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The New York Giants know that the 2025 NFL season is hugely important for the future of the franchise. Giants owner John Mara made the decision to bring Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen back this offseason. But it was clearly a close decision and both are now firmly on the hot seat. If the Giants do not have a winning season in 2025, both head coach and GM will likely be fired. And plenty of additional changes would come to the Giants organization.
Daboll and Schoen seem to clearly understand the stakes of the 2025 season. And they approached the offseason with an appropriate sense of urgency.
The Giants made a ton of big moves over the past few months. They almost completely rebuilt their quarterback room, signing Russell Wilson and drafting Jaxson Dart. The Giants made other important additions on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball as well.
New York's roster looks better on paper. But how the team gels together during training camp, the preseason, and early in the regular season could determine their fate this year.
But which new players will have the biggest impact in 2025? And will any single Giants player make a big difference all by themselves?
Below we will explore one Giants player who could make or break their 2025 NFL season.
The addition of Jevon Holland could unlock New York's defense
The addition of Jevon Holland may be one of the most underrated signings of this entire offseason. For any NFL team.
The Giants signed Holland to a three-year, $45.3 million contract during NFL free agency this spring.
Holland was a standout player with the Dolphins during his rookie contract. He is a capable defender both defending the run and covering the pass. His coverage skills are what NFL coaches expect from a starting free safety.
Holland's play fell off a bit during the 2024 season, but partially because he was phased out of Miami's defense. Reading between the lines, it seemed like the Dolphins knew they would not retain him after the season. Therefore, they decided to give other players a chance instead of him.
Holland will join Tyler Nubin to create an excellent safety duo on the back end of New York's defense.
When looking at the totality of what New York added on defense this offseason, I think Holland could be the piece that unlocks a new level of play for the Giants.
New York added Abdul Carter and Darius Alexander on the defensive line, as well as Paulson Adebo at cornerback.
The Giants now have a scary front seven with Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, and Carter all getting after the quarterback. Don't forget about Kayvon Thibodeaux either.
New York ranked in the top 10 in sacks (45) in 2024, but I think they can do even better in 2025.
Adding Abdul Carter puts additional stress on New York's opponents. That stress could be compounded if opposing quarterbacks cannot find open receivers because of strong coverage.
I believe the combination of an improved pass rush and coverage unit could make the Giants truly dangerous on defense.
The question becomes: how good will they be? And how far will the Giants get in 2025 as a result?
Can the Giants get to the playoffs in 2025 on the backs of their defense alone?
On paper, the Giants are set up to have one of the NFL's better defensive units.
But will New York play well enough on defense to make up for some of the question marks on the offensive side of the ball?
Realistically, this could end up being more of a question about New York's offense than its defense.
If the Giants do improve on defense, they will give their offense more opportunities to score points. In that sense, the defense (at best) could make up for New York's offense being less efficient.
Russell Wilson and the offense won't need to turn into the league's best offense overnight. Instead, if they play mistake-free football, they could win a lot of games because of their strong defense.
It isn't a big stretch to imagine the Giants making the postseason.
Wilson played well with the Steelers last season, putting up 2,482 yards with 16 touchdowns and only five interceptions. And that is with missing the first handful of games of the season.
New York could absolutely win enough games to earn a Wild Card berth with that kind of efficiency. Assuming it lasts the entire regular season, of course.
All of that said, I don't believe the Giants have a shot at winning the NFC East. The Cowboys, Commanders, and Eagles are some of the NFC's best teams and know the Giants well.
The Giants will get an early test when they open the regular season on the road against the Commanders.
