. During his career, he has logged snaps at both guard positions and both tackle positions, but hasn’t played at guard since his second year and is better suited as a tackle. Fleming’s role in the NFL has been as a swing tackle and he’s shown he has the ability to step up when needed to. He’s started 26 games in his six years in the league when his previous teams starting lineman couldn’t play due to injury. I fully expect that the Giants will pick an offensive tackle with one of their first two picks in this upcoming draft and that would mean Fleming would most likely reprise his role in New York as a swing tackle. However, if the Giants don’t go this route and stay put with the options they currently have on the roster, Fleming would have a chance to start at the right tackle position competing with Nick Gates for the spot. In pass protection, he has good footwork for as big as he is (6’6” 320 lbs) but gets caught off balance too often and lunges at times. In the run game, he’s a very powerful blocker but sometimes struggles to get up to the second level and take on linebackers.
Tight end Levine Toilolo, previously with the San Francisco 49ers (two years, $6.2 million dollar contract): The Giants tight end room will be welcoming a new member this season, veteran Levine Toilolo. Toilolo will come in and add depth to the position group that includes Evan Engram and Kaden Smith. Even though he’ll most likely be the third tight end on the depth chart, he will still receive a decent amount of playing time as new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett likes to run a lot of two tight end sets in his offense. It also helps his cause that he is the best blocker of the three, although Smith is also pretty solid in this department. Toilolo uses his very large frame (6’8” 268 lbs) to excel as a physical run blocker and also hold his own when asked to help in pass protection. He is more of an extension to the offensive line than he is as a receiving threat. He has just 97 career receptions through his seven seasons in the league which averages out to less than 15 catches a year. Toilolo lacks explosive speed and isn’t a great route runner. One strength as a pass catcher he does possess though is that when he does get the ball in his hands he’s good at breaking tackles and is tough to bring to the ground.
Quarterback Colt McCoy, previously with the Washington Redskins (one year, $2.25 million dollar contract): After the retirement of Giants legend Eli Manning, it was apparent that the G-Men needed a veteran quarterback with experience to backup Daniel Jones. Colt McCoy fits this role very well. As much as Alex Tanney is liked in the Giants building, he’s not a QB you have faith in to step up if Jones were to go down with an injury. When it comes to McCoy though, he could be trusted to come in and still have the offense playing respectable ball if the situation presented itself. During McCoy’s nine years so far in the NFL he has appeared in 39 games, starting in 28 of them. In these appearances he’s completed 60.7% of his passes, thrown 29 touchdowns and posted a passer rating of 78.4. Colt McCoy is obviously no Eli Manning, but he is a solid backup QB to have in the room to help out Daniel Jones in any way he can and also to step up in the starting position if any injuries occur to the second year QB.
Safety Nate Ebner, previously with the New England Patriots (one year, $2 million dollar contract): Nate Ebner will be joining the Giants to help strengthen the special teams unit. Ebner is a core special teamer, who will be following new head coach Joe Judge from New England to New York. Judge was part of the Patriots special teams coaching staff since Ebner first entered the league in 2012, so they have plenty of familiarity with each other. He will figure to see lots of playing time on this unit having played 70% or more of the snaps on special teams for New England in four of the last five seasons. Ebner plays safety but will be nothing more than a depth piece on the bench playing behind Jabrill Peppers and Julian Love. He has logged a grand total of just one snap on defense in the past three years.
Running back Dion Lewis, previously with the Tennessee Titans (one year, $1.55 million dollar contract): Having Saquon Barkley at running back is a luxury every team would love to have, but as great as he is, he can’t be on the field every play. It’s vital that he gets the occasional rest to make sure he’s not run into the ground. This is where a change of pace back like Dion Lewis will fit perfectly in this offense playing behind Saquon, especially for the amount the Giants were able to get him at. Lewis is small in stature (5’8” 195 lbs) but this doesn’t stop him from being a tough player to tackle. He is very elusive and slippery when he’s got the ball in his hands. The new Giant is at his best when running on the perimeter and when catching the ball out of the backfield. He’s not great at running between the tackles, but I don’t expect he’ll be asked to do this often. For his career, he’s averaged a solid 4.3 yards per carry on 538 rushes with 11 touchdowns on the ground. Lewis has also added 172 catches for 1,281 yards and 7 receiving TD’s during his seven seasons in the league. His best season came in 2017 with the Patriots when he had 1,110 yards from scrimmage, ran for 5 yards per carry on a career high 180 attempts, rushed for 6 touchdowns and had 3 receiving TD’s as well.
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Sean Scanlon appears on the podcast Jawing About the GMen, which you can subscribe to below.
