Giants news, 3/13: Drew Lock, Jalen Mills signings; Tyrod Taylor, A’Shawn Robinson leave, more headlines

New York Giants news for Wednesday

Good morning, New York Giants fans!

From Big Blue View

While not as frantic as Day 1, a lot of moving parts involving the Giants in Day 2:

• 2024 free agency: Giants sign safety Jalen Mills
• NFL free agency: QB Drew Lock to sign with New York Giants, per report
• 2024 free agency: Giants sign safety Jalen Mills
• NFL free agency: Ex-Giant Tyrod Taylor crosses town, joins New York Jets
• NFL free agency: Giants lose DT A’Shawn Robinson to Carolina Panthers
• NFL free agency: Giants miss out on CB target Darious Williams
• Free agency, Day 1: Joe Schoen resets Giants, financially and philosophically
• Yes, Brian Burns is a Giant: Breaking down the contract, and the possibilities
• Film study: What Jon Runyan Jr. offers the Giants
• New York Giants 2024 free agency tracker: News, rumors, signings, trades, updates, more
• 2024 NFL Draft prospect profile: Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma
• 2024 NFL Draft prospect profiles: Who will be Giants?

Other Giant observations

What Giants’ bold trade for Brian Burns tells us about their future, Joe Schoen | The Athletic

But the Burns trade (showed) Schoen is a believer in premium positions, so he wasn’t going to overextend to sign a running back or safety.

The stakes were different with a premier edge rusher like Burns, so Schoen went all in to do the deal. There’s still plenty of work to be done to build the Giants into a winner, but the first day of free agency showed the path Schoen plans to take to reach that point.

Peter Schrager thinks Giants won Day 1

Letting Saquon Barkley go shows Giants are finally taking emotion out of decisions | Politi | NJ.com

So, yes, Monday can be both a sad day in Giants history and a very good one. It is sad because Barkley, when healthy, was the rare player worth the price of admission on his own and also the kind of good person worthy of the adulation from young fans.

No matter what he does, though, they won’t be wrong for letting him go. The Giants made a cold, calculated business decision that was best for the franchise.

Finally, they didn’t let emotion cloud their judgment.

2024 NFL Free Agency Live Grades: Signings, trades and latest transactions | PFF

Brian Burns to Giants Fit/need grade: A++ Value grade: B. The most favorable way to look at this deal is that the Giants effectively used the draft capital they acquired for interior defender Leonard Williams to land a younger player looking for a second contract instead of a third contract. Burns addresses arguably the biggest need on this Giants roster and should have a lot less attention on him all the time now playing alongside Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Giants bet big by trading for, extending Brian Burns. It needs to pay off fast | FOX Sports

And Schoen needs a win — almost as much as the Giants do coming off a miserable 6-11 season. He’s done a good job in his tenure so far, especially considering how bad things were when he arrived. There is more talent on the team and fewer bloated contracts, a better coaching staff and a lot more depth.

It’s the biggest things that get the most attention, though, and this deal is a big one. If Schoen is able to turn the Giants into a perennial contender, Burns could be a cornerstone. He could be the centerpiece of what might someday be a championship defense.

Does Giants’ Brian Burns trade make sense? Or is this just foolish desperation from Joe Schoen? | nj.com

Look at the parameters of this trade — and also the contract. It’s the type of thing you’d expect a win-now team to do. And the 2024 Giants are very clear not a win-now team.

The Giants clearly needed to get better at edge rusher. This trade makes them better — but at what price? And is the value reasonable, considering all of the other roster holes Schoen must plug?

Brian Burns trade grades: Giants to acquire star pass rusher from Panthers, sign him to massive deal | CBSSports.com

Giants: A. Is $30 million too steep for Burns? Not with the rate for edge rushers going up and the salary cap increasing, especially since pass rush is paramount in today’s NFL. The Giants have prioritized the pass rush over the past few years, with Burns the first step toward a massive rebuild in the trenches. New York is a better team with Burns on the defense.

Xavier says goodbye

PFF 101: The top 101 players from the 2023 NFL season | PFF

8. DI Dexter Lawrence. Lawrence doesn’t get enough appreciation for what he achieves because he aligns mostly as a true nose tackle within the Giants’ defense. He notched 65 total pressures over the year, tied for fourth among interior linemen, but he racked up more pressures from a nose tackle alignment than any other lineman by an order of magnitude. Lawrence is a throwback player who dominates in today’s league.

91. LB Bobby Okereke. Okereke had an excellent year in Wink Martendale’s aggressive Giants defense. His athleticism and range allowed him to post an 82.5 PFF coverage grade, and he allowed an 89.1 passer rating into his coverage, some 15 points lower than the league average for linebackers.

Predicting 2024 NFL Breakout Stars After Latest Free Agent Signings, Trades | Bleacher Report

EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux, New York Giants. While Thibodeaux already worked alongside another skilled defensive lineman in Dexter Lawrence, he’s yet to be paired with a truly dangerous edge. No other Giants defender recorded more than five sacks last year, and the team ranked in the bottom-five collectively in that category.

Expect Burns to be a steady presence while Thibodeaux elevates his game to new heights and establishes himself as one of the NFL’s very best sack artists.

Expect to see these two courtside at the Garden real soon

NY Giants OL Jermaine Eluemunor: Scouting report, 3 things to know | The Record

Eluemunor was born in London, but he grew up in New Jersey. He had not even played football before his family moved to Denville when he was 14. But he applied his rugby skills to playing offensive tackle and wrestling at Morris Knolls, reaching the NJ State heavyweight final as a senior.

Tiki on Giants adding Drew Lock: Not drafting a quarterback | WFAN.com

“This feels like a non-quarterback year,” Tiki said. “They’re not gonna draft a quarterback. Drew Lock is still young, he’s a big kid…unless they just view him as a cheap throwaway at the end of camp…it feels like they’re building this team core – offensive line, defensive line – they’re gonna go get a skill position player, and they’re gonna ride it with Daniel Jones. That’s what it feels like.”

NFL Mock Draft: How will Kirk Cousins’ signing with Falcons impact top 11 picks? | The Athletic

9. New York Giants (from CHI)*: Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn State. Giants fans might be shouting that there’s no way their team passes on one of those wide receivers. Some might even be shouting the same about the quarterbacks. But, like Tennessee, New York needs help up front. Be it Jones or someone else, a team that’s suddenly facing life without Saquon Barkley has to be able to block better than it has. Fashanu would fit just fine.

Around the league

Dak Prescott’s brother takes shot at Cowboys’ front office on social media after slow start in free agency | CBSSports.com

Eagles agree to one-year deal with DeVante Parker | Pro Football Talk

Commanders add Marcus Mariota to QB room ahead of 2024 NFL Draft | NFL.com

Bills agree to terms with former Eagle LB Nicholas Morrow | Pro Football Talk

Leonard Williams agrees to three-year deal to stick with Seahawks | Pro Football Talk

Steelers signing ex-Ravens LB Patrick Queen to three-year, $41 million deal | NFL.com

Vikings announce deal with Aaron Jones | Pro Football Talk

Vikings to sign QB Sam Darnold | Daily Norseman

Ravens signing ex-Titans RB Derrick Henry to two-year, $16 million deal | NFL.com

Darnell Mooney joins Kirk Cousins in Atlanta as Falcons retool offense | The Athletic

Calvin Ridley free agency: Here’s a potential reason why star WR hasn’t signed, and it has to do with Falcons | CBSSports.com

Source — Texans trading for Bengals RB Joe Mixon | ESPN.com

Browns agree to terms with Jameis Winston, per report | CBSSports.com

Raiders expected to release Jimmy Garoppolo on Wednesday after just 1 season | The Athletic

Colts, Kenny Moore agree to 3-year, $30 million contract | ESPN.com

2024 NFL free agency grades, Day 2: Vikings, Ravens both get an ‘A’ | CBSSports.com

Sauce Gardner on Mecole Hardman – ‘Never earned his stripes’ | ESPN.com

Aaron Rodgers and Jesse Ventura Top RFK Jr.’s List for Vice President | The New York Times

BBV mailbag

Have a Giants-related question? E-mail it to bigblueview@gmail.com and it might be featured in our weekly mailbag.

BBV podcast

You can find and subscribe to Big Blue View radio from the show’s home page

BBV YouTube

You can find and subscribe to Big Blue View YouTube from the show’s home page

Follow BBV

BBV on Twitter: Follow @BigBlueView

Ed Valentine: Follow @Valentine_Ed

BBV on Facebook: Click here to like the Big Blue View Facebook page

BBV on YouTube: Subscribe to the Big Blue View YouTube channel

BBV on Instagram: Click here to follow our Instagram page

BBV podcasts: Click here to subscribe to BBV Radio