The New York Giants entered the 2022 NFL draft with a paper thin roster and an overwhelming number of needs. Even after general manager Joe Schoen traded back to acquire additional picks, there was no way they’d be able to address all of their personnel issues.
That proved to be true — the Giants still have a significant number of needs. However, with 11 total picks, Schoen & Co. still managed to significantly improve the team’s roster.
Just how much did the Giants improve over the course of a three-day span? More than any other team in NFL in terms of estimated overall value.
Here is a look at how much estimated value each team added to their roster during the draft (y axis) against what they were expected to gain based on draft position (x axis). pic.twitter.com/TS9vD1nav2
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) May 2, 2022
Teams that added the most overall value were the Giants, Jets, Lions, Falcons, and Texans.
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) May 2, 2022
In a pick-per-pick value comparison, the Giants edged out the New York Jets, Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons and Houston Texans. And while we can’t comfortably say they had the best overall draft in the NFL, their 11 picks are projected to improve the roster more than any other team overall.
Some will argue that makes the Giants’ draft class the best in the NFL. It’s a stance that does hold some water, but objectively the Jets, Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs did better work.
What held the Giants back from that distinction, as seen in the graph above, is that several of their Day 2 picks were considered reaches. That prevented New York from a perfect value vs. slot/value vs. selection ratio. But boy were they close.
But even those aforementioned reaches earned relatively impressive RAS scores and that bodes well for their production long-term.
All in all, Schoen deserves a pat on the back. He made the New York Football Giants much better than they were pre-draft.