The New York Giants were just slammed with a brutal reality check before Week 1 of the NFL season.
The New York Giants are widely viewed as one of the teams poised to make the biggest leap entering the 2026 NFL campaign, but there is no question they have a lot of holes.
It also doesn't help that their schedule is not exactly friendly, and they also play in the far superior conference in the NFC.
So, how do people around football actually view the Giants heading into Week 1?
Mike Sando of The Athletic polled NFL executives about all 16 NFC teams going into 2026, and New York finished near the bottom.
Execs ranked the Giants 14th in the conference, and while they did have some positive things to say about Big Blue, they simply couldn't ignore the red flags.
"I like the Giants' potential on defense," an exec said. "Abdul Carter, Arvell Reese, Brian Burns. But then I don't know how good that secondary is at corner. They lost Dexter Lawrence in the middle. On offense, Jaxson Dart's health, Cam Skattebo's health and Malik Nabers' health are all concerns. There's a lot of unknown."
The secondary is definitely a huge sticking point for New York. Paulson Adebo had a rough year during his Giants debut last season and hasn't had a great summer. Greg Newsome II has been a disappointment since entering the league. Deonte Banks is a former first-round bust. Colton Hood is just a rookie.
I don't necessarily agree with all of the questions surrounding defensive tackle. Lawrence was subpar last season, and I actually believe New York has done a terrific job of patching up the interior by signing DJ Reader and Shelby Harris as well as drafting Bobby Jamison-Travis and trading for CJ Okoye.
Dart's health is obviously a concern due to his reckless nature, but he seems to have curbed that a bit heading into his sophomore campaign. Skattebo seems fine, and while Nabers is a question mark, he has definitely looked sharp in training camp.
Regardless, I could absolutely see the Giants finishing near the bottom of the NFC this year. The conference is just too deep, and New York has too many holes.
I don't necessarily agree with the Washington Commanders being ranked one spot ahead of the G-Men, though. I would place the Giants third in the NFC East behind the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys.
All things considered, this ranking was a pretty stark reality check for anyone who sees New York as a serious playoff contender this fall.
