Having others critique my work on a daily basis, some nicely and some not so nicely, is always an “enjoyable” experience. Today, I thought I would turn the tables on a colleague who covers the New York Giants.
Dan Duggan of The Athletic posted his 10-step offseason plan for the Giants earlier this week. Here, I am going to lay out the guts of Duggan’s well-thought out plan and offer my view of each of his 10 steps.
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1. Cut LB Bobby Okereke
Duggan writes, in part:
He has a $14.5 million cap hit for 2026, the final year of his contract. That’s the eighth-highest cap hit among linebackers, and Okereke hasn’t played close to that level since 2023.
It’s unlikely that Okereke will turn it around at age 30. The Giants can cut him for $9 million in cap savings while eating $5.5 million in dead money. Those savings would be better directed toward a replacement as part of an overhauled linebacker corps. Okereke is due a $3 million roster bonus on March 13, so a decision will come by then.
The market is flooded with linebackers this offseason, so the Giants will have options to replace Okereke.
Valentine’s View
This one feels like a no-brainer. Okereke’s 2023 season, his first with the Giants, was the best of his seven-year career. The farther we get away from it, the more it feels like an outlier. Saving the $9 million and getting younger and more athletic at a position that has always been critical to Harbaugh-coached teams seems like an easy call.
Nakobe Dean, anyone?
2. Extend DL Dexter Lawrence
Duggan writies:
Ideally, the Giants would just ride it out with Lawrence, who has two years remaining on the four-year, $90 million extension he signed in 2023. But it seems unlikely that Lawrence will be content with that since his compensation has been surpassed by many other defensive tackles. Adding $3 million in incentives last summer was a peace offering, but the sides are coming to a crossroads.
The Giants will need to take a leap of faith either way. If they trade Lawrence, they’d be shipping away a player who was considered the best defensive tackle in the league as recently as last summer. A package like the Jets got when they traded defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys in November — a first-round pick, a second-rounder and a player — would be enticing. But the Giants just watched Leonard Williams, who they traded in 2023, win a Super Bowl as part of a dominant Seahawks defensive line at age 31.
On the other hand, committing to Lawrence would be risky based on his performance last season. There hasn’t been a clear explanation for his decline in production (nine sacks in 2024, a half-sack in 2025), but he’s still treated like a game-wrecker by opponents. I’m betting that the 28-year-old comes back motivated to reclaim his status as the most disruptive interior defensive lineman in the league.
Valentine’s View
Duggan is right here on a couple of counts. No matter what the Giants do with the 350-pound star defensive tackle, there is risk involved.
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Trade him and no matter what the return you risk another example of letting a terrific player go and watching him have massive success elsewhere.
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Ride it out with his contract and you risk having an unhappy player who feels under-valued. Lawrence was not himself last year and, as Duggan said, no real explanation has ever been offered. I wonder if he was simply worn down after having experienced just one winning season in seven years.
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Extend him and you risk throwing away a lot of money on the back end of that deal. Remember how quickly Damon ‘Snacks’ Harrison fell off the map? Players as big and as special as Lawrence don’t last forever. Your knees, ankles, back aren’t meant to do what Lawrence does at his size. Once they go, they go. And, they can go quickly.
That said, I think extending him is the right gamble to take. Double down on a guy who has been a great player, reward him for his patience with the organization, build the best team you can right now with Jaxson Dart on his rookie deal and John Harbaugh in his honeymoon phase. Deal with the fallout later if you have to. It shouldn’t be that painful with the constantly skyrocketing salary cap.
Like Duggan, I think Lawrence will have a bounce-back year in 2026.
3. Don’t trade Kayvon Thibodeaux
Duggan writes:
Thibodeaux is certainly not untouchable; the Giants should listen to offers. If a team offers a Day 2 pick for Thibodeaux — well, it was nice knowing you. But that’s unlikely for a player who had 2½ sacks in 10 games last season and is due $14.8 million in 2026 on his fifth-year option.
Giving Thibodeaux away for a Day 3 pick isn’t worth it. The team is finally in position to try to win. Thibodeaux is a quality player at an inflated, but not unreasonable, salary who helps make the pass rush the strength of the defense. While a bit of a luxury, he’s an asset as the No. 3 edge rusher.
Valentine’s View
I am on record as having said that trading the 2022 No. 5 overall pick might be the right play for the Giants. I don’t want to talk out of both sides of my mouth, but maybe that is what I am about to do. Duggan is absolutely right that there is a case to be made for keeping Thibodeaux in 2025.
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There are questions John Harbaugh and Joe Schoen have to ask themselves when it comes to Thibodeaux.
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Do they have any intention of signing him beyond the 2026 season?
If the answer to that is yes, or if that determination has not been made before the upcoming NFL Draft, then keeping him in a rotation with Abdul Carter and Brian Burns is certainly in play. If the answer is no, there are other questions.
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Are you willing to take a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft? Or, do you want to risk letting Thibodeaux go to free agency in a year with the hope that you “might” get a third-round compensatory pick in 2027?
I’m going to disagree with Duggan here that a fourth-round pick is not enough. There is no guarantee of getting a compensatory pick for Thibodeaux, third round or otherwise, if you let him go to free agency next offseason. If a team is willing to give up a fourth-round pick in the upcoming draft I feel like that is a better play than hoping you can get a third-round compensatory pick in 2027. That extra fourth-round pick would have added value for the Giants this year because they don’t have a third-round pick after the Jaxson Dart trade. Having a second fourth-round pick would soften the blow of sitting out Round 3.
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Could you find a player-for-player trade for Thibodeaux that might address a different need? You could backfill edge depth with a veteran free agent and/or a mid-round draft pick.
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How badly do you need the $14.75 million in salary cap savings that trading Thibodeaux would generate?
I can certainly see both sides of this coin. How the Giants proceed depends on how they want to play their hand.
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4. Re-sign RT Jermaine Eluemunor, CB Cor’Dale Flott
Duggan writes:
The Giants finally got their offensive line to a stable place last season. It would be a huge mistake to remove a pillar of that foundation and trust that the 31-year-old Eluemunor can be replaced by second-year pro Marcus Mbow or another cheap, young player. Instead, the Giants should pay Eluemunor as long as the price tag is reasonable — PFF projects a three-year, $36 million contract — and have Mbow continue developing.
Flott is a tougher call, and there are valid arguments against paying him. He has only had one year of high-level play and his slight frame might not be the best fit for the defense Harbaugh and coordinator Dennard Wilson are building. But similar to Eluemunor, the Giants aren’t in position to let quality players at premium positions walk.
Valentine’s View
I have always felt that the Giants would end up keeping just two of their three big free agents, with wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson being the third player in that category. Earlier in the offseason, I had Flott as the odd man out. I am coming around more and more, though, to the idea that keeping Flott might be the better play.
I will talk about Robinson in a minute. Let’s talk about Flott here. Part of the reason I am thinking more and more about retaining Flott is that the free-agent cornerback market does not thrill me. Flott, with a market value projected by The Athletic to be three years, $22.5 million, will almost certainly be a lot less expensive to sign than Robinson. Also, if the Giants don’t draft Mansoor Delane of LSU at No. 5 or trade for someone like Marlon Humphrey of the Ravens it seems unlikely they would be able to draft someone as ready to play as Flott already is.
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At a rail-thin 175 pounds, Flott is not a perfect fit for an aggressive press-man defense where the cornerbacks will need to support the run, which is what the Giants are expected to employ. Still, you can’t perfectly address every problem in one offseason and Flott is an ascending cornerback entering his age 25 season.
5. Let WR Wan’Dale Robinson walk
Duggan writes:
Robinson made impressive strides in 2025, topping 1,000 yards receiving and increasing his yards per catch average by 3.5. But those numbers will be difficult to replicate when Malik Nabers returns as the passing game’s No. 1 option. Robinson became more of a downfield threat last season, but the 5-foot-8, 185-pounder’s size limitations are real. The Giants should be able to find a receiver with a comparable skill set in the middle rounds of the draft.
Valentine’s View
It was gratifying to watch the 5-foot-8 Robinson gain more than 1,000 receiving yards in 2025. Since they selected him in the second round in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Giants had always told us they thought Robinson could be a real play-making weapon. That finally materialized in 2025.
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Reality, though, is that kind of production from Robinson is not sustainable. Robinson’s breakout year happened largely because Malik Nabers missed 13 games, and the Giants had to try to get explosive plays from someone. The other reality is 5-8 wide receivers don’t do what Robinson did last season. He was the first 5-8 or shorter receiver since Richard Johnson in 1989 to surpass 1,000 receiving yards. Robinson’s season was an outlier, and it’s difficult to get ahead betting on outliers.
Paying him $21 million annually over three years, which is what Pro Football Focus projects, or even $16 million annually over three years, which is what The Athletic projects, seems like an overpay. Pay him big money, and it feels like there is a good chance you will be paying for expected production you won’t get.
There are also a number slot receiver types available in the middle of the draft who could become productive players.
6. Sign DT John Franklin-Myers
Duggan writes:
The Giants have built up their edge rush in recent offseasons, but it’s time to take the interior spot next to Lawrence seriously. No more relying on cheap stopgaps to be starters. Lawrence was at his best when he had Williams as a sidekick.
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Valentine’s View
Joe Schoen’s mistake was not in trading Leonard Williams to the Seattle Seahawks in 2023. Reality is, Williams looked at the time like a past-his-prime player who was beginning to break down and would be demanding a big-money contract a rebuilding team was going to correctly be reluctant to pay.
Schoen got extra draft capital in the deal that turned into Tyler Nubin and Marcus Mbow. Sure, you can argue he could have used that draft capital better. The theory was right, though. Schoen also used the money he saved to engineer a trade for Brian Burns, a terrific player who is four years younger and should have a longer runway of success.
Schoen’s mistake has been never adequately filling the hole next to Dexter Lawrence that was left by Williams’ absence.
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Middling veterans like A’Shawn Robinson, Roy Robertson-Harris, and Rakeem Nunez-Roches weren’t going to get that done. Neither were late-round draft picks like D.J. Davidson and Jordon Riley. A pass-rushing third-round pick like Darius Alexander was a nice step, but Alexander’s 30.3 Pro Football Focus run defense grade tells you he did not look like an every-down player in 2025.
The 29-year-old Franklin-Myers will likely be the best defensive tackle on the free agent market. He has 14.5 sacks combined the past two seasons, and is a quality run defender.
The Athletic proposes a three-year, $54 million contract for Franklin-Myers, and says:
Franklin-Myers is an elite interior rusher with alignment versatility. He tied for ninth in pass-rush efficiency among interior defensive lineman with at least 250 pass-rush snaps. He has a blend of power and quick twitch. He uses violent hands to shed linemen with a go-to swim move, and he makes linemen look silly because he is so sudden. Franklin-Myers has an acute sense for when quarterbacks are trying to climb the pocket, and he can shut down scramble escape lanes through the A and B gaps.
Lawrence needs a real running mate on the interior of the defensive line. Franklin-Myers could be the answer.
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7. Sign G Isaac Seumalo
Duggan writes:
There will be calls to sign Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum, but his PFF projected contract of four years for $80 million is prohibitive, considering the Giants’ bigger needs elsewhere. They’re better off making an economical upgrade at guard and then spreading money around to value signings at wide receiver and linebacker. The Giants don’t need to spend top dollar on Linderbaum to infuse some Ravens culture into the team. Fullback Patrick Ricard, who has spent his entire nine-year career in Baltimore, is an obvious budget-friendly target.
Valentine’s View
I think a big move along the interior of the offensive line is coming. It won’t shock me if that portion of the Giants’ offensive line is completely revamped next season to be a more physically dominant, power run game suited group.
As such, I think Linderbaum is going to be the play for Harbaugh and the Giants. The connection from Baltimore and the idea that Harbaugh could start his reconstruction of the offensive line with the player who led his Ravens’ line seems too enticing to ignore.
Maybe the Giants get outbid for Linderbaum, but I believe they will make a big push for him.
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8. Draft Ohio State safety Caleb Downs at No. 5
Duggan writes:
Trading down from No. 5 to acquire more picks would be ideal, but there doesn’t figure to be much demand for this selection in a weak quarterback draft. I’m generally a proponent of position value, but Downs could be an exception if he’s as good as the hype suggests. The Giants’ talent at premium positions (QB, LT, WR, OLB) gives them more freedom to take the best player available with the fifth pick. Harbaugh knows firsthand how valuable a game-changing safety can be after deploying Kyle Hamilton, the 14th pick of the 2022 draft, for the past four years in Baltimore. Downs could be the chess piece that makes the Giants’ defense click.
Valentine’s View
We have already been through this discussion a number of times, and BBV readers should know by now that I would support the pick. To make it worthwhile, Downs would have to be the player draft analysts think he could be. If he is, though, this is a player who could be the leader of the Giants’ secondary for a decade. I have pointed out consistently that Downs would be a Harbaugh type selection, even if it goes against conventional NFL wisdom.
9. Trade back to acquire more picks
Duggan writes:
The Giants need to adopt the Ravens’ practice of stockpiling draft picks. The Ravens averaged 8.9 picks per draft during Harbaugh’s 18 years in Baltimore. The Giants have averaged 7.8 picks per year during general manager Joe Schoen’s four drafts. That may not seem like much of a difference, but one more swing per year obviously increases the odds of a hit — and Schoen’s average is inflated by having 11 picks in his first draft when he twice traded back in the second round. He turned the extra Day 3 picks from those two drafts into safety Dane Belton and linebacker Micah McFadden. Despite that positive return, Schoen hasn’t traded back in the past three drafts, averaging 6.7 picks in those drafts. The Ravens had more than seven picks in 14 of Harbaugh’s 18 drafts.
Valentine’s View
Long-time Big Blue View readers know that I am always in favor of a trade down. One of the core tenets of the ‘Big Blue View Rules for Draft Success’ is to trade down and get more swings whenever possible. That gives you more bites of the apple, and the chance to soften the blow of any misses you do have in the draft. I think trading down for extra picks is generally the right thing to do, provided you are comfortable with the player or players you might be leaving on the draft board.
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Duggan is right that the Giants should aspire to have more than seven selections as often as possible. With only one quarterback likely to be picked before the Giants are on the clock at No. 5, trading down from that spot seems difficult. Maybe they could trade back from No. 37 in Round 2 and squeeze a third-round pick out of someone.
There is, though, another way to add some picks this year, and perhaps in 2027.
Trading Thibodeaux and center John Michael Schmitz.
We have talked about trading Thibodeaux. If the Giants sign Linderbaum, and that is an unknown right now, Schmitz becomes a spare part. He has never played guard, and I have doubts that he could do so adequately. If Linderbaum is signed, trading Schmitz for draft assets and having someone like Greg Van Roten or Austin Schlottmann as the primary center-guard backup seems like the best play.
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10. Decline CB Deonte Banks’ fifth-year option
Duggan writes:
It’s nice to end this exercise with a layup. There will be no consideration of picking up Banks’ fifth-year option, which is projected at $12 million. Banks doesn’t seem like a fit in Harbaugh’s program, though the 2023 first-rounder has enough talent to get a shot to prove himself this offseason. Banks showed last season he can be a capable kick returner, but he’s the type of player often swept out by a new regime.
Valentine’s View
Obvious no-brainer. It will be interesting to see if Banks makes it to training camp and gets an opportunity from Harbaugh to turn his career around, or gets bounced to the curb as an example to Giants’ players that the lack of effort Banks has shown at times the past couple of years won’t be tolerated.
