Can the Giants Actually Do This? A Measured Look at New York's Unexpected Path Back to Relevance

There is something deeply embedded in the DNA of New York Giants fans that makes them perpetually susceptible to hope. It is not naivety, mind you. It is something more substantial than that. It comes from memory. From 2007. From that impossible run through a twelve and four Patriots team in February. From the collective understanding that lightning can indeed strike in this league, and it happened to them once before in the modern era. So when I look at what Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen have attempted to construct over the last eighteen months, I find myself asking a question that feels almost reckless: what if this thing actually works?

Let me be absolutely clear about what we are discussing here. The Giants are not a Super Bowl favorite. They should not be. Las Vegas would laugh at us if we suggested such a thing. What I am talking about is something far more subtle and arguably more interesting to a serious student of the game. I am talking about a team that has genuinely closed the gap between themselves and the upper echelon of the NFC, a team that the right convergence of circumstances could carry much further than anyone in late August would reasonably expect.

To understand how we got here, we need to acknowledge what happened last year. The Giants went five and twelve. They were historically bad defensively. They could not stop the run. They could not generate consistent pressure. Their secondary looked like it was playing a different sport than the offensive coordinators they faced. And in many respects, the roster they inherited when Schoen and Daboll arrived was fundamentally broken. It was not just underperforming. It was structurally incapable of competing in 2023. So what have they done about it?

The offensive line has been completely reconstructed. When you look at the tape from last season compared to what is being built now, you are essentially looking at two different franchises from the trenches outward. The acquisition of Andrew Thomas's development, the addition of Jon Runyan and Jermaine Eluemunor, the overall philosophy of building a wall around Daniel Jones to give him time to operate, this matters immensely. It matters because Daniel Jones, whatever his flaws might be, cannot function in a phone booth. He needs clean pockets. He needs time to let plays develop. He has shown flashes over his career that suggest he can be a competent quarterback when given the proper infrastructure, and for the first time, that infrastructure actually exists.

And then there is the matter of the skill positions around him. Saquon Barkley coming home to the Giants is not just a narrative flourish, though it certainly is that. It is the acquisition of a generational talent at a position that the Giants had somehow managed to bungle for years. Barkley at thirty-one years old is still one of the most explosive runners in football. Watch the tape from his final season with the Eagles and understand that you are watching someone who runs like he has something to prove, which, of course, he does. The combination of Barkley in the backfield with an improved offensive line creates a foundation. It creates a way to move the ball on early downs without constantly asking your quarterback to win football games in the passing game.

The receiving corps, meanwhile, has undergone its own transformation. Malik Nabers is a generational talent. I do not use that term casually. I have watched enough tape on this young man to understand that he operates at a different level. His ability to create separation, to adjust his frame mid route, to find soft spots in coverage while still being a downfield threat, these are the hallmarks of someone who can genuinely change the complexion of an offense. When you pair Nabers with a healthy Sterling Shepard and a developing Wan'Dale Robinson, you have an receiving group that at least resembles something competitive in the modern NFL.

But here is where I want to pump the brakes slightly and engage in the sort of honest analysis that I think this moment requires. Offense is not where the Giants were completely broken last year. They were bad on offense, certainly, but they were historically, embarrassingly, call-your-grandmother-to-apologize bad on defense. The Cowboys have emerged as legitimate contenders in the NFC East. The Eagles remain the gold standard. The Washington Commanders are ascending. And the Giants have to convince us that their defensive infrastructure has genuinely improved.

The early returns here are encouraging but not yet conclusive. The Giants have made moves to address the pass rush situation. They have personnel that looks more athletic than what they deployed a year ago. But we are still waiting to see how it translates to actual football. When you look at the defensive front seven, you see promise. When you look at the secondary, you see questions. Cornerback depth remains a concern. The ability to pressure the quarterback from front four remains uncertain. These are not minor issues. These are the kinds of things that separate teams that make a run from teams that finish with more wins than a year prior but still miss the playoffs.

What intrigues me most about the Giants' potential is the coaching. Daboll has proven he can develop quarterbacks. His time with Josh Allen in Buffalo demonstrated that he understands how to extract performance from a signal caller and how to build an offense that functions within its limitations while still maintaining explosive potential. Schoen, meanwhile, has demonstrated patience and discipline in the acquisition process. He has not panicked. He has not overpaid for desperation. He has built thoughtfully.

Here is my actual thesis, and I want to land it carefully: the Giants have made legitimate improvements. They are no longer a historical laughingstock. If Barkley stays healthy, if Nabers develops as expected, if the offensive line actually provides the protection we think it will, and if the defense improves even to an average level, this team could absolutely find its way to eight or nine wins. From eight or nine wins, a team in the NFC East could absolutely make a run. Stranger things have happened. Indeed, we have seen them happen.

But here is what separates a team with eight or nine wins from a team that makes a Super Bowl run. It is consistency. It is depth. It is the ability to win games in multiple ways. It is the absence of critical injuries at crucial moments. The Giants have addressed their most pressing needs, but they have not created redundancy. They have not built the kind of organizational depth that makes a team bulletproof. One major injury to the defensive line, and suddenly they are back to being unable to pressure the quarterback. One injury to the offensive line, and the entire structure collapses.

So yes, watch the Giants. They are no longer a team to dismiss. But temper your expectations with the understanding that they are still in the early stages of a rebuild, and early stages do not win championships.