Big Blue Huddle

I was so psyched about this draft and the great additions that I stayed up till late reading about how we got better. Then comes the big question: WE DID GREAT, BUT SO DID THEY, OR DID THEY?
So I looked into this some and realized that the the cowboys had an ok draft, the REDSKINS had a good draft and the filthy birds had a great draft, as the got lucky again and again, like in the first round Jihaad Campbell who should be a great LB, somehow fell all the way to 30!
Summation, by the time Dart is ready and we have a solid O line, we can compete, beat them and be the powerhouse in the division and the team to beat.
I came across a couple of good articles that shed more light on the other teams drafts but I gotta figure out how to add the links first.
Thank you all and looking forward to excitement in the Giants' land and our Giants being GREAT again.

Here:

https://www.nfl.com/news/2025-nfl-draft-boxes-checked-remaining-offseason-to-do-list-for-all-32-teams

https://www.nfl.com/draft/tracker/teams/philadelphia-eagles/2025

Quote from: GloryDays on April 27, 2025, 01:39:12 PMI was so psyched about this draft and the great additions that I stayed up till late reading about how we got better. Then comes the big question: WE DID GREAT, BUT SO DID THEY, OR DID THEY?
So I looked into this some and realized that the the cowboys had an ok draft, the REDSKINS had a good draft and the filthy birds had a great draft, as the got lucky again and again, like in the first round Jihaad Campbell who should be a great LB, somehow fell all the way to 30!
Summation, by the time Dart is ready and we have a solid O line, we can compete, beat them and be the powerhouse in the division and the team to beat.
I came across a couple of good articles that shed more light on the other teams drafts but I gotta figure out how to add the links first.
Thank you all and looking forward to excitement in the Giants' land and our Giants being GREAT again.

Glory: To answer your question, there's good news and bad news.

Bad news: Even if Dart's the right pick, that's going to take time. And we lost picks getting him. And none of our division rivals made serious draft blunders, IMO. In general, we still have a steep hill to climb.

Good news: When a team's roster (Eagles, for example) is so much better than yours, it's much easier for you to gain ground, because they have basically no where to go but down, while you have a lot of room to improve, starting from such a low point. They call it reversion to the mean, and even great organizations eventually revert to the mean (middle of the pack). I'm not sure WHEN, but it will happen.

Bob

If you take into consideration the free agents we picked up...namely, DE Chauncey Golston, CB Paulson Adebo, and S Jevon Holland - 3 studs entering their prime years, the defense was already upgraded a lot. Throw in the addition of Abdul Carter and Darius Alexander and holy crap (as Frank Barone would say), and we've lept to a whole new level on defense

Offense should be better with Wilson at the helm, a healthy Theo Johnson, a healthy Andrew Thomas, and newly drafted Skattebo and Mbow. If Fidone is healthy, he'll add to the weapons Wilson has to choose from

Bottom line: defense has been a huge upgrade...offense a little improved, Skattebo should be a big upgrade in the ground game and take pressure off Tracy, and hopefully, Hyatt has found his mojo and comes back as a new man...fingers crossed (that's how I see it anyway)

You can't control what others do and the improvements they make. So if the question is how much the Giants closed the gap--provided you agree the Giants did very well in this past draft--the answer is "as much as they reasonably could."

Quote from: Bob In PA on April 27, 2025, 01:57:39 PMGood news: When a team's roster (Eagles, for example) is so much better than yours, it's much easier for you to gain ground, because they have basically no where to go but down, while you have a lot of room to improve, starting from such a low point. They call it reversion to the mean, and even great organizations eventually revert to the mean (middle of the pack). I'm not sure WHEN, but it will happen.

Bob

Bob, your general concept of reversion to the mean, is very relevant to the NFL also for two main reasons:
1- salary cap. Great rule put in to bring parity and break long term dominance.
2- Draft rules and design, teams with less talent pick before better teams.
However, teams with smart GMs and great front offices, can stretch their dominance.. how long? How many seasons?
Very few teams, such as Patriots previously and the Chiefs recently, have been keeping on or near the top for years, but around a decade seems to be the limit.
Is Philly one of those? I doubt it. They might have a great GM, but below that, I don't see much unity and cohesion and loyalty to the brand.

I am not sure the cowboys got better
Acter CD lamb who do they have
Our offense is think is better now.
But that is on paper
And we all know what we can do with paper

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on April 27, 2025, 02:05:48 PMIf you take into consideration the free agents we picked up...namely, DE Chauncey Golston, CB Paulson Adebo, and S Jevon Holland - 3 studs entering their prime years, the defense was already upgraded a lot. Throw in the addition of Abdul Carter and Darius Alexander and holy crap (as Frank Barone would say), and we've lept to a whole new level on defense

Offense should be better with Wilson at the helm, a healthy Theo Johnson, a healthy Andrew Thomas, and newly drafted Skattebo and Mbow. If Fidone is healthy, he'll add to the weapons Wilson has to choose from

Bottom line: defense has been a huge upgrade...offense a little improved, Skattebo should be a big upgrade in the ground game and take pressure off Tracy, and hopefully, Hyatt has found his mojo and comes back as a new man...fingers crossed (that's how I see it anyway)

I pretty much agree with all that Jolly, but we are fixated on our team and see the obvious improvements; what about others? Are they improved also, enough to keep their talent cushion over ours? Is that talent superiority solid or is it temporary and fragile? Can it be realistically overcome consistently by game plans and schemes, while the Giants chip away at that talent gap?

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on April 27, 2025, 02:05:48 PMIf you take into consideration the free agents we picked up...namely, DE Chauncey Golston, CB Paulson Adebo, and S Jevon Holland - 3 studs entering their prime years, the defense was already upgraded a lot. Throw in the addition of Abdul Carter and Darius Alexander and holy crap (as Frank Barone would say), and we've lept to a whole new level on defense

Offense should be better with Wilson at the helm, a healthy Theo Johnson, a healthy Andrew Thomas, and newly drafted Skattebo and Mbow. If Fidone is healthy, he'll add to the weapons Wilson has to choose from

Bottom line: defense has been a huge upgrade...offense a little improved, Skattebo should be a big upgrade in the ground game and take pressure off Tracy, and hopefully, Hyatt has found his mojo and comes back as a new man...fingers crossed (that's how I see it anyway)

I think once they get their hands on Dart and see what they have, if he's the real deal then you use FA next year to shore up our oline and the draft to target weapons and then you have an offense to match your elite defense.

Quote from: GloryDays on April 27, 2025, 01:39:12 PMI was so psyched about this draft and the great additions that I stayed up till late reading about how we got better. Then comes the big question: WE DID GREAT, BUT SO DID THEY, OR DID THEY?
So I looked into this some and realized that the the cowboys had an ok draft, the REDSKINS had a good draft and the filthy birds had a great draft, as the got lucky again and again, like in the first round Jihaad Campbell who should be a great LB, somehow fell all the way to 30!
Summation, by the time Dart is ready and we have a solid O line, we can compete, beat them and be the powerhouse in the division and the team to beat.
I came across a couple of good articles that shed more light on the other teams drafts but I gotta figure out how to add the links first.
Thank you all and looking forward to excitement in the Giants' land and our Giants being GREAT again.

This is an excellent question.  If the new QB room is an upgrade, then NYG closed the gap because none of the other teams upgraded their QB room.   The Giants lost less free agents than their division rivals.    I think the Giants had the most improvement, followed by the Commanders.   I think the Eagles and Cowboys just tread water.

Giants need foundational pieces first like a future QB and solid DL.

I don't subscribe to the "paper champs" philosophy. Games are won on the field, not paper. If that wasn't the case, the Patriots would have a 19-0 season and the Giants would still be sitting with 2 Lombardis instead of 4.

We won't know if we closed the gap until the games have been played. If we're competitive and not getting blown out, the answer is 'Yes.'

to paraphrase James Carville's "It's the economy, ....."  In football, I'd say it's the OL and DL.  We seem to have done all right on DL but OL remains average [even with AT] and lacks any certain depth. 

I think the Giants upgraded their roster significantly in most or all areas. Wilson and Winston are big upgrades. The rookie we have no clue. But the Giants wildcard is their head coach and supporting coaches. He has to mold the upgrade and has no serious history in being a successful head coach. So that will be a huge question mark going into 2025. But they still have a long way to go to catch up to their division rivals.

Here is McShay's commentary on all 4 NFC East teams


Dallas Cowboys
Round 1 (12): OG Tyler Booker, Alabama
Round 2 (44): Edge Donovan Ezeiruaku, Boston College
Round 3 (76): CB Shavon Revel, East Carolina
Round 5 (149): RB Jaydon Blue, Texas
Round 5 (152): LB Shemar James, Florida
Round 6 (204): OT Ajani Cornelius, Oregon
Round 7 (217): DT Jay Toia, UCLA
Round 7 (239): RB Phil Mafah, Clemson
Round 7 (247): DT Tommy Akingbesote, Maryland

I did not love taking Alabama OL Tyler Booker at no. 12, but they had a really strong draft the rest of the way. I get that Booker fits perfectly in their scheme and represents a need. I love him as a player, but that's just a little high.

Getting Boston College edge Donovan Ezeiruaku at no. 44 is great value. It might take a year to see the production, but he's a masterful technician. East Carolina CB Shavon Revel Jr. (no. 76) easily could have had a first-round grade if teams were less concerned about his medicals. I even like Texas RB Jaydon Blue (no. 149) as a massive upgrade over Deuce Vaughn.


New York Giants
Round 1 (3): Edge Abdul Carter, Penn State
Round 1 (25): QB Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
Round 3 (65): DT Darius Alexander, Toledo
Round 4 (105): RB Cam Skattebo, Arizona State
Round 5 (154): OG Marcus Mbow, Purdue
Round 7 (219): TE Thomas Fidone, Nebraska
Round 7 (246): CB Korie Black, Oklahoma State

The Giants handled the evaluation process as well as any team. They did their due diligence on Shedeur Sanders and ultimately decided to stay away. GM Joe Schoen got the QB his head coach Brian Daboll wanted, but he still came away with the best pass rusher in the class in Abdul Carter. Toledo DL Darius Alexander (no. 65) and Purdue OT Marcus Mbow (no. 154) both went later than I thought.


Philadelphia Eagles
Round 1 (31): LB Jihaad Campbell, Alabama
Round 2 (64): DS Andrew Mukuba, Texas
Round 4 (111): DT Ty Robinson, Nebraska
Round 5 (145): CB Mac McWilliams, Central Florida
Round 5 (161): LB Smael Mondon Jr., Georgia
Round 5 (168): OC Drew Kendall, Boston College
Round 6 (181): QB Kyle McCord, Syracuse
Round 6 (191): OT Myles Hinton, Michigan
Round 6 (207): OT Cameron Williams, Texas
Round 6 (209): Edge Antwaun Powell-Ryland, Virginia Tech

Everything about GM Howie Roseman's strategy involves building depth and planning for the future. Linebacker Nakobe Dean is coming off an injury, so Roseman took Alabama LB Jihaad Campbell at no. 31—he has his own injury concerns but I had him ranked as a top-12 player overall. I thought no. 64 was slightly early for Texas safety Andrew Mukuba but I really like him—he's a ball hawk.


Washington Commanders
Round 1 (29): OT Josh Conerly Jr., Oregon
Round 2 (61): CB Trey Amos, Ole Miss
Round 4 (128): WR Jaylin Lane, Virginia Tech
Round 6 (205): LB Kain Medrano, UCLA
Round 7 (245): RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Arizona

They didn't have much draft capital after trading for OT Laremy Tunsil and WR Deebo Samuel this offseason, but they might have found two long-term starters in OT Josh Conerly Jr. (no. 29) and Ole Miss CB Trey Amos (no. 61). Virginia Tech WR Jaylin Lane was great value at no. 128—I had him ranked in my top 100. Lane has never had a QB who could maximize his speed and playmaking; imagine what Kliff Kingsbury and Jayden Daniels can do with him.