New York Giants have made a surprising 2025 bet

Instead of massive turnover, the Giants have the league’s most stable starting lineup entering the season

When a team goes through a 3-14 season that is usually followed by heavy roster turnover, even if the general manager and head coach stay in place.

The New York Giants, though, are making a different type of bet.

GM Joe Schoen insisted last season that the Giants weren’t far off, despite results on the field screaming otherwise. Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll pointed to lack of consistent, capable quarterback play as the biggest reason as the offense finished 30th and 31st in the NFL the past two seasons.

Rather than strip down a defense owner John Mara was clearly tired of watching at the end of last season and start over, Schoen and the Giants chose to stay with defensive coordinator Shane Bowen and add pieces to fortify the group.

A study from Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap points out just how much the Giants have doubled down on their belief a complete restart wasn’t necessary after the 2024 season. Fitzgerald shows the Giants with 90.3% of their 2024 starters returning, most in the NFL.

Fitzgerald writes:

That number is amazing considering how bad the team was last year. They have all of the players on offense returning (though Daniel Jones did not count at the end of the year so he was a switch) and rank 10th in returning players on defense. The Giants are clearly banking on the QB being the main problem from last year and that better play will keep the team from spiraling.

By comparison, the Tennessee Titans, who had the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, return a league-low 56.7% of their 2024 starters.

In terms of overall rate of return, the Giants rank ninth with 76.8% of their players return. Per Fitzgerald, league average is a 71.4% return rate.

While going 3-14 in 2024, the Giants were 2-9 in games decided by 10 points or less.

Offensively, the Giants are clearly banking on quarterbacks Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston and Jaxson Dart to make a difference in some of those close games.

The Giants did lose five games by more than 20 points last season. They are also banking on defensive upgrades Abdul Carter, Jevon Holland, Paulson Adebo and Darius Alexander to make sure fewer games get out of hand.

We will see in a few months if Schoen and Daboll have made the right bet.