The New York Giants have suddenly become a trendy pick to bounce back in 2026, but Cam Newton is not buying any of it.
Newton went after the Giants on his “4th & 1” podcast this week, telling Big Apple fans to slow down on the optimism. The reason he gave was a good one. He pointed out that the Giants have built their offensive skill group around players who cannot stay on the field.
“Anybody in New York that is jumping to conclusion to think that the Broadway is back in the Big Apple, wait a minute,” Newton said. “Last time I checked, JuJu (Smith-Schuster), Odell (Beckham), Malik (Nabers), Cam Skattebo, Jaxson Dart, what do they all have in common? New York Giant blue and New York Knick blue. They all have been in the same color tent. That’s blue.”
The roast lands because it is true. Smith-Schuster has dealt with injuries throughout his career and was a depth piece for the Chiefs last season. Beckham has not been a full-time NFL player in a long time. Nabers tore up everyone last year before getting hurt. Skattebo missed time. Dart’s college injury history is well documented.
That is a receiving room with a lot of upside on paper, but the actual healthy snaps are going to come from somewhere shallower than the depth chart suggests. The Giants are betting on a bunch of question marks staying upright, and when you stack that many injury concerns into one offense, you are asking for trouble.
Newton is also right that the hype around Beckham is doing a lot of work that the player himself probably cannot finish. Beckham turning back into a 1,000-yard receiver at this stage of his career is not happening. He is a depth signing dressed up as a marquee one because of the name on the jersey.
The Giants did make smart moves elsewhere. The defensive front got better. The line is healthier than it was last year. Brian Daboll bought himself one more year of patience by stabilizing the locker room after the Joe Schoen departure shook things up. But the offense is the question, and the offense is dependent on injury-prone receivers and a young quarterback who has to stay clean.
Newton has been doing this routine for two years now. Last season he spent every podcast episode taking shots at the New England Patriots, and that one worked out for him when the Patriots tanked. Now he is doing the same with the Giants, and the bet looks reasonable.
It also helps that Newton actually played in the NFL recently enough to know how this stuff goes. The teams that get tons of preseason hype almost always disappoint, especially when the hype is based on offseason signings rather than proven play. The Giants are checking every box of the historical “regression candidate” profile.
Dart is the most important player on the team and the one who needs to stay healthy more than anyone else. If he gets through 16 games, the Giants might compete for an NFC East crown. If he gets hurt, they are starting Daniel Jones or a backup, and the season is cooked.
Cam Newton is not always right, but he is right here. The Giants are getting too much credit for an offseason that does not actually solve their biggest problem. Hold the parade.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
