New York Giants: Analyzing Jerry Reese’s Tenure as General Manager
Overall Analysis
Average Offseason Grade: C+
All in all, Jerry Reese has not done well as a general manager, but he still has two Super Bowls on his resume. His drafts have been very bad as a whole, but gems like Odell Beckham Jr and Jason Pierre-Paul bring up the overall average.
A common criticism throughout his tenure as GM has been the lack of depth and player development. With many of the mid-round and late-round draft selections not making an impact, Reese does not do a good job adding depth to the roster.
It has been a tradition for Reese to take the best player available in the first round of drafts. There is nothing wrong with this method when you end up with Beckham, but when you end up with Flowers, fans have the right to question. This philosophy seems to dwindle away as the draft goes on, and when Reese starts taking players late based on need, he strikes out nearly every time.
Not to forget, Reese also ignores the value of building a good offensive line. Whereas teams such as Dallas have built a dominant offensive line through early draft picks, Reese tries to avoid the offensive line altogether. He cannot afford to ignore this need in 2017 because the Giants offense has too much talent at the skill positions to play as poorly as it did.
There have been many free agents Reese has passed on when they would have addressed major needs. Only when his job was on the line did he feel absolutely compelled to spend money. The Giants have cap room this year, so they cannot afford to be hesitant in free agency.
His trades are not on the level of Bill Belichick, but they have mostly worked out. Wing and Beason were good pickups, while Shockey could have brought back more value.
Considering our evaluations, should Jerry Reese continue to be the general manager?
If this were college, Reese’s offseason GPA would be a 2.37 based on my grading, which is approximately a C+.
Overall, I don’t think he has done a great job in either the draft or free agency. I cannot tolerate using Beckham and JPP as reasons for him to stay every year when most of the other draft picks have been disappointments. Rolle and the three 2016 big free agents were tremendous pickups, but what about Myers? Why hasn’t he made an active effort to improve the offensive line?
Reese deserves to be on the hot seat, but if he’s gone now, who will replace him? I don’t want to see someone from the scouting department promoted, and prefer they clean house entirely. Alas, this will not happen because John Mara will soon reward Reese with a contract extension for the Giants making the playoffs in 2016.
Next: New York Giants: 5 Potential 2017 First Round Picks
Regardless of whoever makes the decisions this offseason, the Giants have to address the offensive line. With a functional line, the offense can will finally be in position to break out, and can finally live up to our expectations. When combined with the new defense, the Giants will become a dangerous team once again.