3 Giants players who have under-performed in 2020
The New York Giants currently stand at 3-7, second in the NFC East, going into their Week 11 bye.
It has been a season riddled with misfortune after misfortune. Whether it is injuries or terrible losses, the Giants could not seem to get anything going their way over the first eight weeks. They went 1-7 in that stretch, one of the worst starts in Giants history.
While things have looked better these last two weeks after recording a pair of wins, the season can be labeled as a disappointment thus far.
A disappointing season is always a team effort, but here are some players who have contributed more than others in terms of under-performing.
(AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
The speedster tight end out of Ole Miss has seemed to regress every single season he has been in the NFL. He started out as a promising rookie scoring six touchdowns and recording 722 receiving yards. However, both of these values have decreased every year due to injury or poor play. Now in 2020, Engram is currently having arguably the worst year of his young career despite an increased volume share. Evan Engram currently only has 347 scrimmage yards and one receiving (two total) touchdowns despite leading the Giants in targets. This is due to his extremely low catch rate of 56.7 percent, which is especially low for a tight end, and his inability to do anything after the catch; Engram averages only 4.4 yards after the catch per reception. These are both lows over the last three years for the 26-year-old, and things get worse when one looks at the advanced stats. Evan Engram has dropped 10.4 percent of his targets so far this season, including one that would have likely allowed Big Blue to beat the Eagles. His drop rate is also double any other mark in his career. In addition to the drops, Daniel Jones has thrown four interceptions when targeting Engram and committed one fumble on a trick play. He had never even been involved in a takeaway prior to this season and now Engram has been involved with, and mostly responsible for, five total turnovers. To put it into a bigger perspective, Engram is currently posting both his worst offensive and receiving grades of his career, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), while also having a career-low 55.8 passer rating when targeted. This is not what New York wished to see in the final year of their first-round pick’s rookie deal.
(AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Here’s another pass catcher who is currently having one of the worst years of his career. Golden Tate has had a disappointing season over the first 10 weeks due to injury, attitude, and age. The season started on a low note for the Notre Dame graduate, as he missed Week 1 due to a hamstring injury. From there, things did not get much better. Over the next seven games, Tate only posted 22 catches, 226 yards, and two touchdowns. This put Tate at an average of only three catches and 33 yards per game, his lowest since becoming a full-time starter in 2012. This was mostly due to his lack of success in generating opportunities for himself as he never really created separation. Most of his catches were really just great balls thrown by Jones. Following that disappointing eight-game stretch, Tate publicly addressed his dissatisfaction with his role and hinted at a desire to part ways with the team. This resulted in head coach Joe Judge benching Tate for the Week 9 game against Washington. His outburst was a symbol of how his year has been going and a representation of his decreased level of play. It is clear that Tate, 32, is no longer himself and age has hit him hard. He is currently PFF’s 84th-ranked receiver (career-worst). Tate is also recording career-low PFF grades overall (64.7) and in receiving (65.2). The Giants added Tate hoping they could squeeze out the last of his good years, but as of now those seem to be long gone.
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Finally, the biggest disappointment for Big Blue of the 2020 season has been Andrew Thomas. Thomas came into the NFL with high expectations as the No. 4 overall pick from Georgia. The Giants selected Thomas to shore up the left side of the line for years to come. Unfortunately, the start of that goal has been quite disastrous, as Thomas is currently the worst out of all first-round rookie tackles despite being the first one taken. The Georgia alum is currently the 65th-best tackle out of 77, and ranks 72nd in pass protection and 60th in run blocking, per PFF. The tackle has already allowed a league-leading 44 pressures, and 32 of those pressures are hurries (first in the NFL), six are QB hits (10th in the NFL), and six are sacks (first in the NFL). It is clear that Thomas has played incredibly sub-par, especially for a top-five selection. The rookie has under-performed so much that his college coach, Paul Alexander, has called out his poor play. Alexander said he was “mad” and Thomas’ performances were “mind-boggling.” It was clear to Alexander, and eventually Judge, that the current strategy was not working for the rookie. Now Thomas will have a new plan instituted to help right the ship of his awful season that is reminding Giants fans of one that they experienced just a few years ago with another high first-round pick left tackle. His name was Ereck Flowers — and Giants fans do not want another Ereck Flowers.
