So You Traded Away Odell…Now What?

The sky is falling in New York. Dave Gettleman has lost his mind. The Giants are the worst organization in the NFL. Yeah, okay. I’ve heard it all. The criticism from Giants fans goes on and on for hours. There was already a negative aura surrounding this franchise, then they went and traded away superstar Odell Beckham Jr.

So yeah, what else would you expect from loyal Giants fans. The years of suffering behind a team that almost refuses to fix their offensive line can be frustrating, but it is a process. In the NFL, it’s always Super Bowl or bust. The Beckham trade has everyone shaking their heads, but maybe, just maybe, the Giants have a plan.

The Trade That Made No Sense

“We didn’t sign him to trade him.” It’s those words that no Giants fan can seem to shake. After a disappointing 2018 season came to a close, OBJ trade rumors started flying all across the NFL, but Gettleman assured the Giants’ fan base that there would be no trade.

I guess the NFL is still a business, right? Beckham is undoubtedly a top 3 wide receiver, so at first glance, it’s baffling the Giants would get rid of him so easily.

One of the most underrated aspects of sports is durability. No matter how good you are, it doesn’t matter if you aren’t on the field. OBJ has played in 16 of the last 32 possible games, and he has missed an assortment of games throughout his career. It’s hard to criticize these guys when it comes to health, but you get $90 million to impact the game every week.

Beckham was clearly unhappy in New York. Whether it was because of the porous offensive line, the conservative style of Eli Manning, or the lack of winning, OBJ was not content with his situation in New York.

As we all know, Beckham is one of the most outspoken WRs in the NFL. It was only a matter of time before OBJ was banging pots & pans demanding a trade out of New York. At which point, the Giants would lose all their leverage and teams would be low balling them for Beckham.

Even taking all that into account, the productivity of OBJ will often outweigh those concerns. Still, the Giants felt it was best to rebuild and in the eyes of the fans that would be an acceptable loss if they were getting at least two 1st round picks in return. Wait a minute…

Has Dave Gettleman Lost It?

The world was shocked when the Beckham trade went down. They were even more stunned when they found out the Giants received only a 1st round pick, 3rd round pick, and S Jabrill Peppers. The trade was laughable. It was almost like…the Giants…became the new Browns.

That’s how Giants fans took it anyway. When you take a step back and think about it, this trade isn’t actually the worst thing in the world. Draft picks are always valuable, a majority of NFL starters come in the first 4 rounds. But the key to this whole thing is going to be safety Jabrill Peppers.

Peppers was the ultimate wildcard coming out of Michigan in 2017. He was a menace in college, playing just about every position possible, and to great effect. But it’s these positionless players that are always so risky. Peppers was viewed a jack of all trades, but a master of none. No matter what, there was no doubting Peppers’ top tier athleticism.

The Browns made Peppers the 25th overall pick in 2017, electing to play him as a safety. Peppers predictably struggled as a rookie, grading as one of the worst safeties in the NFL. 2018 was a different story, however. Peppers had a true breakout season his Sophomore year, blossoming into a top 20 safety.

After he was thrown in the fire as a rookie, the Browns were much more creative with Peppers in his 2nd year. The Browns lined up Peppers all over the field, he logged at least 100 snaps at free safety, linebacker, edge defender, and slot cornerback. Peppers even pitched in as a strong safety and outside cornerback.

As Peppers played more in the box, he flourished. He was able to use his natural playmaking ability to really affect the game. The majority of Peppers’ snaps came at free safety, where his prior experience as a rookie helped him. Peppers learned to cut off passing angles and break on the ball the way elite safeties do.

Peppers is far from perfect, but he has the looks of a budding star in the NFL. Coming out of Michigan, Peppers came in with a very high ceiling. You can’t teach that sort of athleticism and instincts. Sure, the Giants could have asked for another 1st round pick, but they get something even better with Peppers.

Time To Rebuild

The OBJ trade is the latest domino to drop in Dave Gettleman’s “plan.” Gettlemen was instrumental in trading away former 1st round pick Eli Apple, the NFL’s best run defender in Damon Harrison, and stud pass rusher Oliver Vernon. Oh yeah, let’s not forget about how he let star safety Landon Collins walk in free agency when he could have traded him away.

But it’s not all black and white. Apple was on the last year of his contract and had the looks of a massive bust. Harrison is a run-plugging machine, but $9.3 mil/year is not what you’re looking for from a guy who struggles mightily to rush the passer. Vernon has fallen way short of the 5-year/$85 million contract he signed to play in New York.

The Collins situation is the most baffling one. While his numbers are a bit down the past two years, this is a guy who was in contention for DPOY in 2016. Even if there was no intention of resigning, Gettleman had the chance to trade Collins at the deadline. But there’s always a plan.

Gettleman has a vision. The Giants’ GM has no intention to overpay guys or give large contracts to one trick ponies. Collins was an elite run stopper, but he was burned in coverage far too often. Gettleman wants multi-faceted players. It’s what makes someone like Peppers so attractive to Gettleman.

Like Beckham, Vernon was also traded to the Browns. In exchange, the Giants received OG Kevin Zeitler. Acquiring Zeitler was the first step towards fixing an inferior offensive line. The 29-year-old Zeitler is a top 5 guard, according to PFF he ranked as the #1 pass blocking offensive guard in 2018. How does that sound Eli Manning?

So Why Is Eli Manning Still There?

Right so, even with two Super Bowl rings, the majority of Giants fans still want to see Manning gone. In the midst of a rebuild, it makes no sense to keep a 38-year-old QB and his $23.2 million salary. Well, this isn’t the NBA.

The NFL salary cap is slotted at $188.2 million in 2019, having one guy over $20.0 million isn’t going to keep you from signing draft picks and low-level free agents. With the Giants in a full rebuild, they have no business paying big name free agents $10.0+ million. So in reality, the money you’re paying Manning isn’t really a problem.

At this point in his career, Manning is still a serviceable QB. But that isn’t the reason you’re paying him. Manning’s leadership and experience are invaluable. Eli’s tenure in New York is coming to a close, but his presence is still welcomed in the locker room.

The Giants are a virtual lock to draft a QB in the 2019 NFL Draft. Whether it’s Kyler Murray, Drew Lock, Dwayne Haskins, whoever, having Manning in the fold will pay major dividends. Whether he’s the starter or he’s holding the clipboard, Manning will be able to groom a young quarterback to become the Giants’ QB of the future.

Is Pat Shurmur The Right Guy?

Dave Gettleman can say whatever he wants about Eli Manning being the “obvious choice to start in 2019,” but in the end, it comes down to Pat Shurmur. The former OC of the Vikings was hired to head up the New York Giants in 2018.

Under Shurmur, the Vikings offense transformed into a top 10 unit in 2017. With a serious injury to Sam Bradford, Shurmur squeezed a career season out of journeyman Case Keenum. Despite a bottom 10 offensive line and a season-ending injury to Dalvin Cook, Shurmur still kept this team afloat, showing some serious chops as a play caller.

Shurmur has adapted to the NFL very well. He takes concepts from the many coaches he’s been under. With an inexperienced QB, Shurmur did a great job establishing a zone run scheme to get Keenum easy looks off the play action. Shurmur did an excellent job scheming his receivers open using motion and a variety of formations

Adam Thielen put it best when he said, “Shurmur constantly put players in position to contribute and he doesn’t take anything for granted.” Shurmur’s past players constantly talk about how flexible he is, they speak about how Shurmur is always ready to try new things, never held down by an ego.

When Shurmur was hired in New York, he aimed to take those same principles to a team that really lacked stability. Even with Shurmur’s wisdom, the Giants turned in a 5–11 season, in part to their inability to close out games. But it wasn’t all bad.

After going 1–7 to begin the season, the Giants played a lot better after the bye week. The Giants finished the season 4–4, with three of those losses coming by 3 or fewer points. The Giants actually averaged a pristine 27.4 PPG after the bye week. That would put them as the 3rd best offense in the NFL.

After crashing as one of the worst offenses in 2017, Shurmur had this team playing a lot better in 2018, especially during the 2nd half of the season. Shurmur did the best he could with a bad situation, something he’ll continue to hang his hat on as we step into the 2019 season.

Picking Up The Pieces

Dave Gettleman continues to talk about his “plan,” and asks fans to “trust him.” It’s a trust he hasn’t yet earned, especially considering how he’s going about things. Gettleman claims he’s trying to rebuild, sure. Then he hands Golden Tate a 4-year/$37.5 million contract.

It’s a little head scratching, but these GMs are paid millions to know things we don’t. NFL rebuilds often only last one year, Gettleman is putting the Giants in a position to succeed, potentially by 2020.

This is a squad that showed much promise to close out last season. This O-line was much better the 2nd half of the season. Now you add Zeitler to the mix and you have the makings of a much-improved line. This is a team that has all-world talent Saquon Barkley, Sterling Shepard, Evan Engram, and now Golden Tate. There’s still talent there.

The ball is in Gettleman’s court. He’s got all the draft picks he could desire to build this team how he sees fit. He has a ton of work to do, improving the O-line, fixing a lackluster defense, and finding Manning’s eventual replacement will all be on his long list of tasks to tackle.

While almost everybody has a problem with what Dave Gettleman is doing with these Giants, he does appear to have a code and he’s sticking to it. If Gettleman can hit on his draft picks and complete his vision, this is a team that could have a very different outlook in 2019. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel, even if it’s poorly lit.