What The Kenny Golladay Signing Means for Daniel Jones

On Saturday afternoon, the New York Giants signed former Detroit Lions wide receiver Kenny Golladay to a 4-year $72 million deal. The move gives New York a bonafide number one receiver to go alongside wideouts Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton.

The #Giants and Kenny Golladay have a 4 year, $72M deal with a max of $76M with $40m guaranteed

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 20, 2021

Additionally, Golladay and co. will be accompanied by running back Saquon Barkley and tight end Evan ‘needs to catch the ball’ Engram Giants offense.

In all, the Giants have a pretty dynamic offense that teams should have trouble matching up with. For all his flaws, Engram is a matchup nightmare. Darius Slayton is a speed demon who can beat almost anyone over the top. Then you have Shepard who is a great slot receiver (when healthy). And of course we have Golladay and Barkley, two of the top skill players in the NFL (also when healthy).

Saquon Barkley would be Earth’s RB1 if the aliens invaded and we had to play a game of football to save humanitypic.twitter.com/QZ2lQc58KS

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) August 20, 2020

Unfortunately for the Giants, that offense only works if two things happen: first, everyone stays healthy, and two, quarterback Daniel Jones finally takes a step.

Since Jones has become the starting quarterback for the Giants, fans have seen flashes. He has shown his athleticism and arm talent on numerous occasions. However, Jones has also shown his ability to turn the ball over.

Now granted, Jones may have not had much to work with. Shepard and Barkley have been in and out of the lineup, Golden Tate’s tenure in New York didn’t go great and so on. Jones has never really had that true number one receiver. With Golladay, that has changed.

This means that it is time for Jones to play to his ability. If the Giants bolster the offensive line some more, Jones should have no problem getting the ball to his playmakers in space. But if he doesn’t? It most likely will be the end of the Jones era in New York.

So, even though the Golladay signing helps the Giants, it also puts an even bigger target on the chest of the quarterback they drafted to be the successor of Eli Manning.

– Jarrod Ribaudo (@jarrod_ribaudo on Twitter)

Featured image courtesy of Twitter / @AroundTheNFL