New York Giants earn solid grade for offseason hires, moves

[ASFN Admin]

The New York Giants made a ton of changes this offseason—necessary changes. Hiring John Harbaugh was the first big domino to fall, followed by revamping the rest of the coaching staff. During free agency, players were lost, and players were added, and more players were added in the draft.

But how have those changes improved this team? ESPN's Seth Walder handed out offseason grades this week, assessing every move each NFL team made during this offseason, and assigned each team a grade based on those moves. For the Giants, he liked most of what they did.

New York Giants: B+Biggest move: Hiring John Harbaugh as coachMove I liked: Trading DT Dexter Lawrence IIMove I disliked: Signing LB Tremaine Edmunds

Nothing was more significant that the Giants successfully landing Harbaugh. He should be a stabilizing force given his long track record of success in Baltimore, and he rightfully gives fans hope in the franchise's new direction.

But in terms of players, the biggest decision the Giants made was to trade Lawrence to the Bengals for the No. 10 pick. That was a huge win. As much as I -- and probably the Giants! -- like Lawrence as a player, he was coming off a down season, and the value of the No. 10 pick was simply a much better return than the veteran defensive tackle is likely worth.

Thanks to that trade, the Giants had two top-10 picks in the draft. They added linebacker/edge rusher Arvell Reese -- who surprisingly fell to No. 5 -- and OT Francis Mauigoa at No. 10. Those two young players can be the foundation of the Giants' new core if they play well. New York also made a poor-value trade in moving up to get receiver Malachi Fields on Day 2.

Walder went on to discuss losing Wan'Dale Robinson, the Malik Nabers injury impact, re-signing Jermaine Eluemunor, and bringing in D.J. Reader, Greg Newsome, and Edmunds. But the biggest impact statement from his comments is this:

Nothing will affect the Giants' win total in the short term more than second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart's development. But this offseason was more about setting up a foundation for the medium to long term.

Even with the B+ grade, Walder doesn't expect much in the short term. He believes these moves are setting up Big Blue for the long term, which may not be wrong. But let's also not undersell what this team is capable of in 2026. Under Harbaugh, they are bound to win more games than they did in 2025. Given how this team has played for the last decade, we'll call that progress.

And when they win enough games to keep the NFC East in close competition, everyone can act surprised like this team came from nowhere, and we'll call that a win.

This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: New York Giants earn solid grade for offseason hires, moves

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