thelesterlee
I just watched 17 of the worst football team I have ever seen. Watched every single one. Even this final 20-13 New York Giants loss to the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad.
Tanner McKee finds EJ Jenkins for his first career TD reception! pic.twitter.com/iS0CjP8FhG
— Shane Haff (@ShaneHaffNFL) January 5, 2025
Tanner McKee and EJ Jenkins, two players I did not know existed until this afternoon, who in just one game, are having better seasons than 99% of the Giants roster.
1. Malik Nabers may be the best wide receiver ever
It’s terrifying when your team spends a first-round pick on a position with multiple first-round talents.
You never want to be the Arizona Cardinals drafting a realtor while everyone else takes franchise QBs.
With Rome Udonze and Marvin Harrison Jr. all having comparable skill sets, Malik Nabers’s success was not guaranteed.
He easily could’ve been the worst of the three—especially when you’ve been rooting for a team seemingly incapable of scoring touchdowns.
Plus, he was catching passes thrown by Daniel Jones.
Malik Nabers is absurd. Just wowwww. pic.twitter.com/VrYcMsgJS9
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 5, 2025
Turns out, Malik Nabers is already a Top 10 receiver, breaking the single-season rookie reception record (which Brock Bowers then broke like, 20 minutes later) but also breaking the New York Giants single-season reception record.
Malik Nabers finished his rookie campaign with 104 receptions, 1,140 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns.
🗣️LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK
Also real quick, shout out to my other rook, Tyrone Tracy Jr
Fuck Saquon Barkley. Tyrone Tracy Jr is the future of the Giants
(Drew lock is not, hopefully) pic.twitter.com/RWGKRxVHXJ
— Dreadlef Schrempf (@TheLesterLee) December 22, 2024
Tyrone Tracy’s rookie season was a much-needed ibuprofen while Saquon Barkley was inventing new backward hurdles and shit.
2. Daniel Jones is gone
Hey, now that the smoke has settled, we can all agree Daniel Jones was one of the worst starting quarterbacks ever and held the Giants franchise hostage for the last 6 seasons, right?
Daniel Jones had one playoff appearance in 6 years in a season where he was essentially used as a human battering ram to move the chains.
Whenever tasked with throwing—a skill you’d hope NFL starting quarterbacks get a healthy understanding of by their 6th year—Daniel Jones played like the refs kept changing the weight of the balls every play and Jones could never figure out how hard to throw it.
In an alternate reality, Daniel Jones is in year 6 of his Hall of Fame career as a tight end.
Daniel Jones looks like a changed man on the #Vikings sideline.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 1, 2024
DAMNNNNN, DANIEL. You sure look good wearing literally any other team’s gear.
3. Giants pass rush
The New York Giants spent the first half of the season leading the NFL in sacks.
Dexter Lawrence 7th sack of the season is a BIG ONE pic.twitter.com/KUE2qLmjXj
— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) October 14, 2024
If you’ve been here for a while, you know that’s how they won those two championships this century.
Between Dexter Lawrence and Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux and Rakeem Nunez-Roches and Azeez Ojulari, no offensive line could keep these maniacs in front of them.
And although Ojulari won’t be on the team next season, everyone else is still locked up under contract and after a gross season like this, the Giants will be in a great position to draft another maniac to join them.
As much as this season would’ve been the same if the Giants had decided to forfeit at 1pm every week, I respect Joe Schoen not trading away guys like Dexter Lawrence. It’s so fucking hard to get players with truly game-changing talent.
Trading them away, while they’re still clearly in their physical primes, for some 3rd round draft picks and cap space is bad team building.
This pass rush may be historic next season—especially if they have a real-life QB1 so these guys have a reason to go 100mph all game.
4. Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito bromance
When your season gets so lost you’re not even mad Tim Boyle is out there wearing your team’s jersey, the search for positivity becomes dire.
I felt like the guy who won season 1 of Squid Games spending the next 3 years trying to find the guy who originally invited him.
But here we are.
The Giants QB room was gross. Daniel Jones. Drew Lock. Tommy DeVito. Tim Boyle. Giants fans didn’t deserve this.
One thing I couldn’t help but notice is how much Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito were supporting each other on the sidelines. I’m sure a ton of guys in that building, including the head coach and general manager, were treating every week like an audition to maintain their NFL careers. Lock and DeVito did not have to become buddies.
Even when competing for the starting job midseason, they stayed boys.
Here’s what Drew Lock said about his relationship with Tommy DeVito after DeVito got a start instead of him:
“I’m going to come in and be great and not to mention, I’ve been really close with Tommy, it’s more than just a business thing. I appreciate him, he’s a great friend, and I want him to go out there and do well. He deserves to go out there and play well. He deserves to have this team behind him, and I’m excited for him.”
To be human briefly, it is super cool these two bonded this year.
Would it shock any of you if Tommy DeVito never made another NFL roster or Drew Lock never gets into a game next year?
This league is hard and it’s dope they seemed to genuinely care about the other’s success.
This season was a nightmare. But it’s over. We made it. We survived.
It’s only up from here.
Seriously, now that John Mara is done pretending like Daniel Jones is a franchise QB because he shares the least valuable similarities with Eli Manning, we can move forward.
Maybe draft a guy. Maybe bring in Sam Darnold or Justin Fields.
Whatever it is, for the first time in a long time, this organization has options and hope and flexibility and not Daniel fucking Jones. Free at last, free at last.
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