Dave

Gettleman

Shepard tore his Achilles in Week 15 and his availability for much of the 2022 season is up in the air. The 29-year-old is due $8.475 million in 2022. SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano reports that he could be asked to take something closer to the league minimum, which would clear $7M in cap space. Vacchiano expects the Giants to cut Shepard if he declines the pay cut. The Giants are actively trying to clear cap space, having been left with a smorgasbord of bloated contracts by former general manager Dave Gettleman. If Shepard stays with the Giants, it’s unclear how big his role will be when healthy, assuming Kadarius Toney takes over slot duties to begin the season.

It’s the ultimate “you can’t fire me, I quit” situation for Gettleman after a horrendous four-year run as the team’s general manager. Gettleman went all in on Daniel Jones in the 2019 NFL Draft, ensuring that his fortunes would rise or fall along with Jones’. The Giants under Gettleman and head coach Joe Judge have become the most embarrassing franchise in professional sports, alienating fans with an unwatchable on-field product. Gettleman, gleefully mocking analytics advocates during press conferences, drafted a running back (Saquon Barkley) with the second overall pick in the 2018 draft instead of Josh Allen or a host of defensive players who are now among the league’s best. pushed to sign Kenny Golladay last offseason only to see the once-explosive wideout fail to score a single touchdown on a meager 37 receptions this year. The Mara family will try to restore at least some respectability with the team’s next general manager, who certainly should not come from inside the moribund franchise.

The Giants have yet to post a season with more than six wins during the Gettleman regime and that doesn’t look like to change this year. They are currently in last place in the NFC East with a 3-7 record. New York has two first-round picks next year, a second-year head coach, and a young quarterback. They have plenty of decisions to make as a franchise so getting a new shot-caller at the helm before those bridges are crossed makes sense. At 70 years old, Gettleman will likely retire following his departure from New York.

Another losing season will likely force the Giants’ hand with Gettleman, whose fate has been tied to underachieving QB Daniel Jones since the team used the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft to land Jones. Per Duggan, Jones in 2021 is 25th in completion percentage, 25th in passing yards per game, 25th in touchdown passes, 26th in yards per attempt, 24th in passer rating, 25th in QB rating, 25th in DVOA, and 23rd in EPA. By nearly every measure, he has been among the league’s worst quarterbacks. More importantly for fantasy purposes, there could be “intrigue” this offseason in the potential replacement of offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, whose stale offense has barely improved from last year’s disastrous performance. A creative OC could mean big things for Saquon Barkley, Kadarius Toney, Sterling Shepard, and the rest of the fantasy-relevant Giants in 2022.

“I’ve tried! I’ve tried to trade back,” Gettleman responded when asked about the “urban myth” — his words — that he won’t trade back. “But it’s got to be value. I’m not getting fleeced.” He can say all he wants, but the fact he’s never sought value and completed a deal in eight years suggests otherwise. He also said the team’s “biggest direction” in finding the type of players they’re looking for is with linebackers, in particular those with “versatility” and “two-way go.” The team could land just that with the No. 11 overall pick this year.

This refutes a previous report by Ian Rapoport that suggested the Giants were eying a trade down. Giants GM Dave Gettleman has never executed a trade down in his eight years as a general manager. Every draft is different but it would be extremely out of the norm for Gettleman to finally accrue extra picks through moving back. The Giants hold the 11th pick in a draft that’s fairly unremarkable. Trading down for future picks would make sense for the young team but Jeremiah’s confidence is backed by the history of Gettleman as a GM.

The Giants have yet to execute the elusive trade-down in GM Dave Gettleman’s three-year tenure with the team. On top of that, he did not trade down once in five years as the Panthers’ GM. HC Joe Judge came from New England, where the art of the trade-down was perfected and New York’s spot in the draft isn’t likely to net them a blue chip prospect. It makes sense for the Giants to move back and accumulate picks if they don’t see any elite talent left on the board at No. 11. It would be unheralded for Gettleman but a welcome change for Giants fans, who are used to paying for picks instead of building draft ammo.

King added that he doesn’t believe there’s a great demand for teams to move up to the No. 4 spot. Recent reports have speculated that Giants GM Dave Gettleman could trade back for the first time in his career, but the rumors should obviously be taken with a grain of salt. It remains to be seen what the Giants believe constitutes a “good offer”, as obviously a boat load of picks is capable of changing the mind of pretty much any team.

Gettleman has obviously never traded back in his career as a GM, but it’s been continuously reported throughout the pre-draft process that it’s something he’s weighing with the No. 4 overall pick. The Giants believe there are “offensive tackles throughout this draft” that make trading down a viable strategy, but Gettleman also admitted “if you have a tackle need and need meets value, you look through it and you take him.” Clemson chess piece Isaiah Simmons has also been linked to come off the board at that spot. Whatever the case, New York’s first selection clearly remains up in the air with only a week remaining until the 2020 NFL Draft.

“A lot of people were raised with the 2007 and 2011 Super Bowl teams, where we could consistently apply pressure with four,” Gettleman said. “That is the goal, that’s what you want. You can’t manufacture it and you can’t overpay for it. What it really comes down to is it doesn’t matter who gets the sacks, it’s about how many sacks you actually get. It really is about how much pressure you apply.” The Giants slapped the franchise tag ($16.1 million) on Leonard Williams this offseason and doled out a combined $74.2 million for both James Bradberry and off-ball LB Blake Martinez in free agency. While this mantra doesn’t rule out the team from adding pass rush help through the draft, it does take them out of any speculated contention for free agent EDGE Jadeveon Clowney. Gettleman is also expected to target offensive line help at next week’s draft.