New York Giants free agency grades: Day 1 gets mostly good marks

Paulson Adebo, Darius Slayton moves are well-received

New York Giants fans seem to like what the team did on Monday’s first day of free agency. Here is how fans graded each of the moves made by GM Joe Schoen on the first day of the negotiating window.

CB Paulson Adebo — 40% of our voters gave the move an A, with 50% grading it as a B signing.

DT Roy Robertson-Harris — 50% of voters gave the signing of the veteran defensive tackle a C, with 26% giving it a B. Only a total 21% grades the move a D or F.

WR Darius Slayton — Giants fans love the fact that the veteran wide receiver is returning. Thirty-seven percent gave the move an A, and 39% a B.

LB Chris Board — The Giants added this quality special teamer and reserve linebacker. Forty-one percent of voters graded the move a C, and 40% a B.

OT James Hudson III — The Giants finally signed a real swing tackle, and our voters seems pleased. Forty-three percent gave the move a C, and 35% graded the signing a B.

Edge Chauncey Golston — The signing of Golston likely means Azeez Ojulari is moving on. Fifty-eight percent of our voters thus far have graded the move as a B, and 26% give the signing an A.

Here are some overall Day 1 grades from national outlets:

Pro Football Network

Grade: B+

Notable Signings: CB Paulson Adebo, WR Darius Slayton, DT Roy Robertson-Harris, P Jamie Gillan (re-signed), QB Tommy DeVito (re-signed)

Notable Departures: None

The New York Giants have actively addressed the defensive side of the ball in free agency so far. The unit struggled in 2024, and they needed to get better across the board. Paulson Adebo gives them a high-upside cornerback who has the talent to lock down a starting spot in 2025. Roy Robertson-Harris should be a decent rotational piece for a run defense that was porous last season.

Bringing back Darius Slayton was somewhat unexpected — not because the Giants shouldn’t want him but because he could’ve easily wanted out of a rough offensive situation. The future at quarterback is uncertain, but Slayton decided to return. The Giants also got him back on a good deal. New York still has a lot of work to do, but they’re off to a decent start.

CBS Sports

Grade: C+

The Giants clearly need impact players across the roster, but especially in the secondary after generating the fifth-fewest takeaways (15) last season. So, credit to them for landing Paulson Adebo, who will be just 26 at the start of next season, and has 10 interceptions over his first four seasons in the league. There is some risk involved with Adebo coming off of a broken femur that limited him to seven games last year. If healthy, however, this is an intriguing playmaker. What prevents New York from jumping higher onto this grade sheet, however, is the lack of clarity at quarterback. The team re-signed Tommy DeVito but has yet to bring in a legitimate answer under center.