Getty New York Giants WR Kenny Golladay.
Dave Gettleman may have sailed off into retirement, however, plenty of his mishaps from the last four seasons remain scattered throughout the New York Giants roster.
From handing Nate Solder $35 million guaranteed to using top-six picks on Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones to trading back to select Kadarius Toney instead of snagging Micah Parsons, Gettleman’s resume enlists a plethora of questionable decisions. Yet, his commitment to pay Kenny Golladay like a top-six receiver this past offseason is arguably the most damning.
Having Regrets?
When the Giants landed Golladay in free agency, the hope was that they had secured their next Plaxico Burress, not the next Ramses Barden. Making an average of $18 million per year — the exact same as Kansas City Chiefs star Tyreek Hill — Golladay was a colossal dud for the G-Men in 2021. Battling through injures and poor quarterback play, the 28-year-old recorded his lowest reception and receiving yard totals since his rookie campaign and was on the receiving end of fewer touchdowns than left tackle Andrew Thomas.
Of course, you could make the same argument for Golladay that many have made for the likes of Barkley and Jones. The Giants offense and scheme was not conducive to consistent success. Still, Barkley and Jones were able to flash from time to time. As for Golladay, the high-level talent never quite jumped off the screen, leading many to already chalk up the wideout as another Gettleman misfire.
In the words of NFL analyst Dov Kleiman, the Northern Illinois product is simply “one of the bigger free-agency flops in recent memory.”
“Golladay was guaranteed $40M in FA on a 4-year, $72M deal. He finished the 2021 season making only 37 catches on 76 targets for 521 yards and 0 TDs. Golladay had 13 TDs in his past 21 games with the Lions,” Kleiman tweeted on January 15.
In hindsight, the signing of Golladay looks all the worse for the simple fact that the Giants appeared to bid against themselves for the wideout’s services. Back in March of last year, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported that New York paid Golladay north of $5 million more annually than any other team was willing to offer:
Based on discussions with multiple sources, the answer seems to be no one. The Bengals, we’re told, were willing to pay $13 million per year. The Bears, as reported by Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, were in the range of $11 million to $12 million per year. We’re currently aware of no one who was pushing for Golladay at $14 million, $15 million, $16 million, $17 million, $17.5 million, and/or $17.99 million per year.
The Ravens were mentioned as potential candidates for Golladay, but that seems to be a smokescreen aimed at enhancing the team’s effort to get receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. (He eventually took less to stay in Pittsburgh.)
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Will Golladay Live Up to His Deal?
The fact of the matter is, Golladay wasn’t a blue-chip receiver before he found his way to New York and likely won’t become one before his Giants career ends. He never eclipsed more than 70 receptions or 1,190 yards in a single season as a member of the Lions. While he did tie for the NFL lead in receiving touchdowns in 2019 with 11, he’s amassed a total of just 10 receiving touchdowns over his other four seasons in the NFL.
Still, while he may always be “overpaid,” should Golladay recapture his borderline Pro Bowl form from 2018-2019, the Giants would undoubtedly chalk that up as a win. Hopefully, a new offensive coordinator and more consistency under center can help Golladay get there.