Quarterback drama, draft order, among 6 things to watch as New York Giants play out the season

Last seven games will have an impact on the team’s future

The New York Giants get back to work this week, playing out the string of a lost 2-8 season, something that has become a far-too-familiar occurrence in East Rutherford, N.J. Here are six things to watch the rest of the way.

Quarterback drama

It isn’t a matter of “if” the Giants choose to replace Daniel Jones in the starting lineup, but “when”. That may come as soon as this week when the Giants host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium.

We may not find that out until Wednesday, since head coach Brian Daboll is not scheduled to speak to media until then. Of course, a resourceful or well-connected insider might find out before then. We will just have to wait and see.

Best guess is that whenever the Giants do replace Jones, Drew Lock gets the first opportunity to start games. Lock has been the backup all along, and if you aren’t going to play him in this situation what did you sign him for?

Will fans get to see Tommy DeVito play at some point? If so, will he reprise DeVito-Mania or show why he is a third-stringer who went undrafted?

Can either Lock or Devito show enough to be the bridge quarterback the Giants are inevitably going to need next season?

Can the league-worst offense show improvement once Jones is no longer behind center, which would be even more evidence that the Giants need to start over at quarterback?

Can the Giants, 1-5 in one-score games this season, win a couple of close games with Lock or DeVito?

Effort (The Tae Banks category)

Continuing to lose games won’t help Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll build cases for why they should keep their jobs. More than that, the optics of the remaining seven games are critical.

Are the games competitive? is it apparent players are continuing to buy in and giving their best effort? Or, are they making business decisions to protect their bodies rather than trying to help their team? Is their locker room sniping, whether it be at others in the room or at the coaching staff? Does Deonte Banks appear to have gotten, and taken to heart, the effort message? Or, is that a continued issue?

This is a dangerous seven weeks for Daboll and Schoen. We know co-owner John Mara doesn’t want to go through another massive change. We know he has said as much. We know, though, that he will

Evan Neal

After playing well in his first start of the season in Week 10 against the Carolina Panthers, Neal figures to get the final seven games at right tackle as a last chance to prove he can play the position effectively at the NFL.

How that goes could help determine both Neal’s future and the future structure of the Giants’ offensive line.

Individual accomplishments

Several Giants players could record significant personal achievements over the final seven games.

• Tyrone Tracy has 545 rushing yards. He need 455 rushing yards over the final seven games to reach 1,000, an average of 69 rushing yards per game. In his six games as a starter, the fifth-round pick has averaged 86 rushing yards per game.
• Malik Nabers is on pace for 114 receptions, which would surpass Steve Smith’s 2009 franchise record of 107. He is also on pace for 1,138 receiving yards, which would make him the Giants first 1,000-yard receiver since Odell Beckham Jr. in 2018.
• Dexter Lawrence already has a career-high 9.0 sacks. He is second in the league in that category behind Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals? Can Lawrence lead the league in sacks, a stat dominated by edge defenders, despite being an interior defensive lineman? Can we win Defensive Player of the Year despite being on a bad team?
• Wan’Dale Robinson has 56 catches and is just five shy of setting a career-high in his third season. He is on pace to catch 95 passes. Can he stay healthy over the final seven games and threaten the 100-reception mark?
• Brian Burns and Azeez Ojulari each have 6.0 sacks. Can Burns get to double digits for the second time in his career? Can Ojulari, who won’t play as much once Kayvon Thibodeaux returns from IR, surpass his career-high of 8.0?

Draft order

The Giants currently have the No. 5 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. That will change weekly, and will be a constant source of discussion. The Giants are almost certainly going to end up in the top 10. But, how high?

Can the Giants win a home game?

The Giants are 0-5 at MetLife Stadium. They have been outscored 120-53, and suffered their two worst blowout defeats — 28-6 to the Minnesota Vikings and 28-3 to the Philadelphia Eagles — at home.

The Giants have not gone winless at home since going 0-7 in 1974, when they finished 2-12. They haven’t won fewer than two home games since going 1-7 at Giants Stadium in 2003.

Continuing to be embarrassed at home, and watching fans head for the exits long before the end of games, is another thing that could lead to regime change.