Cover photo taken from Pro Football Network.
Welcome to 32 Teams in 32 Days, a daily series leading up to kickoff of the 2025 NFL season where I preview every team in the league as decided by a wheel spin and project what their season will look like. You can keep up with everything right here.
Our first venture outside of the NFC West takes us to the Big Apple with the New York Football Giants. And I’m going to level with you guys here — it will not be easy to be nice to this team.
2024 was one of the worst seasons in Giants history as a franchise record 10-game losing streak led to cutting ties with $60 million QB Daniel Jones and a drab 3-14 record.
Let’s get the ugliness out of the way. As detailed by what’ll likely be the lone version of the offseason’s Hard Knocks, the Giants let their two best players in RB Saquon Barkley and S Xavier McKinney walk in order to uphold the Daniel Jones era only for Barkley to win Offensive Player of the Year and be the best player on the Super Bowl-winning Eagles while McKinney led the league in interceptions in Green Bay. Oh, and GM Joe Schoen couldn’t take his own son’s advice and make a move for a QB in the draft, though I doubt any teams in the top-3 would’ve budged.
So, they already went into the season behind the 8-ball. And boy, did it show. In the EPA/play department, New York finished 28th on offense and 29th on defense. Shuffling between Jones, Tommy DeVito and Drew Lock under center, they finished 31st in dropback success rate and scoring, only in front of the Browns in each department. Not the greatest company to keep.
The worst part? A meaningless win against the Colts in Week 17 threw away their chance at the No. 1 overall pick, dropping them to No. 3 to miss out on QB Cam Ward or the Heisman-winning unicorn Travis Hunter.
That being said, I do think New York made out of the draft with arguably its best player in Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter, who promises to be Micah Parsons 2.0. He rounds out what could be a top-5 defensive line in football, paired up with Brian Burns while Dexter Lawrence holds down the middle. And, for what it’s worth, I liked the Giants’ offseason on defense; Jevon Holland was a great pickup to replace McKinney — albeit a year too late — and Paulson Adebo was brought in to complement Dru Phillips and bolster a secondary that has missed on countless draft picks like Deonte Banks and Tyler Nubin.
But the real story of the offseason was on the other side of the ball, as it seemingly always is under supposed offensive guru Brian Daboll. With Jones now in Indianapolis, Daboll and Schoen have been given one last shot to figure this out and prove that 2022 wasn’t a fluke. And they have put their faith in… Russell Wilson? Jameis Winston? Maybe not exactly. Russ is in town for one last ride, now on his fourth team in the last five years to be a stopgap for Ole Miss product Jaxson Dart, who the Giants traded back into the first round to select at No. 25 overall. Dart fits the mold for what Daboll wants far more than a 36-year old Wilson, but it’ll be a while before he sees the field. He still has a long way to go as a prospect, and Russ was always going to be the guy to get the ball rolling in the first couple of months.
Regardless of what happens at QB, the rest of the offense isn’t much to look at. Leading the charge is last year’s first-round WR Malik Nabers, who proved his worth with a ridiculous debut campaign, racking up 109 catches — second-highest tally in history for rookies behind Brock Bowers — 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns with horrible QB play. Darius Slayton has proven himself as a solid complement to Nabers as well and decided to run it back in New York this season. And Tyrone Tracy had a solid rookie season of his own to emerge as the lead back, but not exactly a Saquon Barkley replacement (who is, anyways?). Wan’Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt have potential, but there’s no clear WR3 in the building. Andrew Thomas has proven himself to be a top-tier left tackle, but the rest of the line leaves a ton to be desired.
With QB play having a low ceiling or and an incredibly low floor and the rest of the roster continuing to lack in clear, blue-chip talent outside of Thomas and Nabers, things aren’t going to get better overnight in New York. Combine that with a brutal schedule, and the Giants could be staring down the barrel of another abysmal season. Daboll and Schoen’s seats are scorching.
X-Factor: QB Jaxson Dart
But not in the way you might think. The reason I list Dart as an X-factor is because a lot of jobs rely on his success this season. Let’s say he takes over the starting job in Week 6. If he performs similar to Drake Maye last season with no eye-popping stats but clear talent and an ability to make plays, that’s a success. If he exceeds expectations and puts together a solid season for himself, that’s even better. He’s not going to be Jayden Daniels or CJ Stroud, but no one is. But for the Giants to have made the deal they did to get Dart, it has to work. It’s the last trick that Daboll can pull before being shipped off to be an offensive coordinator somewhere. I have my doubts about it working sheerly based on the uphill climb facing New York this season, but it’s not impossible.
Team MVP: WR Malik Nabers
I already touched on it, but Nabers is truly a remarkable player. I had him as my WR2 in last year’s draft, but I didn’t expect this. For him to have the rookie season he did with the QBs he played with is a testament to his skills. He’s also the only real pass-catching threat on this team, which is proven by leading the NFL in target share last year with a whopping 34.9%. He’s big, long, athletic, ridiculously fast and aggressive at the catch point. There aren’t many corners who can take him one-on-one. When I watch him, I see Ja’Marr Chase 2.0. That speaks for itself. If Dart pants out, they could prove to be a very good duo for years. If not, he’ll still be a great outlet for Russ, who will surely be connecting with him on a number of deep shots this season. In any case, I’m thrilled to watch his sophomore campaign — just maybe not in Weeks 1 and 15.
Breakout Candidate: RB Tyrone Tracy
As I mentioned earlier, Tracy is a pretty solid back who flashed a lot of potential in 2024. With 839 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, he emerged as the lead RB over Devin Singletary by October, and it definitely gave this offense a boost in the run game. Again, he’s no Saquon, but he can definitely be the solidified RB1 in New York for the next several years. Despite the offensive line continuing to be a weakness, Tracy should take a leap this season as the full-time lead back. That being said, rookie Cam Skattebo could eat into that if he proves that he can play in the big leagues, which I still have questions about.
Record Prediction: 2-15
This isn’t an indictment on how poor this roster or coaching staff is. This is more about the absolute gauntlet of a schedule. Just go take a look at it, then come back here and tell me I’m wrong. The NFC East has to play the NFC North and AFC West this season, which is awful news for the Giants in particular as those other two divisions are pretty good at the bottom. Oh, and they have to play San Francisco, who finished fourth last year, but should be much improved. There genuinely might not be a Giants win until the calendar year 2026. Their best chances are at New Orleans in Week 5, at Vegas in Week 17 and the finale against Dallas in Week 18. I gave them the Raiders win, and for some reason I have them beating Minnesota in Week 16 as well. There’s gotta be Ws in there somewhere. But if the Giants become the first team to ever go 0-17, do not color me surprised. Another top draft pick is on the fast track to the Big Apple.
Next up: 
Cincinnati Bengals
Raza Talks Sports 