The Philadelphia Eagles have been the team to beat in the NFC East over the last 10 seasons. The Eagles have won the division in half of those years, while the Dallas Cowboys claimed four division titles, and the Washington Commanders have one.
That leaves the New York Giants as the only team in the division to not win a title in the last 10 years. The Giants haven’t won the division since the 2011 season, when they made their way to the Super Bowl and became world champions.
The Giants finished the 2025 season with a 4-13 record, which put them at the bottom of their division and granted them the No. 5 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft. However, the Giants have been aggressive during the offseason, making moves that I think will bode well for them this upcoming year.
New York started its offseason before the regular season ended. After a 2-8 start in 2025, the Giants fired head coach Brian Daboll, who had served New York in that role since 2022 — the season he won NFL Coach of the Year and took a trip to the playoffs as the No. 6 seed in the NFC.
After that first season, Daboll and the Giants continued their streak of unsuccessful seasons, reaching a combined 13 wins from 2023-25 and never finishing better than third place in the division standings.
During the offseason, the Giants hired an experienced head coach, one who was already well accomplished. Former Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh signed a five-year deal to replace Daboll in New York, a sign that the Giants’ front office might be headed in the right direction.
The 2012 Super Bowl winning head coach was fired from the Ravens after an 8-9 record in 2025 and a missed trip to the playoffs, despite making the postseason all but one year from 2018 to 2024.
Harbaugh was the right addition to the Giants’ staff, but the most promising pieces were already in New York last season.
The Giants selected quarterback Jaxson Dart and running back Cam Skattebo during the 2025 NFL Draft in the first and fourth rounds, respectively. They are the future of the Giants.
Dart didn’t receive the starting nod as a Week-1 rookie. Instead, veteran Russell Wilson led the Giants for the first three weeks of the season, but his poor play gave New York zero wins to start the year.
Wilson was benched for Dart, and in his first start, Dart gave the Giants their first win of the season with a 21-18 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. He went 13 for 20 with 111 passing yards and two total touchdowns — one on the ground and one through the air. Skattebo led the Giants’ run game with 79 rushing yards.
While Dart’s first career start was promising, the Giants only won three games after that, beating the Philadelphia Eagles, Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys.
Dart and Skattebo only played together for five weeks of the season, as Skattebo suffered a brutal ankle injury, which kept him out for the rest of the season in Week 8. In his eight games of action as one of the Giants’ running backs, Skattebo rushed for 410 yards and five touchdowns.
The two young players are going to be the face of the Giants for years to come if New York can support them and build around the electric duo.
The first piece of that support was hiring a veteran NFL head coach. Check. The second was revamping the roster to give Dart more weapons to throw to, reinforce the offensive line and create a strong defensive unit. The Giants did that, too. Check.
New York was aggressive throughout its offseason, and much of that was Harbaugh.
The Giants brought in tight end Isaiah Likely, fullback Patrick Ricard, guard Daniel Faalele, safety Ar’Darius Washington and punter Jordan Stout from the Baltimore Ravens — Harbaugh’s previous coaching destination.
In addition to Faalele, the Giants also brought in other free-agent offensive linemen and drafted two more. They revamped their defensive unit by drafting linebacker Arvell Reese with the No. 5 overall pick and signing players like cornerback Greg Newsome II and others.
On paper, it all looks like the Giants have the recipe for success: a young core of players who will drive the future, supported by veterans and an experienced head coach. Whether all the pieces click or not will be determined in September, when the 2026 season officially begins, but for now, Giants fans have a reason to be optimistic; maybe that NFC East title drought could end.
