Seattle Seahawks Week 5 scouting report versus the New York Giants

The Giants this season

So how has it all worked out?

1-3. A team that has some talent and fights hard but still finds itself struggling at key positions and often loses against opponents who simply have more firepower. The Giants were in position to win two of their three losses (against division rivals Washington and Dallas) but could not get it done. That has been a common refrain during much of the Daniel Jones era.

Jones has the talent to be a good quarterback. He has a plus arm and is a very good runner. But he rarely makes big plays at big moments (witness that Spoon pick last season.) Whether that is because he simply isn’t a good enough player or because he has been cursed with a below-average supporting cast is open to debate.

But at this point, it doesn’t really matter. Despite some roster improvements, Jones still doesn’t have nearly enough talent around him to get a read on how good he could be. The only thing for sure is that he isn’t good enough to elevate mediocre players. Only the best QBs in the league can do that, and Daniel Jones is not even close to that level.

This year, he has Singletary and Tracy behind him. Both are hard runners, but neither is a game-changer. On the outside, the Giants’ pass catchers are still inconsistent (Darius Slayton) or mediocre (everyone else.) With one enormous exception.

Malik Nabors, through four games, has proven to be the best wide receiver the Giants have had in years. The rookie is a genuine game-changer, the only one New York has on offense. He can go deep. He has a dynamite spin move on quick outs. He is dangerous every time he touches the ball. But he is still young and has had a couple of crucial drops late in close games that hurt the team.

The Giants have had one quality offensive lineman for the past several years – left tackle Andrew Thomas. That remains the case this season, at least so far. They hope promising younger players like center John Michael Schmitz and guard Jon Runyan will develop. About the best thing you can say about New York’s line right now is that they have stayed healthy. The five starters have played every snap together in the 2024 season.

The strength of the Giants team is found in the middle of the defense. The mammoth Dexter Lawrence may be the best interior D lineman in the entire NFL. Behind him, linebackers Bobby Okereke and Micah McFadden are very active. Jason Pinnock and the rookie Nubin have been solid at safety. Pinnock, in particular, has been a dangerous blitzer this season. The rookie on defense, Dru Phillips, when healthy, has been good in the slot.

But the Giants expect more from their defense. They should have an elite tandem of edge rushers in Burns and former first-round draft pick Kayvon Thibodeaux. Burns has been OK so far but has not taken over games the way they did in Carolina. And Thibodeaux remains wildly inconsistent. Every so often, he makes a play that reveals why he was the fifth player selected in the 2022 draft. But he disappears far too often.

The same is true of several other talented young defenders. Isaiah Simmons, another top-ten overall pick, can’t seem to find a position on defense. That has plagued him since he joined the Arizona Cardinals back in 2020. Boundary corners Deonte Banks and Cor’Dale Flott are young and talented, but they are very inconsistent. Nick McCloud is a solid player who stepped into the slot for the injured Dru Phillips last week and played well.

Kicker Graham Gano has been out since week two, and veteran Greg Joseph has been filling in. Both he and punter Jamie Gillan are reliable, if not spectacular. Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Eric Gray are sort of the same as the G-Men’s primary punt and kickoff returners.