The Giants Weren't Dumb To Let Saquon Walk
As a big time Giants hater (Philip Rivers has always gotten runoff hatred after 2003), it pains me to write this blog but I can't stand this discourse any longer. Throughout this entire year, every time Saquon makes a big play you'll see a million accounts going viral saying "Oh wow, why would the Giants ever let Saquon walk! How stupid are they!!!". Here is the bottom line. The New York Football Giants were NOT stupid to let Saquon walk. They were stupid for the thousand other decisions over the past few years. Here is my reasoning.
Why was it right decision to let Saquon walk? It's simple. The Giants were not competitive as structured and Saquon did not change that. Making him the 3rd highest paid RB in the league would put them right where they were last year. BAD O line (21st in Pass Block win rate, 19th in Run block win rate), BAD Defense (6th most YA/G, 7th most PPGA/G) and a BAD receiving core. Saquon was a luxury, not a foundation.
But Saquon is doing so well! No shit. He went from a horrible, dysfunctional team with a shit-tier offense to a top-3 offensive line in football complimented by a good QB and one of the best receiver groups in the league. Going to the Eagles would not be a downgrade for any active RB in the league. This is like being surprised an aluminum bat makes a bigger difference in the hands of Aaron Judge than it does in the hands of a coughing baby.
But the Giants decided to pay Daniel Jones instead of Saquon! That is demonstratively untrue. Just go look at the money they spent in free agency. It was never a this OR that situation. Even if you want to rationalize that the team should have moved on from DJ instead of re-signing, the hypothetical still doesn't work. If they let DJ walk in 2023, the "best" QB option at their pick that year was Will Levis or Aiden O'Connell. Maybe they try free agency instead! The best QB to go in free agency that year was Derek Carr, who got $150,000,000 over 4. That puts them right back into "They paid X instead of Y!" false narrative. No matter what they did in 2023, the Giants would still be bad in 2024 and still probably moved on from Saquon.
Well what do we make fun of the Giants for then? The decision to let Saquon walk was correct but you should rip everything leading up to that point and what they did after! Make fun of them for drafting bad!
Make fun of them for letting a non-luxury piece in Xavier McKinney walk. Make fun of them for investing in Jon Runyan, Devin Singletary, Jermaine Elumenour, Darren Waller, Kenny Golladay, James Bradberry, Adoree' Jackson, Golden Tate. Go back years and make fun of them for breaking Eli's starting streak to start a then-bad Geno Smith! All of these choices are bad. Choosing to let Saquon walk was not a bad decision.
Now get your Sierra Nevadas ready for tonight and start to Bolt Up.