While the entire 2017 NFL season is still in front of us, it is never too early to start thinking about next year’s unrestricted free agents. The New York Giants have several players on both sides of the ball headed towards free agency next year, with some more important to the team’s future than others. How these players perform on the field will determine whether or not the Giants decide to sign them to extensions before they hit free agency. Let’s take a look at which of the Giants’ 2018 free agents will have the biggest impact this season.
2018 Free Agents Who Will Have Biggest Impact On The New York Giants
Guard Justin Pugh
Pugh is a vital part of the Giants already-weak offensive line. Pro Football Focus graded him as the NFL’s fourth-best run blocking guard last season, despite the fact that he missed five games due to injury. Overall, Pugh earned the 16th-highest grade (83.2) among guards in 2016, according to PFF, slightly below his career-best grade of 86.7 in 2015.
After playing his first two seasons at tackle, Pugh has seemed to have found a home at guard. The Giants like to use his athleticism to pull and trap, and his presence on the line certainly helps Ereck Flowers. Pugh is the longest-tenured offensive lineman on the Giants and has stepped up as a leader of the group. When he is healthy, the line looks a whole lot stronger.
One of the only knocks on the 26-year old lineman is his inability to remain healthy. After playing in all 16 games during his rookie season, Pugh has yet to repeat that accomplishment. He missed two games in 2014 due to a quad injury, two in 2015 because of a concussion and five in 2016 as a result of a knee injury. If Pugh can remain relatively healthy this season, he should be due for a big payday.
C Weston Richburg
If Pugh is 1A in terms of next off-season’s priorities, then Richburg is 1B. The fourth-year center out of Colorado State has been the most reliable offensive lineman for New York over the last three seasons, playing in 47 of the Giants’ 48 games over that span. Richburg epitomizes the mean and gritty mentality that the Giants would like to see from all of its offensive linemen. The 6-foot-3, 298-pound center revealed after the season that he suffered torn ligaments in his snapping hand during the second game of the preseason. Despite the injury, Richburg still managed to play in all 16 regular season games, in addition to the Wild Card loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Not only did Richburg play every game during the 2016 season, but he also played exceedingly well. In 611 passing snaps last season, Richburg allowed only 11 total pressures, an impressive feat considering Ben McAdoo’s heavy pass attack. Pro Football Focus rewarded the Giants center with the highest pass-blocking grade (90.3) for any center in the league, narrowly beating out Oakland Raiders center Rodney Hudson. In fact, Richburg was tied for fifth among all guards and centers around the NFL in pass block efficiency. While he was great in the passing game, the torn ligaments in his hand likely explain why his run blocking did not appear to be as strong as it usually is.
Richburg will likely end up being one of the most important players for the Giants this season. He has already proven his worth as a pass blocker, and with him now 100 percent healthy, the run game looks set to take a big step up as well. Considering the talent on the roster, New York has the potential to be one of the most dangerous offensive units in the NFL. However the success of the offense rests on the shoulders of the offensive front, which makes the play of Richburg that much more valuable.
LB Devon Kennard
Prior to the 2016 season, Kennard had a lot of trouble staying on the field, missing 11 games in his first two NFL seasons due to various injuries. The Giants seemed to find a solution to this issue last season, limiting the linebacker to 47.8 percent of the defensive snaps. The result? Kennard appeared in all 16 of New York’s regular season games and was a stalwart at outside linebacker.
The 26-year old linebacker finished the season with a career-high 61 combined tackles, 40 of which were solo tackles (another career-best). Kennard also added one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one sack, one pass defended and four stuffs to his season stats. While Kennard may have played in less than 50 percent of the Giants’ defensive snaps last season, don’t let that number fool you. Kennard was downright impressive. The former USC Trojan earned a 79.1 grade, courtesy of Pro Football Focus, and was among the NFL’s best 4-3 outside linebackers in tackling efficiency (only Seattle’s K.J. Wright finished better).
For a franchise that used to pride themselves on having a strong linebacker group, the Giants have not received much consistency from the position in quite some time. While he may once again be reduced to only a two-down linebacker, Kennard thrived in that role last season and will look to match last year’s success in 2017. Considering the talent New York has on the defensive line and in the secondary, if the linebackers can step up and hold their own this season, then the Giants’ defense has the chance to be truly special. Kennard has emerged as one of the team’s most promising linebackers, and with the chance to cash-in next offseason, look for him improve on last year’s performance.
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