Jason Leach
Despite finishing 3-14 last season, some are predicting that the New York Giants will be one of the surprise teams in the NFL this season, because of the new additions that general manager Joe Schoen has made to the roster.
The 46-year-old general manager received high praise for the players he acquired in free agency and the draft. These players will be tasked with making 2025 a successful year and getting the franchise back on track. However, rejuvenating one of the marquee franchises in the league comes with considerable pressure.
With that in mind, here are the five new New York Giants who are under the most pressure to perform heading into the 2025 NFL season.
Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson has built a Hall of Fame resume during his 13 seasons in the NFL. He’s been voted to the Pro-Bowl ten times and has thrown for over 46,000 yards. In his last two seasons with the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers, he has thrown 42 touchdowns with just 13 interceptions.
Despite being 36 years old, the Giants are confident Wilson will continue to play at a high level and keep them in contention throughout the season. But if his performance on the field takes a dramatic step back, the team will be poised for another double-digit losing season, and he’ll eventually lose his starting job to rookie Jaxson Dart.
So far, he’s looked good early in training camp, but he and the team will be judged once the season starts. He’ll turn 37 in November, and if he has a subpar, you have to wonder if any team will show interest in him next year.
Abdul Carter
When you’re the third overall pick in a draft and the first edge rusher selected, this comes with great expectations and pressure. Abdul Carter is expected to have double-digit sacks and is the favorite to win Defensive Rookie of the Year.
The rookie edge rusher also put unnecessary pressure on himself when, earlier this year, he inquired about wearing Lawrence Taylor’s jersey, a player whom many consider the greatest defensive player of all time.
If Carter has a lackluster rookie season and doesn’t make an immediate impact, he’ll be scrutinized even more for wanting to wear LT’s number 56 jersey.
Jaxson Dart
Jaxson Dart’s training camp debut got off to a rough start as he threw a pick-six on his first pass in 11-on-11 drills. But mistakes are expected from rookies, and you don’t want to make a big deal out of what happened on the first day of training camp.
However, if the rookie quarterback doesn’t steadily improve as the summer progresses and makes mistakes in games, some will start to question if the team made a mistake trading back into the first round to take him. In addition, there’ll be concerns if he’s ready to take over as the full-time starter in 2026.
Paulson Adebo
Following Deonte Banks’ rough second season, Big Blue was in desperate need to acquire a number one corner. They believe that Paulson Adebo is the right guy for Shane Bowen’s defense, which is why they signed him to a three-year $54 million contract this offseason.
Adebo does have a knack for coming away with interceptions, as he has seven of them in his last 22 games. He did suffer a broken femur, which cut short his 2024 season after just seven games, and you never know how a player will respond after suffering a major lower leg injury. He’ll have the pressure of living up to the player he was before the injury.
Jevon Holland
The addition of Holland is supposed to give New York one of the best young safety tandems with him and Tyler Nubin. In his four years with the Miami Dolphins, Holland had 301 tackles, five interceptions, and five sacks. This led to New York signing him to a three-year $45.3 million contract in March.
Not all free agents can handle playing under the big lights of the biggest media capital in the world. So it will be interesting to see how the 25-year-old safety performs with high expectations of being one of Schoen’s biggest offseason signings.
