Who was the New York Giants’ best offseason acquisition?

At the start of the 2024 offseason, the New York Giants had so many holes on their roster that one wondered if they could make any significant changes.

They did just that, adding two potential game-changers on both offense and defense.

On the offensive side, the best move was to add receiver Malik Nabers, draft him in the first round, and Bleacher Report’s pick on this team. the most dangerous novelty in 2024.

In Nabers, the Giants added a legitimate No. 1 receiver who is more than just a speedster. Simply put, Nabers is a game changer who should allow the Giants to do a better job of what they’ve been doing in terms of the overall shape of the passing game.

Giants passes typically run approximately 5-7 yards downfield, with the play design creating space for receivers and allowing for safe catches and catch-and-run opportunities. Nabers fits well into the Giants’ existing offensive structure.

While Nabers is not an especially physical receiver and has struggled, at least on tape with man coverage and in tight catch situations, he has excelled downfield, finding gaps in zone coverage and racking up yards after the catch. He is adept at finding weak spots in coverage and has the vision to pick running lanes and turn a short catch into an explosive play.

Nabers’ presence could also open up more opportunities downfield for Darius Slayton and Jalin Hyatt. More importantly, Nabers, whose presence could force a change in the way opposing defenses play as he will likely look to protect against deep plays, should open up some opportunities underneath, and if the Giants can overcome those coverages, he should be able to find success moving the ball.

Defensively, the addition of outside linebacker Brian Burns is by far the Giants’ biggest move this past offseason. Acquired in an exchange with Carolina Burns At Athletic Mike Sando the team’s favorite movenot least because of what Burns could potentially bring to the discussion, which I’ll get to in a moment.

Sando praises the Giants for not having to give up a small king’s ransom to acquire an edge rusher who has never had fewer than 7.5 sacks in his NFL career. This is especially true after the Los Angeles Rams were reportedly willing to offer two first-round picks and one third-round pick in 2022.

The Giants, who have lacked impressive passing numbers over the years, saw a bit of a breakout last season after Kayvon Thibodeaux had 11.5 sacks in his sophomore season and middle defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence had 4.5 sacks and 21 quarterback hits.

Adding Burns, whose best season came in 2022 when he recorded 12.5 sacks, 22 quarterback hits and 30 pressures, now gives the Giants a three-headed monster that opponents must find a way to slow down. It also gives the Giants the unit they had last year ranked 11th in ESPN’s team rushing win rate (45%).

We think that both expansions are strong enough candidates to be the favorite. However, if we have to choose one, we’re more inclined to add Nabers as our favorite (and most impactful) move of the offseason.

The reason is simple. The Giants passing attack was terrible last season. They’re done 31st in total passing with 3,351 yardsjust ahead of the last-place Panthers (3,245 yards).

While injuries were part of it, the lack of a legitimate No. 1 tackle capable of opening up the edge in the passing game was also a glaring missing piece that now that the Giants have it will make the offense closer to being an explosive unit the coaches believe that’s what they want.