Over the last three seasons, the New York Giants’ receiving tandem of Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz has posed a serious challenge for opposing defenses. Unfortunately, Nicks’ impending free agency will likely separate the lethal duo which has combined for 6,406 receiving yards and 33 touchdowns.
Both sides have voiced their wishes to keep Nicks in New York, but the reality is that making that happen would not be financially or organizationally feasible. True, the Giants should have approximately $20 million to spend this off-season, per NJ.com’s Jordan Ranaan. However, an abundance of needs will require Big Blue’s attention before they pay a lump sum to another receiver — they gave Cruz a hefty five-year $43 million contract last summer.
The Giants have 27 free agents on the roster — including Nicks — and they will have to sort out which of those players they’d like to re-sign. Then, of course, there are the draft picks they’ll select in the 2014 NFL draft.
They should still have the money available to lock Nicks up for the long term with a major contract — which he will likely command — but a decline in production and his injury history should move him down their list of top priorities. They have needs throughout their roster (excluding quarterback).
In the short term, losing Nicks may hurt. There is no denying the threat he poses every time he steps on the field, even when unhealthy. Opposing defenses have had much to compensate for with both Nicks and Cruz on the field and, as a result, the Giants had a lot of success offensively through the air in 2011 and 2012.
While Cruz is the major big-play threat, Nicks is a key contributor in the red zone due to his size and ball skills. The Giants did not have a ton of success in the red zone this season — they finished 30th in the league, scoring a touchdown on 47.22 percent of their trips into the red zone — but Nicks’ production will be sorely missed inside the 20-yard line. Granted, he didn’t score a single touchdown in 2013 and he averaged just under seven per season in his four years in the NFL.
Cruz is adamant that the Giants can be successful without Nicks and maybe he’s right. But the latter’s impending departure is going to hurt, regardless of the offensive weapons the G-Men may add this off-season.
With new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo coming to town, it would be interesting to see what kind of magic his expected scheme — one that is most successful with a plethora of talented pass catchers — could create with both Nicks and Cruz out wide. Sadly, it appears more likely that Nicks’ tenure as a New York Giant has already come to a close.