New York Giants receive solid grades

From PFF:

The most favorable way to look at this deal is that the Giants effectively used the draft capital they acquired for interior defender Leonard Williams to land a younger player looking for a second contract instead of a third contract. Burns addresses arguably the biggest need on this Giants roster and should have a lot less attention on him all the time now playing alongside Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Runyan is a solid, durable player, and the Giants desperately needed to improve on the interior of their offensive line. However, while Runyan started every game in 2023, the Packers began rotating in second-year guard Sean Rhyan, and eventually, the snap counts were about 50-50 between the two.

The Saquon Barkley era has ended in New York, and the Giants’ brass turns to a familiar face in Singletary, whom general manager Joe Schoen helped scout with the Buffalo Bills and Brian Daboll coached as the offensive coordinator. Singletary was solid in Houston in a fairly sizable role, beating out Dameon Pierce for the starting job.

From PFN:

Players like Burns are rarely available, so landing him for a package centered around a second-round pick is outstanding, even if the Giants had to extend him at market rate.

Runyan and Eluemunor are reliable offensive linemen who can offer a high floor, which is precisely what New York’s beleaguered front five needs. Big Blue didn’t overpay to retain Barkley or McKinney at non-premium positions.

From CBS Sports:

The Giants had a mixed bag to begin free agency. On the plus side, they acquired and locked down one of the most dynamic pass rushers in football. Burns is one of 10 players in the NFL to have 45 or more sacks, 10 or more passes defended and five or more forced fumbles since he entered the NFL in 2019. Having him alongside Kayvon Thibodeaux and All-Pro Dexter Lawrence gives New York one of the best defensive fronts in the entire league.  Losing Barkley is unfortunate, but the Giants were better off not paying a RB big money. If they were close to contention, maybe, but they still most certainly are not given their quarterback uncertainty. The loss of Xavier McKinney is a big deal. He is the best safety in coverage in the entire NFL, and he is still just 24. It was surprising to not see the Giants fight harder to keep him. 

From The Sporting News:

The Giants got aggressive with Joe Schoen in trading and then breaking the bank for Brian Burns to complement Kayvon Thibodeaux. They were smart not to force Saquon Barkley back and save plenty with Devin Singletary. Jon Runyan was a nice starting upgrade for the offensive line. Xavier McKinney leaving hurts, but they can find a good safety replacement in the draft.

From the Bergen Record:

The losses of Barkley and McKinney will undoubtedly be felt next season. However, this is the direction they needed to go to build the team from the inside out and focus first on the offensive and defensive lines after major issues last season.

From For The Win:

Burns being paired with Kayvon Thibodeaux will make a lot of offensive coordinators lose sleep. Singletary is a downgrade from Saquon Barkley, but perhaps not as much as the Eagles might believe at the contract they gave him. All in all, making a move for a younger quality pass-rusher like Burns more or less makes this free agency a success for Big Blue.