The giants and chips have both made splashes with a free agent in the last week. Now, we look at the next few years to see who made the best decision.
The Giants signed Kenny Golladay to a four-year, $ 72 million contract with $ 40 million guaranteed on Saturday. They grabbed the receiver, most observers ranked as the best available in the free agency. At $ 18 million a year, there are questions about whether they overpaid, but if they help quarterback Daniel Jones grow, no one will worry about money in three years.
The Jets hit hard last Monday when the bargaining window opened, blocking Corey Davis with a three-year, $ 37.5 million contract that includes $ 27 million guaranteed.
Both teams needed a wide receiver upgrade to help their young defenders. This market created it perfectly for them, because there were more good beneficiaries available than usual, due to the declining salary cap. Even after Allen Robinson (Bears) and Chris Godwin (Buccaneers) received the franchise label, Giants and Jets had good options.
Giants CEO Dave Gettleman decided to buy from Tiffany and sign the most expensive receiver on the market to give Jones a new target no. The move comes with some risk, as Golladay only played five games last season for the Lions and is now under pressure to honor his contract.
Jets general manager Joe Douglas found Golladay too expensive and targeted Davis. Chips like to match their offense and I think it gets to the top. Davis was No. 5 overall pick in the 2017 Titans draft, so he lived under pressure for his entire NFL career. The new contract will not add to that. The Jets have not received a 1,000-yard receiver since 2015 and need someone to help anyone who is their quarterback in 2021, whether it’s Sam Darnold or Zach Wilson or someone else.
Comparing the two receivers, Golladay had more production, but his 2020 season raises some questions. Golladay has had two receiving yards of 1,000 yards and has 21 touchdowns in his career. His best season was 2019, when he had 65 catches for 1,190 meters and 11 touchdowns. A hip injury kept Golladay out for all but five games last year and there were some questions about how much he tried to get back on the field. Clearly, the Giants received satisfactory answers to these issues during his visit.
Davis was considered a disappointment in Tennessee after being selected so high in the draft and then fought early. Davis has only 11 touchdowns in his career. Golladay did that in one season. But Davis had his best season last year. He caught 65 passes for 984 meters and five touchdowns. The main question about Davis is how he will cope outside of Tennessee’s talent offense. He received his first pass from Ryan Tannehill, who became one of the best defenders in the NFL. The Titans also had AJ Brown on the opposite side of Davis and Derrick Henry in the background to give them a strong running game and help set up the action game passes.
If you look at the Pro Football Focus scores from the last three seasons, Davis had the best season of the two. Its rating of 85.3 in 2020 ranked 10th out of 127 wide receivers. Golladay had a level of 81.0 in 2018, which was ranked 21st out of 118 receivers. Golladay had a score of 79.9 in 2019 and did not qualify in 2020. Davis had a score of 70.4 in 2019 and 76.4 in 2018.
We will probably have a good answer in two years, about which the signing was better. Davis’ contract does not have money guaranteed after 2022, so the Jets can continue if he will disappoint. Golladay’s contract is rather a three-year commitment as to when the Giants could comfortably move on.
The Giants have made a much bigger financial commitment than the Jets. Not only in terms of guaranteed money – $ 40 million compared to $ 27 million – but also the average annual value. Golladay’s $ 18 million a year AAV equals sixth place among recipients. Davis’ $ 12.5 million is the 20th.
Both teams believe they have improved at the reception in the last week. Now, we will see if they are right and who made the best decision.