The Giants have been active to start free agency, though they haven’t yet made the big move for which everyone in the New York/New Jersey is waiting with bated breath.
They are in pursuit of Pro Bowl wide receiver Kenny Golladay, meeting with him in East Rutherford Thursday night, but no deal had been reached as of yet.
Still, there general manager Dave Gettleman has made plenty of moves worth processing.
We focused on the eight biggest ones they’ve made thus far (apologies to Cullen Gillaspia):
Deal: One year, veteran salary benefit (likely $987,000 cap hit)
Thoughts: A smart signing from the Giants, at minimal (quite literally) cost and a player that should legitimately help on defense next season. Ragland will at least be an upgrade over David Mayo and Devante Downs, who were the top backups at inside linebacker last season and struggled when given too many snaps. Ragland is good enough to split some snaps next to Blake Martinez with promising second-year player Tae Crowder.
Even if Ragland isn’t great in coverage, he’s a sure tackler. Quality addition for depth without breaking the bank.
Grade: A-.
Deal: Two years, $14 million
Thoughts: My initial reaction to this signing was a bit harsh, admittedly, but the puzzling part of this deal is how much money the Giants will be paying Rudolph, especially as the team, it seems, intends to keep Evan Engram on the roster too. Rudolph is a large man (6-6, 265), quality blocker, sure-handed receiver, red zone threat and respected leader. But he’s also relatively slow, clearly on the decline and only 31 years old. Rudolph was a Pro Bowler in 2017, and solid in 2018 (64 catches, 634 yards, 4 TD) and then his production took a nosedive.
He has 701 yards combined (25 yards per game) the last two years, and only scored one touchdown in 2020. And that was in an offense where Kirk Cousins threw 35 touchdowns. In many ways, he’s an upgrade over Engram. But Engram might not be going anywhere either.
Ultimately, Rudolph will be a useful tool for Daniel Jones, which ultimately is the most important thing. Just the process behind signing him (money, circumstance) doesn’t make much sense.
Grade: B-.
Deal: One year, $1.35 million, per The Athletic’s Dan Duggan.
Thoughts: He’s an upgrade over Colt McCoy as a quarterback, though it’s still surprising that the Giants didn’t opt to bring him back. McCoy was a valued presence in the locker room and as a mentor for Daniel Jones. But Glennon has a much stronger arm, and wasn’t completely terrible in five starts for the Jaguars last year. They went 0-5, but he had seven touchdowns — only four fewer than Daniel Jones did in 14 games — and completed eight passes 20-plus yards downfield, per Pro Football Focus.
The Giants got a better player at a cheaper price than they paid McCoy in 2020. Not bad.
Grade: B+.
Deal: One year, $2.5 million
Thoughts: This is the sort of smart, bargain bin signing the Giants weren’t really making until Joe Judge came into the fold last year. Odenigbo is a young player (26), at a position of need (defensive end) that has shown flashes of potential in the past (seven sacks in 2019). It’s a lottery ticket with basically no risk.
The Giants trust in defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and defensive line coach Sean Spencer’s ability to get the most out of their defensive linemen, so there’s no reason to think they won’t work their magic with Odenigbo too.
Grade: A-.
Deal: Three years, $63 million
Thoughts: Grading this one is difficult. On one hand, Williams might be the Giants’ most important defensive player, especially coming off a 11.5-sack season, and they couldn’t afford to lose him. The Giants have had a habit of letting talented young players leave in free agency, but they didn’t do that here. He’s expensive, but relative to his position and production, it could’ve been worse than $21 million. Also, importantly, the Giants won’t go into the season with Williams playing on the franchise tag again, and in turn lowered his cap hit from $19.3 million to just $11 million.
On the downside … the Giants had next to no leverage in their negotiations with Williams because of the way they acquired him and everything that happened after that.
Gettleman traded two draft picks for Williams in 2019, when the Giants had no shot at the playoffs and he was set to become a free agent. When he only got one half-sack that season, they still were forced to franchise tag him to avoid losing him. So he made $16.1 million after a half-sack season, when he probably would’ve signed cheaper outright as a free agent.
Then, he went and had 11.5 sacks, making it impossible to sign him for anything less than the $19.3 million tag.
Ultimately, though, they got a cornerstone player, and kept him, which is worth celebrating.
Grade: B.
Deal: One year, $2.25 million
Thoughts: Another move like the Odenigbo one. There’s next to no risk for signing Ross, who might be one of the fastest players in the NFL. He was drafted 10th overall in 2017 on the heels of a 4.22-second 40-yard dash performance at the combine. He’s been a disappointment since then — 51 catches, 733 yards, 10 touchdowns in four years — and struggles with drops, but the talent is there and his speed can’t be taught.
If it works, the Giants look like geniuses. If not, nobody will fault them for trying.
Grade: A.
Deal: Two years, $6 million
Thoughts: The issue with this deal is more about the process and the cost than an indictment of the player. The Giants, on the first day of free agency, went out and more than doubled the salary of a player that has rushed for 432 yards combined the last two years. They jumped the gun on a backup running back, when the free agent market is often flooded with capable players of Booker’s caliber (if not better) deeper into the offseason.
They simply did not have to sign Booker, who will be 29 in May, this quickly, nor should they have done it.
As for Booker himself: He’s probably a downgrade as a runner from the younger Wayne Gallman, who broke out last year, but is an upgrade as a receiver. He had 99 catches the first three years of his career with the Broncos. Booker also has extensive experience on special teams, both as a returner and in coverage.
Grade: C-
DT Austin Johnson
Deal: One year, $3 million
Thoughts: Again, the Giants likely overpaid for a backup, but once they knew Dalvin Tomlinson wouldn’t be returning it became clear that, if Johnson returned, he’d play a larger role at nose tackle in 2021. He played 21% of the defensive snaps in 2020, a number which should grow quite a bit this year unless the Giants invest in another defensive lineman via free agency or the draft.
Grade: C.
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Zack Rosenblatt may be reached at zrosenblatt@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
