The Giants have problems. They’re at the forefront of every quarterback rumor circling the league right now. But beyond that, their roster lacks depth and leadership. On the onset of a crucial offseason, Jerry Foley from The Giant Insider Podcast sat down to discuss the Giants’ offseason plans and what they might do in the 2025 NFL draft.
New York Giants Offseason: Exclusive Interview With Insider Jerry Foley
What does your ideal Giants offseason plan in free agency look like?
Jerry: We’ll talk about it on the podcast. I want two cornerbacks in free agency. Go big because I don’t trust Deonte Banks at all. I am tired of hope. Hope is not a strategy. You know, we have too much hope on this roster, like I hope Evan Neal works out, it doesn’t I hope Kayvon takes that next step. He has it, yeah. I hope Deonte Banks returns the form. I don’t think he will. So I want two cornerbacks. It can be Charvarius Ward or Byron Murphy and I know it’s gonna be expensive. I don’t care. Go get them and figure it out. Howie Roseman figures it out.
I want Trey Smith at guard to sure the right side. I want John Michael Schmitz to be the worst player on the line. That way, if you have to upgrade there next year, fine. But then you have Andrew Thomas, John Runyan, John Michael Schmitz and Jermaine Eluemunor.
And then it was funny because there were a couple other ones, like quarterback. The only way I want Matt Stafford is if you trade a third rounder for him. There’s nothing else zero. I don’t want a conditional one next year. If they get Stafford, then I don’t see Sanders becoming a possibility because I don’t think he’s going to want to play for a year behind Stafford. This isn’t Kurt Warner.
But I think if Stafford comes, then a player like Jaxon Dart or Jalen Milroe is more likely the option. I could see that. And then you draft the best player available at three. Whether it’s Abdul Carter, Mason, Graham, or Travis Hunter. Figure it out. I don’t care.
So my plan is to sign two corners, and a guard. We need too much everywhere else, right? If you don’t get Stafford though, I want Justin fields. Fields ends up being my backup or starter. I can live with it because he’s better than Drew Lock ever was with way more potential. Even if he’s my backup it’s fine. If he’s my starter? Let’s see what he’s got. This is our true bridge guy for a year and then we’ll see from there.
What are you doing with Darius Slayton?
Jerry: I would love to re-sign him, but I think he’s gonna walk. We talked about it like I look at the options, and outside of Higgins and Godwin, I just rather have Slayton back. I fully expect him to go to Philly at 1500 yards, 15 touchdowns, because that’s my life.
Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders?
Jerry: Cam Ward is my first choice. Cam Ward has such a high ceiling. I think I view him as a franchise changer. I think he could be a Patrick Mahomes potential type of pick, right? Yes, he has warts, but he’s the only college quarterback I watched all year that makes a play when there’s nothing, and we haven’t had that since Eli Manning, and even then, we didn’t really have it that much, right? Manning was an incredible quarterback, but only a few times did he pull off that play in the Super Bowl. Ward does that regularly. Now, Ward will also make a stupid pass where you’re like, Oh God no!
I don’t dislike Sanders, and if the Giants believe in him, I’m okay with it. It’s just when you talk about Sanders, people are like, well, he’s not fast and he doesn’t have a strong arm, all right. Well, he’s accurate. He might hold onto the ball a little long, but he’s also elusive in the pocket. He’s pocket mobile, so I can handle Sanders.
I’m not saying he has off the field issues, because he doesn’t, but the specter of his father is there. If things go awry, is he the kind of quarterback that starts saying, ‘well, if my father was in here, things would be a lot better?’ So that’s the only issue I have. If the organization believes in them, I’m okay with it. This isn’t like when Daniel Jones was selected. I walked out of the draft because everybody laughed.
Do you have any under the radar guys who might be a good fit for the Giants?
Jerry: Howard Cross from Notre Dame. I watch college football when the Giants stink and I watch positions they need. For a while, I was watching a lot of Texas games because I wanted to see Quinn Ewers. I’m like, Oh, he’s not the guy. All right, let me, let me put on Miami. Oh, this cam ward is something. So someone like Cross fills a need. But outside of that it’s still early to tell.
Who will be the Giants Quarterback in 2025?
Jerry: Shedeur Sanders. One way or another, he’s gonna be a giant. I just have a gut feeling It’s Shedeur. Sanders. To me it’s as sure as when Acorsi wanted Manning back in the day. Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll love Sanders for whatever reason, and that’s fine. I just think it’s going to be him, and I think it’ll be a Justin Fields type, backing him up. It could be fields. It could be Russell Wilson, it could be Jimmy G, who knows?
What’s your confidence level of Schoen and Daboll on a scale from 1-5?
Jerry: Schoen had a good 2024 draft and that’s what’s saving him right now. And I actually have more faith in Daboll than Schoen, even though you had the issue with Wink last year. Now, Wink is not Mr. Amicable, either.
But he [Daboll] pulls the reins away from [Mike] Kafka and now he’s gonna go back to him. There’s decisions Daboll has made that really raise your eyebrows. But that being said, I think he’s better at his job than Joe Schoen is. Sadly, I give them a two. They’re not a one. A one is Dave Gettleman and Pat Shurmur.
And I was okay with releasing Barkley. But the other side of that has to be you’re bringing in bonafide studs and that didn’t happen. But the 2024 draft was good. Now do it again. You’re gonna have to do it again. I need like five studs out of free agency in the draft coming up.
What is your bold prediction about any aspect of the team in 2025?
Jerry: Theo Johnson will be an absolute stud and a weapon for this offense. An 800 yards, five touchdown type. There’ll be other teams that say, oh, other fans ago, who the hell is that? He’ll be that type of player because he was coming on before his foot injury.
So that’s my bold prediction for an under the radar guy. You’re not thinking about him really because people think of Nabers, Andrew Thomas, Dexter, Lawrence, Brian Burns. Theo Johnson is going to be an absolute stud for this team.
What’s your earliest memories of being a Giants fan? How did it start for you?
Jerry: I was born in 74 so in 1981 the Giants made the playoffs. Um, I just turned seven and we were at, they didn’t call it a repass back then, but it was a repass for someone who died. And I remember my dad watching the 40 Niners beat the giants in the playoffs, and his whole family was laughing at him, and it was like, my Michael Corleone moment, like, Dad, I’m with you now.
How has your online presence affected your fandom?
Jerry: Okay, I ask myself [during a game] ‘if this is something we’re talking about on the pod?’ It’s made me more mature. What I mean by that is, in the past, if there was a blown coverage, I would ask myself ‘how stupid or how bad is that cornerback?’ Now I say ‘they were playing zone and it was a missed assignment.’
And that’s stuff that Chris assists with because he’s there and he talks to [Carl] Banks and [Bob] Papa and all these guys.
I don’t think my fandom has changed. I think the Giants being so bad for so long have soured me on the product, right? And I hate that. I don’t want to do a podcast where we come on every week and complain. I don’t like ‘the misery loves company’ line. No, no, I want it to be fun.
And Chris and I always say, like, man, imagine the downloads we would get if we were good, you know? That aside, it would just be a better experience. Like, our Super Bowl is free agency in the draft! So my fandom hasn’t changed, but this era of Giants football has soured me to where no matter what move we make, I’m like, Well, we’ll see, right?
We try to do it in a somewhat intelligent way. Not ranting and raving every week about this and that. Once in a while, I’ll say I’m not doing a live stream this week because I know my reaction to things. It’s gonna be nuclear. I can’t do a live stream against the Eagles. I’ll say things I can’t take back. So to your original question, being in social media, it’s, it’s matured me a bit, in a weird way. I’m trying to be smarter with analysis and predictions and things like that.
Follow Jerry Foley on X to keep up with his analysis of the Giants’ offseason plan. https://twitter.com/GiantInsider
Final Thoughts
The Giants offseason plan will commence when the new league year begins in March. Hopefully, the quarterback sweepstakes will be finished sooner rather than later.
Main Photo: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
