New York Giants mailbag: Jeremiyah Love, right guard, salary cap, more questions

Michael George asks: Ed, we have been inundated post-Combine with articles about this or that athlete’s RAS (Relative Athletic Score). Obviously the scores relate to a player’s eventual NFL career, but it could range from perfect fit to wildly wrong. In your experience can you recall any players (Giants, even better) who scored poorly on the RAS but ended up having very productive NFL careers?

Ed says: Michael, a great RAS does not guarantee that a prospect will become a great player. All things being

equal, it raises the ceiling and improves his chances if he does the requisite work, stays healthy, and lands in the right place. A poor RAS does not mean a player cannot succeed. It simply might mean he has certain limitations, and might need to be used in certain situations and schemes.

Deonte Banks had a perfect RAS. You cannot do better than 10.0. Banks is top-tier in every athletic category. What we have learned that Banks doesn’t have are instincts, ball skills, and perhaps the study/work habits to really get better at his craft.

Hakeem Nicks was on the opposite end of the spectrum. A look at Nicks’ RAS makes you wonder why Jerry Reese made him a first-round pick:

Yet, Nicks had two 1,000-yard receiving season in five years with the Giants and helped them win a Super Bowl. Why? He had vise grip hands that allowed him to make difficult catches, and a willingness/ability to go into traffic and win 50/50 balls. He was a perfect receiver for Eli Manning, who was unafraid to throw into traffic and give receivers a chance to make a play. Those things — a player’s toughness, work habits, desire to be the best he can be — cannot be measured by athletic testing.

It isn’t really part of the question you asked, but this topic gives me a chance to talk about Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. There are some who are upset that Downs did not test at the NFL Scouting Combine or the Ohio State Pro Day. Honestly, I wish he had. Listen to Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who knows a little bit about the NFL, and you understand that Downs’ appeal goes well beyond what kind of athletic testing numbers he might be capable of posting.

Robert Fields asks: One NFL rule I never understood ever. Using Brian Burns reworked contract only as a tool for clarity: He’s receiving a large bonus as per a portion of his contract. But you explained in 2027 he’ll receive 44 million or so as salary. Here’s where I get lost:

Question is simply how is the 2027 salary calculated? Is that a penalty? Is it money “owed?” Based on the bonus? In future years how does this hurt a team’s salary cap? Is the team penalized for freeing up money as a bonus?

Bottom line: How the heck does all the $ work?

Ed says: Robert, Burns does not receive $44 million as salary in 2027. He counts $44 million against the salary cap. His base salary is $21.5 million. The various bonuses that are tied to his contract bring the cap charge to $44 million.

After restructuring his original five-year, $141 million contract Burns will end up receiving $76 million in signing bonus money. That money is “pro-rated” across the life of the contract to lower the annual cap hit. The restructure lowers the cap hit at the beginning, but raises it toward the end of the deal. If you want to call that a penalty, you can. Technically, it doesn’t cost the team more.

I hope that helps, at least a little bit.

The right guard discussion

Robert Markowitz asks: There’s been a lot of talk about the Giants failure to bring in a right guard. But many of the free agencies selections at the bottom of the barrel had only fair PFF grades. Do you think that Harbaugh might be willing to roll the dice on a competition between Neal, Ezeudu, and a drafted rookie?

Ed says: Robert, we shall see. Don’t forget that veteran guard Aaron Stinnie is on the roster and I suspect if they played today he would be the starting right guard. I also still believe there is a chance Greg Van Roten returns.

I don’t know this for a fact, but I think there might be a game of chicken going on between the Giants and Van Roten. He is 36, and he and his wife are Staten Island natives. The couple lives there with their two small children. The Giants might be low-balling Van Roten, banking on the idea that he won’t want to spend the majority of the year away from his family in order to continue his NFL career.

If they really want him, that’s a dangerous game to play.

There is always the possibility the Giants draft Francis Mauigoa of Miami and play him at guard while they still have Jermaine Eluemunor. Or move down and select Vega Ioane of Penn State in Round 1. There are also a number of guards who could be available and worthy of being selected at No. 37 in Round 2.

So, yes, I guess the possibility exists that there could be a competition between a rookie and whoever else the Giants deem worthy in training camp.

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Doug Mollin asks: My assumption at this point in the offseason was that the Giants would use a draft pick on a new RG. If they eventually resign GVR, the new RG would have a viable backup to help their transition to starter.

But Chris raised an interesting point this week — perhaps the coaching staff is looking at having Neal and Eze compete for the RG spot. And signing GVR as the backup/emergency starter if both fail.

This frees up pick #37 from taking a player like Bisontis to maybe taking a CB (Chris Johnson?) or DT (Lee Hunter?) or LBer (Rodriguez), etc. Maybe throw one or two of the sixth rounderers at the OL?

Do you think the Giants might have that plan in mind? Rolling with Neal and Ezeudu with GVR in reserve? Would you be willing to roll the dice on that?

Ed says: Doug, everyone who is freaking out about the idea of a competition for the right guard job between Evan Neal and Josh Ezeudu — Chris included — is forgetting that the starter if the Giants had to play a game today would be veteran Aaron Stinnie.

I cannot imagine that the Giants are done addressing right guard. Dan Duggan of The Athletic raised an interesting point recently. Free agents signed after 4 p.m. ET the Monday following the conclusion of the NFL Draft do not count against the compensatory formula. That is, honestly, something I had forgotten.

As I said above, there could be a financial game of chicken going on between the Giants and Van Roten. At 36, with two small children at home in Staten Island, does Van Roten really want to spend half the year somewhere else to continue playing, or would he take less money to stay home and play for the Giants?

The compensatory formula note from Duggan means that the Giants could wait until after the draft to sign someone like Kevin Zeitler, who played for Harbaugh with the Baltimore Ravens, or Joel Bitonio. In that circumstance, those players would not count against the compensatory formula.

From my recent conversation with Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, I know that Harbaugh and the Ravens liked Neal in the 2022 draft. Harbaugh simply wants to see Neal on the field with his own eyes before moving on. As for Ezeudu, perhaps the same is true. Reality is, Ezeudu could potentially be a four-position backup. There are not a lot of those guys floating around the NFL. Again, he was a highly-drafted player and I have to believe Harbaugh and his offensive staff want to see for themselves whether or not there is something salvageable there before turning him loose. I happen to think that’s smart.

The Giants don’t play a regular season game for 5½ months. I know people want to figure out the answers NOW, but everybody just needs to relax and let the situation play out.

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Mike Winterode asks: Have you heard anything about why Van Roten hasn’t been signed yet? Is his camp asking for too much money or are the Giants waiting out the market? I hope Harbaugh sees the value in having him back. He’s not spectacular, but he’s dependable and can play both guard and center. And he performs the most important duty as a football player – he shows up every Sunday.

Ed says: Mike, I covered most of this in the last two questions. I don’t have inside info, but reading the situation I would not be surprised if the delay is about money.

We can look at PFF scores and the Pro Football and Sports Network ‘Impact Score’ and say, hey, Van Roten is pretty good. But, we do not know what John Harbaugh, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, and offensive line coach Mike Bloomgren think of Van Roten. That is the missing piece to the puzzle.

Maybe they are playing the longer game here, trying to get Zeitler once he won’t count against the compensatory pick formula.

Pat Lam asks: Abdul Carter was possibly the best prospect in the 2025 draft. Towards the end of his first season (after Brian Daboll was relieved of his duties) news started to surface about missing meetings, being late, essentially not doing his job. Even notable teammates (even HOF Lawrence Taylor) lamented this. Daboll was not willing to hold him accountable; Kafka was, and it seemed to be a wake-up call. What did that say about the Team Captains and their ability to hold their teammates accountable? I guess that is why Harbaugh brought in players who will help set the tone for the team in 2026. Based on what I’ve read, Harbaugh is someone who will hold all players accountable. So, two questions: Who do you think will be team captains and do you think Abdul grows up and silents the naysayers in 2026 with a monster season?

Ed says: Pat, I am not going to hazard a guess regarding who the captains will be. That will play itself out. My belief is that Abdul Carter is going to be fine. He may never be one of those guys who spends hours and hours watching extra film, but I think he learned last year that there is a certain level of professionalism and preparation required to do the job the way you are capable of doing it. I don’t think John Harbaugh will tolerate any less.

One thing I had heard about Carter was that there were some maturity concerns coming out of Penn State that teams were aware of, and that it was known that there would need to be a plan in place to help Carter navigate learning to be a pro. It appears the Giants did not really have such a plan.

Andre Banks asks: I’m hearing a lot of scuttlebutt about Jeremiyah Love at 5. I don’t like it, but I don’t hate it either. Fanbase “Barkley buyer’s remorse” aside, where do you fall on this?

Ed says: Andre, we have been talking about it all week.

I think people need to get over what has happened in the past, and realize John Harbaugh will make decisions without caring about any of that. Picking Love wouldn’t be my favorite choice, but my opinion doesn’t count. If that’s what Harbaugh wants to do, that’s what the Giants will do.

Cyril M. asks: Curious about cap costs for first-round picks.

Say the Giants are offered by the Chiefs/Dolphins/Browns to swap their two first round picks for the Giants first and second round picks, what would the cap ramifications be?

Ed says: Cyril, the contract amounts and cap hits for each pick in the draft are slotted by the Collective Bargaining Agreement. You can find the monetary value of each draft slot on Over the Cap’s draft resources page.

Matt Peters asks: If you had to pick from players left from the Schoen/Daboll era such as Tae Banks, Evan Neal, Marcus McKethan, or Tyler Nubin which one has the best chance of sticking around and becoming a contributor with the new coaching staff.

Ed says: Matt, first of all, Marcus McKethan has been out of the league for a couple of years now. I don’t know why he is part of your question.

Kayvon Thibodeaux and Micah McFadden from the 2022 draft class will contribute, if not start. From the 2023 class, John Michael Schmitz is the starting center. Tae Banks looks like he will get a chance to be on the roster. The entire 2024 class — Malik Nabers, Tyler Nubin, Dru Phillips, Theo Johnson, Tyrone Tracy, Darius Muasau — should all have spots. From 2025, again the entire class — Abdul Carter, Jaxson Dart, Darius Alexander, Cam Skattebo, Marcus Mbow, Thomas Fidone, Korie Black — could make the roster.

It’s not a question of “which one.”

Rich Bostwick asks: On more than a few occasions, I’ve heard different players being mocked to the Giants at pick number 5 as not having enough value to be worthy. Barring any trade downs, several mocks produced these players as the most likely to be the first four drafted: Fernando Mendoza, Arvell Reese, David Bailey and Jeremiyah Love. Assuming this was true, who at 5 would hold the most ‘value’ for the Giants?

Ed says: Rich, you could put a number of players on that list. It depends on what the Giants want. That list would, in my view, include:

LB Sonny Styles
S Caleb Downs
WR Carnell Tate
OL Francis Mauigoa
CB Mansoor Delane
G Vega Ioane

Everyone you ask would probably give you a different idea of the best value. I think you can make an argument for each of these players, even if Delane and Ioane might be more appealing in trade-down scenarios. Which guy has the best chance of making a long-term impact? I’ll take Styles.

Dmitry R. Choklin asks: With all the talk about trading Thibodeaux for picks, why not just trade him foe a veteran at a position of need like RG or WR? Do you see any good matches around the league for a team needing a pass rusher?

Ed says: Dmitry, you make it sound like the Giants can just snap their fingers and find a team with a good guard or wide receiver they can spare in a trade for Kayvon Thibodeaux. I don’t know that to be the case.

As GM Joe Schoen has said, the Giants will listen. If a team offers them something they can’t turn down, a trade will happen. If they don’t, it won’t.

beanwantsdeath asks: Do you think this being potentially Harbaugh’s only chance to take a top-tier player influences the decision to drop down? Or, do you think they want additional picks badly enough to forego the “gold jacket” bracket of players entirely to move back to the “probably pretty good” bracket?

Ed says: ‘Bean’, you are asking because Harbaugh has never beeen part of picking this early in the draft, and, hopefully, won’t ever do it again.

I don’t think there is a definitive answer to that question. I think the Giants would stick and pick if Styles is still available at No. 5. If he is not, and the Giants are picking from the Caleb Downs/Jeremiyah Love/Carnell Tate/Francis Mauigoa/Mansoor Delane/Vega Ioane group, I think they listen to offers.

My belief? They would love to have their cake and eat it, too. If they can move down two or three spots, get some extra assets, and still have some of the players at the top of their board to pick from that would be ideal. In this draft, though, will there really be teams interested in moving up? That’s the question.