The New York Giants have been adding to their offensive arsenal piece by piece this offseason. First, general manager Joe Schoen went to work retaining quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley.
Then Schoen added back veteran receiver Sterling Shepard and traded for the Las Vegas Raiders star tight end, Darren Waller. On the heels of that blockbuster, Schoen inked speedy free agent wideout Parris Campbell and re-signed Darius Slayton, the Giants’ leading receiver for the past several seasons.
Still, fans and pundits ask: What, no No. 1 wide receiver?
No. The Giants have not signed a bonafide “No. 1” wide receiver this offseason. It should be no shock to anyone paying attention, either.
In his joint season-ending press conference with head coach Brian Daboll on January 23, Schoen pretty much told us his philosophy on having a No. 1 receiver.
“I think we want to continue to build the entire team. Again, I know a number one wide receiver can be important, but there’s some number one wide receivers that are home right now,” Schoen said. “You can go through this past weekend; you can go through a couple of weekends ago in the playoffs. A number one receiver doesn’t guarantee you anything.
“I think it’s important that we continue to build the team, and there’s multiple positions where we want to upgrade throughout the offseason. So, yeah, I’d love to have a number one wide receiver. But we’ve got to place value on everything we do, and if it makes sense, that’s something we’ll look to do.”
So far, it hasn’t made sense to Schoen to break the bank on a top wideout. Many are contending that they have enough firepower at receiver since Waller can line up all over the field.
In addition, Campbell had a solid season for the Indianapolis Colts last year and is seen as an ascending talent at age 25. Combine those two with last year’s breakout star, Isaiah Hodgins, Shepard, Slayton, and 2022 second-round draft pick Wan’Dale Robinson, and you have a fairly deep unit.
Of course, Schoen will likely add another one (or two) with one of his 10 picks in next month’s draft.
It’s also still not too late to add that No. 1 as well. The price for wide receivers is cratering. Just look at Odell Beckham Jr.’s situation. He was reportedly asking for $20 million per year but no team has apparently offered anywhere near that. He sent out a tweet last week saying that he wouldn’t play for $4 million.
I’m just so confused where the quote is from me tht said I want 20…..😭🙄all I’m sayin is 4 AINT enough
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) March 18, 2023
If Beckham’s price continues to fall, maybe Schoen gets involved but he’s at the point where he doesn’t feel like he has to.
