2021 New York Giants Betting Preview: Odds, Lines, & Predictions

The Giants appear to finally be on the right track, and they put together a decent 6-10 season in Joe Judge’s first year as head coach. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham was the star of the show as he led the Giants to a top-12 defense in both points and yards allowed. That’s a massive upgrade from the year before New York allowed the third-most points in the league.

Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence led a stellar defensive line rotation. Blake Martinez and Lorenzo Carter were one of the best linebacker duos in the league, and James Bradberry led a much-improved secondary. With some more talent from the draft and free agency, the Giants should continue their defensive ascension this year.

Last season was a tough one for New York offensively, however, as Daniel Jones struggled to find his footing behind an inconsistent offensive line. Saquon Barkley only played in 2 games which certainly didn’t help matters, while the receiving corps just wasn’t good enough. New York worked to address these shortcomings this offseason, and they look ready to compete for a wide-open NFC East division this year.

2020 New York Giants Team Stats

Points For: 280 (17.5 per game), 31st of 32
Points Against: 357 (22.3 per game), 9th of 32
Passing Yards Per Game: 189.1
Rushing Yards Per Game: 110.5
Passing Yards Allowed Per Game: 237.9
Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game: 111.4

Key Offseason Transactions

The Giants’ offseason was defined by getting Daniel Jones more help, and it began early with the free agency signing of Kenny Golladay. The former Lions’ wide receiver will be the team’s top pass-catcher right away, and he’s just two years removed from a two-year stretch of a combined 135 catches for 2,253 yards and 16 touchdowns. Along with Golladay, the Giants drafted Kadarius Toney in the first round and should get back a fully healthy Saquon Barkley; the skill-position group should be much improved.

It was a pretty eventful free agency period for New York. They locked in some key re-signings in defensive lineman Leonard Williams and offensive tackle Nate Solder, among others. The Giants couldn’t retain everybody as defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, defensive end Kyler Fackrell, linebacker David Mayo, safety Adrian Colbert, and running back Wayne Gallman were significant losses.

Adoree’ Jackson was a major signing and will be the Giants’ starting cornerback across from James Bradberry, who was very impressive last year. In addition, the Giants brought in tight end Kyle Rudolph and wide receiver John Ross to round out the receiving corps and Danny Shelton, Ifeadi Odenigbo, and Ryan Anderson to bolster the front seven.

The Giants put together one of my favorite draft classes this year that started with Toney as a do-it-all offensive weapon who should be fun to watch. The Giants only had six selections in total, but they added some instant-impact players in the draft. Azeez Ojulari was a steal in the second round and could be a future double-digit sack player in the NFL. Aaron Robinson could be the team’s starting slot cornerback right away and do it at a high level.

2020 New York Giants Betting Stats

Record: 6-10-0
MOV: -4.8
ATS: 9-7-0
ATS +/-: +0.4
Over/Under: 3-13-0
Total +/-: -5.8

2021 New York Giants Betting Preview

The Giants weren’t the best team to bet on last season unless you were betting on the under in each of their games. The total in Giants games went under 81.2% of the time, with an average of 5.8 points under the expected total. You could even roll with some alternate lines and create even more value betting the under in their games thanks to an ineffective offense and an overperforming defense.

In 2021, the Giants’ offense is expected to improve after the return to health of Barkley and the additions of Golladay and Toney. This is make-or-break time for third-year quarterback Daniel Jones and I’m expecting him to make a leap forward. That will lend itself to less predictable Giants games in terms of the over-under, and could also make them a sneaky-good team to bet on against the spread.

Also working in the Giants’ favor is what amounts to the eighth-easiest schedule in the NFL. No team finished above .500 in the NFC East last season and the Giants also get to face some weak teams in the Falcons, Panthers, Chargers, and Bears outside of their division. With a manageable schedule and an improved offense, the Giants should be a fun team to bet on this year.

New York Giants Super Bowl Odds

I was actually somewhat surprised by the Giants’ Super Bowl odds coming in at +8000. Ten teams have worse odds than them as of now, and while that doesn’t make the Giants any kind of powerhouse, they are getting some respect as a dark-horse contender by Vegas. New York’s right behind division rivals Washington and tied with the Bears in Super Bowl odds. The Giants won the Super Bowl in 2007 and 2016 and are one of just five teams to win more than one Super Bowl since the turn of the century.

New York Giants Playoff Odds

The Giants have a plausible road to the playoffs and with +250 odds, they could be a great value in this specific market. New York last made the playoffs in 2016 and has been quite disappointing since, but this is the most talented this roster has been since that last playoff appearance. In arguably the weakest division in the NFL and with an easy schedule overall, the Giants should have the opportunity to at least sneak into a Wild Card spot in the NFC. The NFC East has been won by a different team every year since 2004 and the Giants will be looking for their first division win since 2011.

New York Giants Win Total Odds

New York has the eighth-lowest projected win total at the moment at 7 wins which would translate to a 7-10 record across a 17-game season. The Giants have not won 7 games since 2016, but they did pick up a 6-10 record last year with a much worse offensive attack than they should field this season. Three-plus wins in the NFC East should be obtainable for the Giants and there could be four more wins in a group of opponents including the Broncos, Falcons, Saints, Panthers, Raiders, Dolphins, Chargers, and Bears. I’d lean towards the over here.

New York Giants Players Futures Odds

I’m expecting a major breakthrough year for Daniel Jones, but MVP has to be outside of the realm of possibilities – right? Vegas seems to think so as you can bet on Jones to win MVP at +10000. That’s behind quarterbacks who aren’t even guaranteed to start the entire year for their respective teams in Jimmy Garoppolo (+5000), Cam Newton (+6500), and Drew Lock (+6500), so there’s definitely some value in that price.

Daniel Jones is an even longer shot to win Offensive Player of the Year at . Saquon Barkley is the early frontrunner for OPOY on the team at . That’s tied with Lamar Jackson, Travis Kelce, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers. If Barkley is able to play all 16 games this year, he could produce the type of rushing and receiving season that would put him in the running for this award.

Kadarius Toney is currently listed at odds to win Offensive Rookie of the Year and I’m not terribly interested in betting on that for him as there are some other highly talented pass-catchers in this draft class with far more defined roles in their respective offenses. With Golladay entering the fold and incumbents Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard, and Evan Engram still a part of the offense, Toney may not be highly involved in the passing game.

Azeez Ojulari is a sneaky bet for Defensive Rookie of the Year at . The Georgia pass-rusher is going to be a full-time player right away for a New York defense that didn’t get enough pressure off the edge last season. Ojulari flashed high-level pass-rush potential in college and should benefit from playing off the likes of Leonard Williams and company. It’s quite conceivable that he could lead all rookies in sacks this season, and that puts him firmly on the radar for DROY.