The New York Giants' surprising 2022 season ended with a thud in a 38-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs. Still, this season was a smashing success for the Giants and first-year head coach Brian Daboll. Many expected New York to be in the league's basement once again this season, and they wound up making the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and winning a playoff game for the first time since 2011.
If the Giants continue their upward trend, then this season will be just a taste of what's to come. New York is still a very young team, and another year of development could go a long way. Additionally, they have the third-most cap space in the league this offseason with over $54 million to work with, so they could easily add some talent in free agency.
With that in mind, here are three moves the Giants must make to become Super Bowl contenders next season.
3. Giants must improve the run defense
If there's one thing the loss to Philadelphia showed, it's that New York's run defense needs work. The Eagles ran all over the Giants on Saturday, racking up 268 yards on the ground. In fact, they had a poor run defense all season, finishing 27th in the league with 144.2 yards allowed per game.
New York's defensive line is pretty good, featuring Dexter Lawrence, Leonard Williams and Kayvon Thibodeaux. However, the linebackers and secondary could certainly use some work. If they can, the Giants should add a player or two at these positions whose main specialty is shutting down the run. They're going to have to compete with Jalen Hurts and the run-dominant Eagles for a while, so it's best to get ahead of the problem.
2. The Giants need a true WR1
Considering what the Giants were working with at wide receiver, it's incredible they made it as far as they did. This group was already subpar, but injuries to Sterling Shepherd and Wan'Dale Robinson only further sunk it. Despite a career year from Daniel Jones, New York finished 26th in passing offense, largely due to lackluster receiver play.
If the Giants want to become a true contender, they need to get some solid pass catchers. After resigning their players, the Giants should use their cap space to sign a wideout on the free agent market. There are some quality receivers about to become free agents, such as Allen Lazard or JuJu Smith-Schuster. Alternatively, they could go for the big fish and trade for DeAndre Hopkins. No matter what they choose, the Giants need to do something to put more weapons around Jones.
1. Re-sign Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley
Speaking of Jones, it is absolutely critical that the Giants re-sign him and running back Saquon Barkley. Both are about to hit free agency, and considering the seasons they just had, the Giants would be foolish to let them go for nothing.
After years of questions about his viability in the NFL, Jones had a career year in 2022. He posted career-highs in completion percentage, passing yards, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns, and he cut down on the turnovers that plagued him earlier in his career. Barkley also bounced back after back-to-back injury-riddled seasons, posting 1,312 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.
Jones and Barkley helped the Giants get to this point in the first place. New York must resign these two to keep building on what they established this season.
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