Giants have bright future according to ESPN rankings

The 2022 NFL season fooled more than a few New York Giants fans when head coach Brian Daboll arrived and took the G-Men to the playoffs for the first time in six years. Even quarterback Daniel Jones had a breakout year and signed a four-year, $160 million contract with the Giants. Since then, it’s been nothing but downhill for the Giants as they’ve won just nine games over the last two seasons combined.

Luckily for Giants fans, the future may hold something different in store. Aaron Schatz, an NFL analyst for ESPN, recently ranked each NFL team’s young, under-25 players and the Giants checked in at No. 4 overall. Several things factored into Schatz’s ranking, including highly-drafted rookies, positional importance, and even the value of player contracts.

Schatz defines four under-25 Giants as blue-chip players, and they should come as no surprise: Malik Nabers, Abdul Carter, Jaxson Dart, and Kayvon Thibodeaux. Justifying his ranking, Schatz writes, “The Giants' young talent includes a strong core with the four players named above, as well as a long tail of underperformers who still have the potential to develop into key starters. Dart, this year's first-round pick, turned 22 in May. He'll be throwing to Nabers, who ranked an incredible sixth in the ESPN receiver tracking metrics as a 21-year-old rookie! On defense, there are two young edge rushers. Thibodeaux is in his fourth NFL season and still won't turn 25 until Dec. 15. Carter, the No. 3 pick in this year's draft, is 21.”

It’s hard to argue against this core four as one of the best in the league. Rookies Dart and Carter have sky-high upside at premium positions, while Nabers is already proven as an elite receiver. Thibodeaux might be a controversial pick for a blue-chip player, but the fact is he still possesses elite upside.

Several other young Giants earned a mention from Schatz, including Wan’Dale Robinson, who pulled in an unbelievable catch in training camp on Saturday, and cornerback Dru Phillips. But it’s the quarterback Jaxson Dart who is the key to the Giants’ potential return to prominence.

The Giants still need to prove themselves on the field in 2025. And as good as Dart could one day be, the Giants have left no doubt about Russell Wilson as the starting QB this year. But this roster oozes with young talent and if Dart can be the franchise quarterback of the future, then the Giants may soon be contending for their third Super Bowl title.