00:00Have the Giants done enough for Jackson Dart to take the year two leap, protecting him,
00:05getting him weapons as pass catchers, and surrounding him with the offensive coaching
00:08staff with NFL play calling experience seem to be the theme of their 2026 offseason.
00:14So here's how the Giants acquired assets to help Jackson Dart going into year two,
00:20and we're going to start with protection.
00:22Immediately, they locked up solid right tackle Jermaine Illuminor to another two-year deal,
00:27and then they made a big boy move and upgraded the interior of the offensive line
00:32by drafting C.C. Maunoah with the 10th overall pick.
00:36I love the selection because on 557 passing snaps, he allowed only two sacks and 15 total pressure.
00:46Now, that was mainly at tackle, but he did play one season at the U at guard,
00:52so there's experience there.
00:53And at 6'5", 329 pounds, big boy should help eliminate some of that interior pressure
01:01that Jackson Dart faced and experienced in his rookie season.
01:05Now, the overall unit allowed a total of 48 sacks throughout the season,
01:10and that translated to a high sack rate of 9.4%.
01:14To add even more context to that, when he was pressured, he had a PFF grade of 68.4%
01:22compared to 94.3% when he had a clean pocket.
01:26Look, any quarterback who's feeling too much heat consistently like that is going to struggle.
01:32That's just football, and that's not what you want your franchise quarterback
01:36going into his second year to have to deal with.
01:39Now, I do think Jackson surprised a lot of people with his athleticism and his ability
01:44to escape the pocket.
01:46I mean, when he felt pressured and he scrambled, he averaged .24 forced missed tackles per run,
01:54and he ran for 487 yards and 9 touchdowns.
01:58But we all saw how scrambling and running too much got this man in a lot of trouble
02:04in frequent trips to the Blue Medical Tent.
02:07Now, another way that they are helping Jackson Dart in his second year,
02:12they added playmakers and pass catchers in the slot and the perimeter.
02:18Yes, you did lose Wondell Robinson, but they did add breakout tight end Isaiah Likely,
02:24speed receivers like Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin,
02:27and then they went and drafted 6'4 plus receiver Malachi Fields in the third round.
02:34Now, the Giants' wide receivers and tight ends room has way more depth and competition in it now
02:41than it had in recent years.
02:43And that should, keyword, should clean up all the inconsistencies and drops
02:50because that is something that has plagued this passing game for years.
02:54If you can't catch it, you're not going to play this year
02:58because the Giants' receivers accounted for 13 drop passes in 2025.
03:04And not to put my man on the spot, but Darius Slayton led the group with 6.
03:09Overall, as an offense, it didn't get any better.
03:13They recorded 24 total drops, and that was tied for 10th in the league.
03:18Now, Isaiah Likely should provide Jackson Dart with that reliable target across the middle.
03:24My man is a mismatch.
03:26Too fast for linebackers, too big for safeties,
03:29and he comes down with contested catches,
03:31but he gets freaky with the football after he catches it, a.k.a. Yak.
03:37Now, in terms of Mooney and Austin, well, they should provide some depth,
03:41and we'll see if they battle it out with Slayton to see who's going to be that speed guy
03:46and the possible wide receiver, too, behind Malik Neighbors.
03:49But I don't want you to sleep for one second on Malakai Fields out of Notre Dame.
03:56There's a reason they traded into the third round to go get this guy,
04:00and it's been a while since the Giants had a 6'4 plus guy on the outside
04:05who can go up and attack the rock like Plaxico Burris and Imani Toomer.
04:11Last but not least, it looks like they've gotten away from the Tom Thibodeau approach
04:16to the offense, and they switched it up to the Mike Brown formula.
04:20Collaboration.
04:21And that's no knock on Brian Dable because that was his offense.
04:25He had an offense coordinator and a quarterback's coach
04:27that didn't have prior OC experience, and at the end of the day,
04:31he was the head coach.
04:33Final decisions went through him.
04:35But this year, Harbaugh has brought in Matt Nagy, Greg Roman, and Brian Callahan.
04:41All of those guys have called plays at the NFL level,
04:44and all of those guys have worked with either the best
04:47or some of the best quarterbacks around the league.
04:50The three different sets of experienced eyes now on Jackson,
04:55the entire offense, and how teams are going to try and play him,
05:00attack him, or take him out of the game.
05:02Now, I'm not worried too much about there being too many cooks in the kitchen
05:07because all three of these guys, they ultimately report to John Harbaugh.
05:11This is his team.
05:13So protection, weapons, and coaching experience,
05:16all three of these assets were required in the offseason
05:19to help Jackson Dart take that year two lead.
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