We’re a month away until the New York Giants report to training camp to begin their 100th season in the NFL and there’s a ton of intrigue surrounding the team. Especially on the offensive side of the ball with the departure of Saquon Barkley, and the arrival of sixth overall pick Malik Nabers.
In addition, the expectation is that head coach Brian Daboll will be the full-time play-caller this season after he was calling plays during OTAs. Offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Mike Kafka may have some influence on the designs, but the indication is that Daboll will run the show.
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The 49-year-old head will have a daunting task ahead of him as he looks to resurrect an offense that finished 29th in the NFL last season and averaged just 15.6 points per game. New York’s offense will certainly look different than it had in Daboll’s first two seasons in Gotham, and with that in mind, here’s a look at some new wrinkles we can expect to see from the offense this season.
More four wide receiver sets
One of the keys to having success in the NFL is utilizing your team’s biggest strength. With the departure of Barkley, the biggest strength of the New York Giants offense is in their wide receiver room.
The top four projected wide receivers on the depth chart are Nabers, Darius Slayton, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Jalin Hyatt. Nabers will be the team’s first true number-one wideout since Odell Beckham Jr. Darius Slayton is steady and reliable, Robinson is developing into one of the best slot receivers in the league, and Hyatt is the team’s deep play threat.
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With these players’ different skill sets, opposing defenses will have difficulties containing them. Expect the team to use more four wide receiver sets than in Daboll’s prior two seasons as coach, especially in light of Darren Waller’s retirement.
Running back by committee approach
Shortly after Barkley signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Giants signed Devin Singletary. Daboll is familiar with Singletary from their time together with the Buffalo Bills from 2019 to 2021. Although he trusts the 27-year-old back to be the starter, it doesn’t mean that Singletary will be the workhorse back the way Saquon Barkley was the last several seasons.
During his time as Bills offensive coordinator from 2018-2021, Daboll went with a running back by committee approach where the Bills did not have a back carry the ball more than 188 times in a season. Look for this strategy to resurface with the Giants this season, especially with the other running backs on the roster.
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Despite seldom playing last season, the team is high on last year’s fifth-round pick Eric Gray, and in this year’s draft, they selected Tyrone Tracy Jr in the fifth round and feel he will be a threat coming out of the backfield.
Singletary will start the game, but there’s a good chance as the season progresses, Daboll will go with a running back-by-committee approach or stick with whoever is the more effective. The team could go the entire season without a back having 20 carries in a game.
Malik Nabers will play the role of Stefon Diggs in New York’s offense
Some are expecting the Nabers can become the first Giant since OBJ in 2018 to 1,000 yards receiving. The rookie wideout will be the focal point of New York’s passing game, and Daniel Jones will throw him the ball early and often.
Daboll knows how much the addition of a big-play receiver can impact a team and quarterback. He witnessed this in 2020 when the Bills traded for Stefon Diggs, and quarterback Josh Allen would set career highs in passing yards, touchdowns, and quarterback rating. This would be the beginning of Allen emerging as one of the upper-echelon quarterbacks in the NFL.
Daboll is hoping the arrival of Nabers can bring out the best in Jones just as the arrival of Diggs brought out the best in Allen. Ironically Nabers and Diggs are similar in stature. Diggs is listed as 6’0 191 pounds and Nabers is listed as 6’0 200 pounds. Now the question is, will the rookie wideout be as productive as Diggs?
Nabers showed flashes of his brilliance and big-play potential during OTAs. Although the team has other talented receivers when a play needs to be made, Nabers will be the go-to guy, and Daboll will make it a priority to get him involved early and often.
The offense will move at a quicker pace
If you watched the Giants practice, you know that Daboll emphasizes the team hurrying to the line of scrimmage and getting the play in before the play clock expires.
He’ll continue to have the team work on this on the first day of training camp next month, until the last practice of the season. He knows the quicker the play gets in and the team is at the line of scrimmage, the better their chances are of seeing a weakness in the defense and exploiting it.