Today will feel like Christmas to the Giants, but especially to Daniel Jones.
Happy Golladay. A great catch for Dave Gettleman and Joe Judge. A great big target for Danny’s Dimes.
Kenny Golladay’s signing changes everything now for Jones, and for the Giants. Jones now has more than a fighting chance to enjoy a breakout breakthrough season for the Fighting Joe Judges … if his youthful offensive line can protect him … if offensive coordinator Jason Garrett can orchestrate a quarterback-friendly offense … and if Golladay, 27, may stay on the field more than last season for the Lions, when a hip flexor plagued him.
Big if, yes. But Golladay to get a medical green light from the Giants’ doctors is a hip, hip hooray if ever there was one for Jones and the Giants, and it immediately filled those at 1925 Giants Drive and beyond with Golladay cheers.
So Jones doesn’t just welcome Saquon Barkley back.
He welcomes a 6-foot-4 disputed catch monster and a deep threat.
No Catch-22 here. This was a move that absolutely had to be made when Leonard Williams committed his heist and Golladay’s charges dropped to fit the Giants’ cap space.
He’s a culture man because he’s quiet and humble, the anti-diva recipient. And he will block in the run game. Jones will have a better chance of being Gettleman’s Eli Manning if Golladay can prove he’s Gettleman’s Plaxico Burress.
Think about this: from 2005-08, Eli Manning pitched to the 6-5 Burress and the 6-3 Amani Toomer.
Jones last season pitched to the 5-10 Sterling Shepard, the 5-10 Golden Tate and the 6-1 Darius Slayton.
Odell Beckham Jr. was an outlier: he could take a corner to the house and make one-handed catches at 5-11. The last time the Giants made the playoffs, Manning pitched to Beckham, 6-0 Victor Cruz and Shepard.
The fastest way to improve a young quarterback’s completion rate is to give him a target with a large catch radius.
This was Tom Coughlin on Burress:
“He is a man with an impressive physical presence. And because he has the ability to be a long-ball threat, he’s a man who will force the defense to pay particular attention to where he is. He’s a big target. He can catch the ball with his hands above his head, which puts him well above most corners and most safeguards. “
This was former Lions head coach Matt Patricia on Golladay:
“He’s very tall, he’s big, he sure is – for some of the matchups he can compete in, he creates an advantage from that standpoint. He’s a physical guy too. He can play the big-man game. on the receiving position, which is great. And again, just from a catch-radius standpoint, it also gives the quarterback a big target in the red area. “
Golladay has had divorce issues, but he has two 1,000-yard seasons on his resume, and 11 TD catches in 2019. Giants cornerback James Bradberry will tell you about the time Golladay took a potential interception away from him and hit the ball for a first down.
This was Bill Belichick in 2018 at Golladay: “He’s a very explosive player, great hands, made some fantastic catches in games we’ve seen on the sidelines and in the field this year and last year. Keeping his feet in check, running after the catch. “
Bigger is always better for Gettleman, and he’s illustrated an affinity with the great receiver. He penned 6-5 Kelvin Benjamin at 245 pounds in the first round in 2014 and 6-4, 236 pounds to Devin Funchess in the second round in 2015 as the GM Panthers. Both enjoyed varying degrees of success.
Barkley runs the ball and catches it. Shepard operates from the slot. Golladay, even open when covered. The NFC Least is again up for grabs. And this time Daniel Jones will have someone who can get it.