The Panthers visit the Giants with an offense that is still feeling itself out. Baker Mayfield is still jelling with his receivers, but they could improve a lot from week one to week two, especially as they integrate Christian McCaffrey more into the offense.
Wide Receivers
6′ 3” Robbie Anderson had a big game last week (5/102/1), and though the TD was made on blown coverage it still could be a sign that he could rebound from last year’s mediocre season with the new scheme and quarterback. In 2020, he and D.J. Moore both had over 1,000 yards receiving with Terry Bridgewater throwing the ball. Moore is coming off of his 3rd consecutive 1,000-plus season though neither receiver has scored more than five touchdowns during that span.
Tight End & Running Back
One can expect Christian McCaffrey to get a good share of the targets, especially due to how venerable the Giant’s inside linebackers were in coverage in week one. Sparsely used tight-end Ian Thomas will be more likely to do damage than any third receiver unless recently acquired Laviska Shenault has absorbed enough of the playbook and is ready to be activated. The former second-round pick could revitalize his career along with the other AFC import Baker Mayfield.
Quarterback
Baker Mayfield demanded a trade after the Browns traded for Deshaun Watson. It was the final betrayal after riding through injuries and the Odell Beckham drama in which player and player’s father seemed to cast the responsibility for the Brown’s struggles directly on the QB’s shoulders.
Though there was at some point a lot of hype around the 2018 number one overall pick, his peak quarterback rating was 95.9 in 2020. His career rating is 87.8, not too much higher than Daniel Jones’s 84.8, who did not have the same surrounding cast. His highest completion percentage was 63.8 in his rookie year, which is .07 higher than Daniel Jones’s career average.
Another thing they have in common is that Mayfield tends to fold under the pass rush leading to one of the highest percentages of bad throws last year (20.9%) as calculated by Pro Football Reference
New York Giants: Know Thy Enemy: Carolina’s Ben McAdoo and Christian McCaffrey
What he can do well, and much better than what Jones had shown, is get the ball out quickly which melds well with Ben McAdoo’s west coast style offence. There should be a fair share of quick slants into the heart of the Giant’s defense much like how McAdoo used them with Odell Beckham Jr when he directed the Giant’s offense.
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