Giants Offseason Scenarios, Part 1: The Chalk Zone
A thought exercise in continuity, trench investment, and restraint.
Rather than let my creative bug-bite heal during the six weeks leading up to free agency, I figured I’d take this opportunity to work through a number of different offseason scenarios for the 2026 New York Giants.
These proposed trajectories aren’t meant to be predictions, nor “what I would do” if I were in Joe Schoen’s tiny shoes. I’m simply aiming to lay out as many different scripts as possible in order to better determine the best path forward for the franchise.
DISCLAIMER(S):
Given the fact I don’t practice witchcraft or have access to any ancient tomes, I am forced to project on contract values. These won’t be perfect, but they should be in the ballpark and therefore beneficial to this exercise.
Generally, cap hits are lower than the AAV in the first year of new deals. I’ve included “Year 1 Cap Hit” next to each signing to keep things organized.
I’ve only included our 1st and 2nd round draft picks in this scenario. It’s fairly unrealistic to expect immediate production from 4th, 5th, and 6th rounders. I’m also not enough deep enough in draft prep to confidently give you a bunch of random names.
If you have any other complaints/gripes beyond this, please feel free to follow me on Twitter/X and tell me how much of an idiot I am.
Scenario 1: The Chalk Zone
I wanted to start by focussing on a combination of some of the more obvious moves in Schoen’s arsenal. This outline mainly focuses on running it back with UFAs, while bringing in a few Harbaugh guys to round out the roster.
I’ve chosen to really emphasize bolstering trenches in an effort to back up all the hard nosed, meatball, football vernacular that has been floating around 1925 Giants Drive over the past few weeks.
I’d say this reality has so many probable moves that it’s borderline unrealistic — thus being deemed the “Chalk Zone”. Enjoy.
Cap Space/Roster Cuts
The Giants currently sit with roughly $8 million in Cap space heading into the offseason. Per OTC, “simple restructures” to established players with multiple years remaining in their current deals (i.e. Thomas, Lawrence, Adebo) can result in an additional $61 million being created.
The Giants have a rookie QB and a GM in hot water. I’m going to operate under the assumption that proverbial can is kicked fairly faar down the road in an effort to register some wins in 2026.
Speaking of kicking, let’s get to some no-brainer cuts:
CUT Graham Gano (Injured, Expensive) - $4.5 Million Saved
CUT James Hudson (Ass, Expensive) - $5.5 Million Saved
CUT Devin Singletary (Expensive, Depth at Position) - $5.25 Million Saved
CUT Jalin Hyatt (Ass, Personal Hatred) - $1.5 Million Saved
CUT 8 Guys we Brought in to Fill out the Roster in 2025 (Brade, Payton, Tuipoloto, Swayze-Bozeman, Leal, Cambre, Hudson) - $1-1.1 Million Saved Each
These moves will probably be consistent across all the scenarios we run through. Any other cuts, trades, extensions are fairly consequential and will require additional consideration when reconstructing the roster. For instance, what if Bobby Okereke is cut (additional $9 Million saved)?
Okereke’s Giant career has been extremely up and down. His play has fallen off considerably after a dominant year 1 under former defensive coordinator, Wink Martindale.
Linebacker is one of the Giants’ weakest position groups, so while cutting the team’s best LB isn’t ideal, it’s a position that can be filled with an additional body or two using the additional funds.
So — after the restructures, cuts, and starting cap space, that puts us at $103.35 Million to spend on the 2026 season. Let’s subtract the estimated cost of our current draft picks ($15.7 Million) to give us roughly $88 Million to play with.
Free Agency/Draft
RESIGN Wan’Dale Robinson (WR) - 4 Years, $60 Million ($12M Year 1 Cap Hit)
It makes perfect sense for Joe Schoen to retain one of the best draft picks of his tenure. Unfortunately for the Giants’ Front Office, Robinson is coming off a career year, so the cost of the slot receiver increased significantly as he compiled statistics in a lost season.
RESIGN Cor’Dale Flott (CB) - 4 Years, $39 Million ($8M Year 1 Cap Hit)
Flott is arguably the best developed player selected by this regime. Despite his limited size/physicality, he’s made great strides in coverage each year and has completely surpassed Deonte Banks on the depth chart.
RESIGN Daniel Bellinger (TE) - 2 Years, $7 Million ($4M Year 1 Cap Hit)
With only Theo Johnson and the unproven Thomas Fidone remaining in the TE Room, it makes sense to bring back Bellinger on a team friendly deal. The low price tag seems realistic given the limited offensive statistics.
RESIGN Jermaine Eluemunor (RT) - 3 Years, $54 Million ($15M Year 1 Cap Hit)
It’s time to pay the piper for the best RT this team has seen in a decade. He seemingly enjoys playing here and I struggle to find a comparable tackle available at this price tag.
RESIGN Micah McFadden (LB) - 2 Years, $7 Million ($3M Year 1 Cap Hit)
One of the aforementioned LB bodies that can be filled using some of the Okereke money. I don’t think this deal will cost too much given McFadden missed virtually all of the 2025 season.
RESIGN Casey Kreiter (LS) - 1 Year, $2 Million ($2M Year 1 Cap Hit)
I don’t recall any egregiously bad snaps during his tenure. Makes sense to me.
SIGN Tyler Linderbaum (C) - 4 Years, $80 Million ($17M Year 1 Cap Hit)
One of 2 Harbaugh guys that twitter keeps linking to the Giants (Likely being the other). I opted for Linderbaum here because I want to build a bad ass offensive line that fits the image and identity of our new coach/savior.
SIGN Patrick Ricard (FB) - 2 Years, $7 Million ($3M Year 1 Cap Hit)
The erection I have when imagining Skattebo and Ricard in the Power I is almost indescribable.
SIGN Zion Johnson (G) - 3 Years, $28 Million ($8M Year 1 Cap Hit)
I liked Zion coming out of the draft and while he hasn’t fully lived up to his full potential in LA, he’s only 26 years-old and offers a budget friendly option to replace Van Roten (UFA) or Runyan (‘27 Expiring Contract/CUT Candidate).
SIGN Devin Lloyd (LB) - 3 Years, $60 Million ($15M Year 1 Cap Hit)
I needed to land at least 1 big fish to improve a defense that struggled mightily against the run. Lloyd serves as an improvement in that department and offers a ton in the coverage department.
DRAFT Caleb Downs (S) - 5th Overall
The Giants desperately need a playmaker in the secondary. Given we have our Quarterback, Tackles, and Pass Rushers in place — I could really care less about “positional value”. Similar to the Lloyd addition, get me the stud who can play both the run and the pass.
DRAFT Peter Woods (DT) - 37th Overall
Like the entire Clemson Team, Woods’ draft stock has plummeted as a result of a horrible 2025 season. If this kid slips to the 2nd, I wouldn’t hesitate to pounce on an elite talent at a position of need.
Summary/Recap
Offense:
Dart, Winston - QB
Skattebo, Singletary - RB
Ricard - FB
Nabers, Slayton, Wandale - WR
Johnson, Bellinger, Fidone - TE
Thomas - LT
Runyan - LG
Linderbaum - C
Zion Johnson - RG
Eluemunor - RT
I love this group. Outside of Runyan, the line will be set for the entirety of Dart’s rookie deal. Mbow and JMS probably leave a bit to be desired in terms of depth, but ideally Schoen can add more young players to develop in the later rounds of the draft.
The real weakness here is the depth of receiver room. After the three guys shown, there really isn’t much in terms of experience or ability to separate. This is definitely concerning if Nabers is not fully healthy to start the season.
Regardless, the identity of this offensive group will be the run.
Defense:
Burns, Carter, KT, Golston - EDGE
Dex, Alexander, Woods, Robertson-Harris - DT
Lloyd, McFadden, Muasau, Board - LB
Adebo, Flott, Phillips, Banks - CB
Holland, Downs, Nubin - S
This defense should be improved, particularly against the run. Depth at DT and LB remain a concern, but if Downs can play downhill as well as I expect, hopefully it’s at least serviceable.
The same goes for the secondary. It’s essentially the same unit with Caleb Downs. I’m really banking on Dennard Wilson to implement an actual scheme and get the most out of these younger players.
It’s still far from perfect, but if they’re even marginally improved, the Giants should be able to win a few more games behind this possession/run-focused offense.
Specials:
Kreiter - LS
Gillan - P
Sauls - K
Hopefully Sauls is actually good. Regardless, I wouldn’t hate using one of our three 6th rounders on a kicker and/or punter.
If you enjoyed this thought exercise and want to see more, let me know! I’d love to implement any sort of feedback in future iterations of this series.
Let’s Go Giants. Speak Soon.
