One of the more active teams in NFL free agency this year has been a surprise — the Giants traditionally have not spent much during the ultra-expensive first wave.
Big Blue general manager Jerry Reese stepped up last week and signed defensive end Olivier Vernon (5 years, $85 million, $52.5 million guaranteed), defensive tackle Damon Harrison (5 years, $46.25 million, $24 million guaranteed) and cornerback Janoris Jenkins (5 years, $62.5 million, $28.8 million guaranteed). He also re-signed defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (1 year, $10 million, $8.5 million guaranteed).
Are we to interpret Reese's aggressive actions as smart moves that take advantage of salary cap room, or signs of a desperate GM whose job may be on the line in the demanding New York market? Will the acquisitions help fuel a return to the playoffs, or will the Giants become the next NFL free agency horror story?
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We'll know soon enough.
Reese is custodian to an iconic franchise in the nation's largest sports market, and the spotlight in the Big Apple is intense. The pressure to win (and win big) has been a way of life for him since the Giants won the Super Bowl in 2007, his first year on the job, and again in 2011.
And while last year's improvement by the Jets only increases the heat on the Giants, Reese must be careful not to overreact. That’s how a GM winds up with a load of dead money on the cap from failed player contracts with big signing bonuses/guarantees.
Certainly team owner John Mara signed off on the Giants’ signings to upgrade a defense that allowed 420 yards per game last season, worst in the league. A GM needs his owner's blessing in a situation like this, when the organization is making a major foray into the murky waters of free agency.
The good news is the Giants’ four major signees are 27 or younger. During my time as an NFL executive, I always wanted to sign free agents who were coming off rookie contracts so they would arrive in their prime playing years.
The bad (or at least questionable) news is three of those players come with risk. While all major signings of course carry risk, some carry more than others. Harrison, a run-stopper extraordinaire and perhaps the top defensive tackle on the market, is New York's safest.
The risk with Vernon is his production of 7.5 sacks with the Dolphins last season, which is right on his career average — 29 sacks in four seasons. Yet his $17 million-per-year average salary makes him the highest-paid defensive end in the NFL. Even with the league’s cap increase, that would make me nervous.
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It appears the Giants overpaid for Vernon, which often is the case with high-profile free agents. A good example is Albert Haynesworth's huge contract with the Redskins in 2009. At least Vernon is a better fit as a 4-3 defensive end in New York than Haynesworth was as a 3-4 defensive tackle in Washington.
Olivier Vernon (Getty Images)
Jenkins, who was kicked off Florida’s football team for drug-related arrests and a bar fight and finished his college career at North Alabama, presented character concerns that dropped him to the second round of the 2012 draft. He stayed out of trouble and played well for the Rams over the last four seasons. But now that he's financially set, will he stay on the right path on and off the field?
Then there's Pierre-Paul, a key cog in the Giants’ dominant defense that beat the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. He recorded 12.5 sacks in 2014 but followed with a disastrous 2015 season, missing the first eight games thanks to his July 4 fireworks accident. Reese is betting that JPP can return to form, but the one-year deal shows that the Giants want to see it before they commit to a longer deal.
Reese and Mara know the window for success in the Eli Manning era is closing. They also know the NFC East is a winnable division — Washington took it with a 9-7 record last season — even if the Giants are coming off a 6-10 season that cost coach Tom Coughlin his job.
Beyond finding bargain players in the remaining free-agency period, the Giants need to have a great draft. They still must fortify shaky linebacker and secondary groups, and they must support Manning on the offensive line and in the wide receiver corps to take pressure off superstar Odell Beckham Jr.
Until this year, Reese, like most GMs, had followed the blueprint of building through the draft and augmenting with limited, strategic free-agent signings. It’s the formula I always subscribed to, as do consistent top teams like the Patriots, Packers and Steelers.
And it worked for Reese in his early years on the job, as his fine drafts led the way to success. He and his scouting staff started strong in 2007 with a class that saw seven of eight picks — led by corner Aaron Ross, receiver Steve Smith, tight end Kevin Boss and running back Ahmad Bradshaw — contribute to a championship team.
Things have been hit and miss since. The Giants found two excellent first-rounders in Pierre-Paul (2010) and Beckham (2014), but only seven of their current projected starters were drafted by the team, and only three have been Pro Bowlers. On the positive side, they have several promising recent picks in tackle Ereck Flowers, guard/tackle Justin Pugh, center Weston Richburg and safety Landon Collins.
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After the draft, the pressure will shift to new coach/former offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo and his staff. Returning defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will be expected to effectively utilize those free-agent additions and run a defensive line-led unit similar to the 2007 title team that he coordinated.
Last season’s Giants team was not terrible, despite its poor record. New York just couldn't finish games, with questionable decision making by Coughlin and Manning in some of the losses. The Giants blew five fourth-quarter leads, and four losses were decided in the final 10 seconds.
So Reese's hope is that his high-priced free agents lead a turnaround. The quartet of Vernon, Harrison, Jenkins and Pierre-Paul need to play well enough to make their big deals look like solid investments.
If they don’t, the reality of life in the NFL may force Reese to follow Coughlin out the door.
Jeff Diamond is the former president of the Titans and the former vice president/general manager of the Vikings. He was selected NFL Executive of the Year in 1998. Diamond is currently a business and sports consultant who also does broadcast and online media work. He is the former chairman and CEO of The Ingram Group. Follow Jeff on Twitter: @jeffdiamondNFL.
