REPORT: NY Giants Probes and sanctioned 3 top youngsters

With the 2024 season right around the corner, the NY Giants need to do all they can in order to avoid another letdown. In order for this to happen, certain players are going to have to surpass their expectations, if not, things could get dark.

For certain guys, though, this season could be their last chance to prove they can be impact players for the Giants. They’ve had their ups and downs throughout their career in Big Blue, but have failed to find any consistency. With expiring contracts or cap flexibility to get cut, these four Giants have to play their best in 2024 if they wish to stay in New York for 2025.

P Jamie Gillan

While last season Jamie Gillan had his moments, it was his first successful season out of five and with an expiring contract. Joe Schoen could be primed to move on if he underperforms next season – when he struggled in 2023, fans were not happy.

Gillan’s talent is evident, as he has one of the best legs in the NFL. However, the start of his NFL career has brought much inconsistency. In 2023, Gillan showcased that inconsistency once again, which had some people calling for him to get cut.

Last season, Gillan landed 41 of his 95 punts within the 20 yard line and had a career-long 74 yard punt in Week 12 against the Patriots. In addition to this, Gillan also had the third most yards punted and kicks within the 20 yard line, and had the sixth-longest punt in the NFL. The potential is there for him to be great.

If Gillan can put everything together in ’24, he will likely earn a decent extension at the end of the 2025 season. If not, it’s probably wraps for the Scottish Hammer’s time in New York. What will happen? We’ll find out soon.

 EDGE Azeez Ojulari

There may not be a bigger “what if” on the Giants than Azeez Ojulari. To start his career, Ojulari showed immense amounts of potential, breaking the team’s rookie sack record with eight in 2021. Since then, though, Ojulari has played 18 games in two seasons and has racked up the same amount of sacks in this time.

Injuries have been a serious issue for the Giants for the longest time and Ojulari has been heavily affected by this problem. Despite these injury issues, Ojulari still showed that he can be productive in 2022. While he played just seven games, he racked up 5.5 sacks in this time, which is incredibly impressive.

However, in 2023, Ojulari was almost a non-factor for the Giants. Not only did he play just 11 games, but in this time he brought down opposing quarterbacks just 2.5 times. Now, with the acquisition of Brian Burns, Ojulari will be moved to the bench.

He’ll have his chances to succeed, but they will be limited compared to years past. Unfortunately for Ojulari, his contract expires after the 2024 season and unless he finally has a breakout year, it will likely be smarter to sign veteran depth as opposed to re-signing an injury-prone 24-year-old player.

OT Azeez Ojulari

The Giants have planted the seeds for a future without Evan Neal after signing Jermaine Eluemunor, who played almost all of his snaps at right tackle in 2023. While early OTA indications show that the Giants plan to use Eluemunor at left guard to start the season, a poor start from Neal could easily push Eluemunor back to right tackle.

Last season, Neal allowed two sacks and 29 pressures through just seven games. This, compared to Eluemunor, who allowed six sacks and 28 pressures through 17 games, makes it easy to see who the better player is. Six sacks for Eluemunor may look concerning, but it’s worth noting that five of those sacks came between Weeks 3-4, and he allowed just one throughout the rest of the season.

Neal has all the physical and athletic traits to be great in the NFL, but whether it be because of poor coaching, lack of fundamentals, or injuries, he hasn’t been able to put it together. We hope for both his and the Giants’ sake that Neal finally breaks out in 2024, but at this point it’s almost impossible to tell.

Playing under Carmen Bricillo could help Neal become the player we know he can be. Bricillo has coached up some great talents over the years and has consistently put out good offensive lines. If Neal doesn’t flourish under this system, he could be a lost cause and Schoen may need to check the market and upcoming draft for new tackles moving forward.

 QB Daniel Jones

Since being drafted back in 2019, Daniel Jones has managed to put together one season in which he looked like an above-average quarterback. Now, entering the second year of his massive $160 million extension, the Giants could be looking to move on from him sooner rather than later if he continues to disappoint.

Jones certainly hasn’t had it easy during his time in the NFL, but we have seen several quarterbacks outperform Jones, yet be given fewer chances to start. It’s almost been odd to see New York continuously hold onto the potential of a 27-year-old quarterback, but at least Schoen allegedly tried to trade up for Drake Maye this offseason.

The entirety of New York’s chances to succeed in 2024 relies on whether or not Jones plays well. However, coming off a season in which he threw two touchdowns and six interceptions before tearing his ACL, it may be worth looking at some potential quarterback options for 2025. Jones needs a miracle to keep his job in NY beyond next season. We just don’t see it happening for him.