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Paul Lynch asks: I live in New Zealand so don’t get the amount of information you must have in the States, but I’ve been following the game since watching LT destroy teams in the ‘80s.

With the whole QB issue (should we or shouldn’t we draft one) it got me thinking about the style of play the Giants (and most of the league) are trying to play, which by all accounts, everyone says it’s a quarterback driven league. Given how statistically challenging it is to draft the next Mahomes, is there any appetite within the Giants or indeed the league to flip it on its head and say we’re not going to be so QB driven and instead put our resources into O-Line and RB and try to dominate on the ground? I realise that not signing Barkley points to the Giants not doing that, but do you see a time when someone goes full circle with an old school approach to offence? Or are those days long gone never to return?

Ed says: Paul, if you are yearning for the ‘three yards and a cloud of dust’ days of the NFL I am afraid those are not coming back.

If you look at the stats on Pro Football-Reference, teams have not averaged more than 30 rushing attempts per game since 1988. The last time NFL teams averaged more than 28 rushing attempts per game was 2006.

What I do think is happening is that because defenses are getting smaller and faster, and playing more two-deep coverages to prevent big plays, when they do run teams do run they are using more power running concepts to combat the lighter, faster defenses.

The game continues to evolve.

Jeff Marx asks: Sort of three questions here. Thinking about Brandon Beane’s draft history in Buffalo no wide receiver comes to mind that he picked anywhere near the top of the draft. Do you believe this is because of Beane’s positional value regarding the wide receiver position or that’s just how his 6 drafts played out? If this is his philosophy, I would imagine that Joe Schoen follows that same philosophy. In your opinion, if a QB is not the first pick do you think it would be a mistake in this particular draft to not take a supposed “elite” receiver at 6 or trading down and missing out on the opportunity to choose one of the top receivers? And, I agree that Odunze would be the pick. Someone recently said that “space disappears in the post season” and that resonates with me. Odunze can beat you with speed/seperation/route running and physicality. Do you think that Schoen would be too “intoxicated” with the athleticism of a Nabers and pass on Odunze?

Ed says: Jeff, you’re right that Brandon Beane has never picked a wide receiver in Round 1.

I think that is just a matter of value and need. Wide receiver is a premium position. You might see Beane go after one in the first round this year after trading away Stefon Diggs.

As for the Giants and Malik Nabers vs. Rome Odunze I don’t know which way the Giants would lean. As folks around here should know by now, I am an Odunze guy. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen have Nabers ranked higher than Odunze.

Kölnerbigblue asks: Ed, does the CBA permit current players to work with the staff in evaluating college players? I’m talking specifically about film study. If a player wants a career in coaching, player evaluation would seem to be something they could do now without any injury risk.

Ed says: By my reading of the CBA, such contact would be deemed a violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement because it would be work — whether voluntary or not — that would include getting direction from a coach or front office member.

The CBA says:

Players are not permitted to participate in Club-supervised workouts, Club-supervised practices, group or individual meetings with coaches, group or individual film study with coaches, or group or individual playbook study with coaches; (iii) players’ activities may not be directed or supervised by any coaches, except that the Club’s strength and conditioning coaches may direct an individual player’s workout in the weight room and may supervise use of the weight room to prevent injury and to correct misuse of equipment;

It also says:

Clubs may provide players with video for viewing by the player away from the Club facility. The video may be distributed to players by external hard drive, downloading to the player’s personal or Club-provided electronic device, or by providing the player with access to the Club’s game video database, so long as no player is rewarded or disciplined based upon the frequency or duration of his use of such database. The video may include coaching or instructional voiceovers or audio content, superimposed diagrams, schematics, or written commentary.

Aside from all of that, it seems to me that this would be a really odd request from a team to a player. That’s what you have scouts, coaches and a front office for. It would feel, to me, like an insult if I were in one of those groups.

Besides, are you really going to ask players to scout young kids who might take their jobs? You’re not going to ask a cornerback to scout offensive linemen. His expertise would be defensive backs, who might take his job. You’re going to do that to a guy, and expect him to agree to it? Then expect him to give you an honest evaluation?

Eric Chavis asks: Can you provide a little more insight on comp picks and how they work? I’ve seen a chart going around that shows the potential giants’ comp picks for next year and how free agents lost balances out free agents gained. What I am trying to understand is that it looks like a round 6 comp can potentially cancel out a round 4 comp, etc. Just trying to understand if the giants will ultimately get something for Saquon or Xavier.

Ed says: Eric, compensatory picks are complicated. Here is how Over The Cap defines the formula:

Appendix V, Paragraphs 2-3 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) govern how compensatory free agents (CFAs) are judged against all leaguewide players to determine the round of each CFA’s contract for the purpose of awarding compensatory picks. This page provides transparency to how this valuation is calculated.

Contracts are ranked via a Final Numerical Value based on the sum of points awarded as follows:

An inverse ranking of the contract’s Average Per Year (APY)

One point each for each percentage point of snaps played on offense or defense, with a minimum requirement of 25%. (Kickers and punters earn points based upon statistical performance.)

20 or 5 points based upon being honored by the AP All Pro or PFWA On Field Awards lists.

The round for each contract is assigned on a percentile basis, as follows:

3rd Round: top 5%

4th Round: below top 5% to top 10%

5th Round: below top 10% to top 15%

6th Round: below top 15% to top 25%

7th Round: below top 25% to top 35% (previously 50% in the 2011 CBA)

The comp picks won’t be known for certain until some time after next season and before the 2025 NFL Draft. Right now Over The Cap estimates that the Giants could receive a compensatory pick for losing Xavier McKinney. The cancellation chart looks like this:

Brian Altman asks: I was sitting in the right centerfield bleachers at Yankee Stadium the day YA Tittle threw his record breaking TD pass to Aaron Thomas in the back left corner of the end zone against the Dallas Cowboys.

Recently, I read that the NYG receivers were implicated in about twice the number of “drops” as whatever team came in second. As memory serves, this year’s first two Daniel Jones interceptions hit Barkley between the “2” & the “6” (he’s #26). His third IT was a terrible throw, but he then had another one or two that were politely tipped to the opposing player.

Engram couldn’t catch one of DJ’s passes if it were handed to him, and yet the Giant’s QB was consistently classy in the post-game presser, and supported his teammates.

I am also reading that Odunze, in addition to great size and all-pro speed, has sure hands and makes contested catches.

It’s my opinion that DJ throws a hard tight spiral, and the Giants haven’t had receivers that can, or were willing, to catch them. He is, or at least was - before ACL reconstruction - one of the fastest players on the Giants, and although once tripping on the 5-yard line, never shied away from picking up the crucial first down when circumstances dictated that he involuntarily evacuate the pocket and do it on his own.

What do you think about giving DJ one more chance and drafting him a receiver that “will go up and get it?”

Ed says: Brian, what you are proposing might be what the Giants intend to do. It might be what they are forced to do based upon how the draft plays out. It is a legitimate possibility that it plays out that way, and I certainly understand the case for it.

Jason LaBombard asks: So, here is the thing. [Mike] Kafka was pursued by the Seahawks for a lateral move even with his head coach still in place, which I haven’t seen a lot of although admittedly I pay attention much more closely to the Giants then the whole league. He was blocked, given a new title and a raise which seemed to me at the time like a placating move. I mean, Seattle has a better looking offense to call if you are a guy like Kafka who has been deep in the HC mix over the last few years, and there isn’t a lot of reason to doubt reports of friction between him and Daboll unless maybe you know different. I think it’s clear Dabs wants to call plays; that is a supposition I’m taking for granted. So what is going on here? Someone in the organization thought Kafka was important enough to keep, but I doubt it was Dabs. Why block a hot HC candidate in the league from leaving just to strip him of play calling duties? Do you need him if you want to run the offense yourself and won’t that just piss him off and exacerbate what might already be a tenuous situation? So this is less of a specific question and more of just a “what do you think is going on/do you care?” thing. I hate to delve into the intrigue but I’m not going to apologize for it; it’s a fact there were serious internal issues in the building last year and I think this is relevant.

Ed says: Jason, we don’t know for certain that Brian Daboll will call plays during the 2024 season. I do think he will, but I am not going to make an assumption.

In terms of Mike Kafka, I think he would have taken the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator job if the Giants let him interview and it were offered to him. If he loses play-calling responsibility with New York that does nothing to help his career path.

What do I think is going on? First of all, I think Kafka is a good coach and I think the Giants’ front office knows it. The Giants fired special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey. They lost defensive coordinator Wink Martindale after a much-publicized falling out. There were lots of reports of internal unhappiness in the coaching staff. My belief is that keeping Kafka on board, and giving him a somewhat meaningless promotion, is largely about appearances. It certainly wouldn’t be a good look for Daboll or the organization to have to replace every coordinator after just two years.

Do I care? Yes, but I think it is time to stop re-litigating the whole thing. What matters now is what happens going forward.

David Matuozzi asks: Like many fans, I understand the reason behind moving on from Saquon Barkley. Given the problems at other positions of higher importance than RB, it makes sense to conserve resources in order to address them instead of handing Saquon a bag.

However, now I’m reading reports that the giants are “in love” with Benson from Florida State, and would consider drafting him in Round 2 if he’s available. This is after already signing Singletary to a mid-level RB contract.

My question is, if the Giants interest in Benson is serious, doesn’t this become an investment in the RB position that matches or perhaps even exceeds what we would’ve needed to pay Saquon? Sure we saved about $7M per year by letting him walk and signing Singletary as a replacement, but one could make the argument that a second-round draft pick (the one we would have to use to bring in Benson) is actually more valuable than $7M in cap space.

What is your take on this?

Ed says: David, I am not sure where you are getting the $7 million figure. The Giants weren’t going to franchise tag Barkley, and we have no idea what type of contract they might have offered him. They never did put an offer on the table this time around.

That said, I understand your question is really about the allocation of resources.

Just to put the number out there, the Giants signed Devin Singletary to a three-year, $16.5 million contract with $9.5 million guaranteed. His cap hit for 2024 is $3.75 million.

Singletary is not going to be the bell cow Barkley was. In five years, Singletary’s career high in touches is 246. In six seasons, Barkley surpassed that number four times, and twice had 352 touches in a season.

The Giants are almost certainly going to add to the running back room to try and round out a committee, perhaps in both free agency and the draft. It was always going to take more than one player to replace Barkley. It shouldn’t shock anyone if the Giants draft a running back.

Do they love Benson? Maybe. I haven’t seen or heard that, but he is a well-rounded back who some think is the best in the draft class.

I would be surprised if the Giants selected Benson or any other running back in Round 2, but it could happen.

Barkley received a three-year, $37.75 million contract from the Philadelphia Eagles with $26 million guaranteed. The Giants weren’t going near that for a back entering his seventh season.

Whoever the Giants pick at No. 47, regardless of position, is going to cost $1.881 million against the cap. The 47th pick in the draft gets a four-year, $10.346 million contract that includes a $4.344 million signing bonus.

So, even if the Giants do draft a back like Benson in Round 2 they would have a shade under $14 million in guaranteed money tied up in the running back position over four years (three for Singletary, four a drafted back). That’s a lot different that a $26 million guarantee to a 27-year-old back with a lengthy injury history.

Andy Loesberg asks: Adoree’ Jackson is still a free agent and played decent but not spectacular at CB last year. Given the Giants lack of depth in the secondary and other pressing needs in the draft, why haven’t we seen more interest in a one-year deal to Jackson this year? Or is Jackson just waiting for the another team to call?

Ed says: Andy, there has been an assumption that Jackson and the Giants are parting ways. Jackson didn’t play well last season, and I’m not sure how the organization feels about his ability to turn things around, or his fit with Shane Bowen. The Giants have been signing players to low-cost veteran salary benefit deals. I would think Jackson is still hoping for a better deal than that. Maybe he and the Giants eventually come back to each other, but I wouldn’t count on it.

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