The Giants tasted the playoffs last season and are hungry for more.
Gone are the recent days when it counted as bold to predict that the Giants would not finish last in the division, or an embattled head coach would make it to Year 3 without getting fired.
Head coach Brian Daboll won’t break from his boring one-day-at-a-time stance under any circumstances, but that won’t stop The Post from making its annual five bold predictions:
1. The Giants go 3-1 against the Eagles and Cowboys en route to the playoffs
After going 0-5 (including the playoffs) against their two chief rivals last season, the Giants turn the tables.
How bold is this prediction?
The Giants are 3-20 combined in their last 23 games against those two opponents, with all three wins coming during Joe Judge’s two years at the helm.
The Giants last swept the Eagles in 2007 and last swept the Cowboys in 2016.
The two games against the Cowboys are Weeks 1 and 12, while the two games against the Eagles are Weeks 16 (Christmas) and 18.
The surest path back to the playoffs for the first back-to-back appearances since 2007-08 is finishing top-two in the NFC East — and winning division games is the ticket.
2. Daniel Jones combines for 30 passing and rushing touchdowns
No more excuses for Jones, who signed a four-year, $160 million contract that raised expectations beyond just being a ball-security game-manager.
Jones combined for 22 touchdowns (15 passing, seven rushing) last season, which was the most since his 26 as a turnover-prone rookie in 2019.
He also stayed healthy for a full season for the first time, making the first 16 starts before sitting with the rest of the starters during the meaningless regular-season finale.
A healthy Jones, plus an improved cast of playmakers, plus his second year under offensive coordinator Mike Kafka should allow him to take the next step.
3. Darren Waller becomes the Giant with 1,000 receiving yards since Odell Beckham Jr.
Beckham averaged 1,293 receiving yards over his four seasons, with at least 12 games played for the Giants.
His production was taken for granted by the time he went for 1,052 in 12 games in 2018 — the last season before he was traded to the Browns.
In four seasons since then, the Giants’ receiving yardage leaders are: Darius Slayton (740), Slayton (751), Kenny Golladay (521) and Slayton (724), respectively.
The only Giants’ tight end to top 1,000 yards in a season was Mark Bavaro in 1986.
But Waller was uncoverable during training camp.
The key is staying healthy, which he hasn’t been able to do (17 games missed) since totaling 1,196 yards in 2020.
4. General manager Joe Schoen trades for a Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver as the NFL trade deadline
The Giants seem flush with receivers at the moment. But Waller, Sterling Shepard, Parris Campbell and Wan’Dale Robinson all have injury histories, and Cole Beasley (practice squad) already is on injured reserve.
If the Buccaneers get off to the slow start expected after Tom Brady’s retirement and a reset seems inevitable for 2024, then they will become ripe sellers.
The Giants should call about Chris Godwin, who is 27 years old, signed for a $20 million walk-year salary in 2024 and has the slot/perimeter versatility that the Giants covet.
If the Buccaneers say no, Mike Evans should be available after he failed to reach an agreement on an extension with Tampa Bay by his agent-set deadline on Friday.
Schoen has shown a propensity for wheeling and dealing draft picks.
The price for a half-season rental of Evans, 30, shouldn’t be prohibitive, and the Giants could do a lot worse than a receiver with nine straight 1,000-yard seasons to start his career.
5. Two-rookie cornerback plan backfires and needs to be tweaked
Not all bold predictions are meant to be encouraging.
The Giants are taking a huge gamble by starting rookies Deonte Banks and Tre Hawkins on the outside and moving veteran Adoree Jackson into the slot — especially with first-year starter Jason Pinnock at safety.
Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is willing to live with two rookies because “you have to play the best guys.”
Easy to say in training camp, harder to do in the regular season if “rookie mistakes” – hey, they are called that for a reason – lead to big plays allowed in close games.
Darnay Holmes and Cor’Dale Flott – who were competing to start before sixth-round pick Hawkins emerged — are waiting in the wings for a second chance, with Jackson’s flexibility allowing for different forms of tweaking.
Or maybe this is the position that Schoen targets in a midseason trade.
The loss of veteran starters Fabian Moreau (cornerback) and Julian Love (safety) was underplayed entering the season.
