The new league year is right around the corner.
The NFL calendar officially flips to 2021 on March 17, when all 2020 player contracts expire and thus free agency begins. The league has finally set the salary cap at $182.5 million, down from $198.2 million in 2020 as the league deals with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the placement of the franchise tag on Leonard Williams, the Giants now have 15 players set to become free agents next week.
In anticipation of what has already been a wild offseason for player movement, NFL.com ranked the top 101 free agents of 2021. A few players' names have been crossed off the list, as several free agents have already agreed to deals with new teams. However, other big names remain.
While we wait to see what the team does, Giants.com broke down the roster as it currently stands in the "2021 Free Agency Position Preview" series. Here you will find the Giants' current depth, the team's pending free agents, and the top players available from across the league at each position with analysis from NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal.
The other free agency previews can be found here: offensive playmakers at wide receiver and tight end, edge rushers, defensive tackles and linebackers, defensive backs and offensive linemen.
Now let's dive into the quarterbacks and running backs.
Quarterbacks
Current depth: Daniel Jones, Clayton Thorson (reserve/future deal), Joe Webb (reserve/future deal)
Pending free agents: Colt McCoy
The Giants drafted Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, and head coach Joe Judge has reiterated that Jones is their franchise quarterback. Colt McCoy was brought in last offseason to serve as the backup QB and a mentor for Jones, but wound up leading the Giants to their biggest win of the season against Seattle while Jones was out with an ankle injury. McCoy is now set to become a free agent. Clayton Thorson spent most of the 2020 season on the Giants' practice squad, and was signed to a reserve/future contract following the completion of the season. Joe Webb was signed to the practice squad in December and elevated to the active roster for Weeks 15 and 16. He signed a reserve/future deal in early January.
View the Giants' depth on the roster at the quarterback position.
Daniel Jones
Clayton Thorson
Joe Webb
Daniel Jones (8)
Daniel Jones (8)
Daniel Jones (8)
Daniel Jones (8)
Daniel Jones (8)
Daniel Jones (8)
Daniel Jones (8)
Daniel Jones (8)
Daniel Jones (8)
Daniel Jones (8)
Daniel Jones (8)
Daniel Jones (8)
\New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) during a week 1 regular season Monday Night football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at MetLife Stadium on September 13th, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) drops back to pass during a week 17 regular season football game against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium on January 3, 2021 in East Rutherford, New Jersey
Daniel Jones (8)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) during a week 14 regular season football game against the Arizona Cardinals at MetLife Stadium on December 13th, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) during a week 10 regular season football game against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium on November 15th, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) during a week 8 regular season Monday Night football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium on November 2nd, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - JANUARY 03: The New York Giants take on the Dallas Cowboys at Metlife Stadium on January 3, 2021 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Ben Solomon/New York Giants)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - JANUARY 03: The New York Giants take on the Dallas Cowboys at Metlife Stadium on January 3, 2021 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Ben Solomon/New York Giants)
Daniel Jones (8)
Daniel Jones (8), Head Coach Joe Judge
New York Giants quarterback Clayton Thorson passes the ball during warmups before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020, in Seattle. The Giants won 17-12. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Clayton Thorson (17)
New York Giants quarterback Clayton Thorson passes the ball during warmups before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020, in Seattle. The Giants won 17-12. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
New York Giants quarterback Clayton Thorson (17) warms up before a week 15 regular season football game against the Cleveland Browns at MetLife Stadium on December 20th, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey
Clayton Thorson (17)
Clayton Thorson (17)
New York Giants quarterback Joe Webb III (19) looks on before an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)
Joe Webb (19)
Joe Webb (19)
Joe Webb (19)
Joe Webb (19)
Joe Webb (19)
Joe Webb (19)
Joe Webb (19)
Top quarterbacks available according to NFL.com (comments from NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal):
Jameis Winston (No. 13), New Orleans Saints: "It will take the right coach, but Winston could improve a handful of starting quarterback situations. Don't be surprised if it happens in New Orleans."
Ryan Fitzpatrick (No. 19), Miami Dolphins: "You could argue Fitz's peak started around age 37. Why stop now?"
Andy Dalton (No. 35), Dallas Cowboys: "Great backup quarterbacks were weirdly undervalued in last year's market, receiving less money than mediocre situational pass rushers. Dalton is settling into the phase of his career where he's one of the best backups in football."
Jacoby Brissett (No. 53), Indianapolis Colts: "See my note on Andy Dalton for the relative value of backup quarterbacks. The last time Brissett played with a healthy shoulder, in the first half of the 2019 season, he played quite well."
Tyrod Taylor (No. 75), Los Angeles Chargers: "It's a shame that the Chargers' medical staff mishap cost Taylor a chance at being a Week 1 starter in 2021. He can still help a team as a backup."
Mitchell Trubisky (No. 101), Chicago Bears: "Remember that week when everyone wondered if the Bears would have to re-sign Trubisky to a big contract? That was weird."
View NFL.com's updated rankings of the top 101 free agents of 2021 ahead of the new league year, which begins March 17.
No. 101 QB Mitchell Trubisky
No. 100 EDGE Everson Griffen
No. 99 DT Al-Quadin Muhammad
No. 98 CB Chidobe Awuzie (Update: The Cincinnati Bengals have reportedly agreed to a deal with Awuzie.)
No. 97 EDGE Kerry Hyder
No. 96 WR Breshad Perriman
No. 95 RB James White
No. 94 DT Kawann Short
No. 93 RB James Conner
No. 92 S Kareem Jackson
No. 91 TE Dan Arnold
No. 90 DT Lawrence Guy
No. 89 WR Emmanuel Sanders
No. 88 CB Troy Hill
No. 87 S Malik Hooker
No. 86 EDGE Takkarist McKinley (The Cleveland Browns have reportedly agreed to a deal with McKinley.)
No. 85 G Kyle Long
No. 84 CB Casey Hayward Jr.
No. 83 CB Quinton Dunbar
No. 82 NT Tyson Alualu Update: The Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to a deal with Alualu.)
No. 81 DE Derek Wolfe (Update: The Baltimore Ravens have agreed to a three-year deal with Wolfe.)
No. 80 OT Kelvin Beachum (Update: The Arizona Cardinals have agreed to a two-year deal with Beachum).
No. 79 RB Marlon Mack
No. 78 CB Bashaud Breeland
No. 77 QB Tyrod Taylor
No. 76 EDGE Aldon Smith
No. 75 DB Desmond King II
No. 74 OT Alejandro Villanueva
No. 73 RB Duke Johnson
No. 72 TE Gerald Everett
No. 71 OT Riley Reiff
No. 70 S Keanu Neal
No. 69 DT Sheldon Rankins
No. 68 WR Cordarrelle Patterson
No. 67 C Austin Reiter
No. 66 S Xavier Woods
No. 65 LB Kyle Van Noy
No. 64 DT Ndamukong Suh
No. 63 DT Larry Ogunjobi
No. 62 CB Patrick Peterson
No. 61 RB Kenyan Drake
No. 60 CB K'Waun Williams
No. 59 S Jaquiski Tartt
No. 58 NT DaQuan Jones
No. 57 CB Janoris Jenkins
No. 56 WR Antonio Brown
No. 55 QB Jacoby Brissett
No. 54 CB Michael Davis (Update: The Los Angeles Chargers have agreed to a multi-year deal with Davis.)
No. 53 CB Xavier Rhodes
No. 52 WR Sammy Watkins
No. 51 CB Richard Sherman
No. 50 DE Denico Autry
No. 49 WR Marvin Jones (Update: The Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to a deal with Jones.)
No. 48 WR John Brown
No. 47 CB Malcolm Butler
No. 46 WR Nelson Agholor (Update: The New England Patriots have reportedly agreed to a deal with Agholor.)
No. 45 TE Rob Gronkowski
No. 44 LB K.J. Wright
No. 43 OT Eric Fisher
No. 42 RB Chris Carson
No. 41 EDGE Melvin Ingram
No. 40 CB Mike Hilton (Update: The Cincinnati Bengals have reportedly agreed to a deal with Hilton.)
No. 39 S Anthony Harris
No. 38 C David Andrews
No. 37 QB Andy Dalton
No. 36 CB Adoree' Jackson
No. 35 EDGE Carlos Dunlap
No. 34 WR T.Y. Hilton
No. 33 CB Ronald Darby (Update: The Denver Broncos have reportedly agreed to a deal with Darby.)
No. 32 CB Jason Verrett
No. 31 LB Jayon Brown
No. 30 EDGE Haason Reddick
No. 29 EDGE Justin Houston
No. 28 C Rodney Hudson
No. 27 DE Shelby Harris (Update: The Denver Broncos have agreed to a three-year deal with Harris.)
No. 26 OT Mitchell Schwartz
No. 25 CB William Jackson (Update: The Washington Football Team has agreed to terms with Jackson.)
No. 24 EDGE Leonard Floyd (Update: The Los Angeles Rams have agreed to a four-year deal with Floyd.)
No. 23 S John Johnson (Update: The Cleveland Browns have reportedly agreed to a deal with Johnson.)
No. 22 DL Dalvin Tomlinson (The Minnesota Vikings have agreed to a deal with Tomlinson.)
No. 21 WR Corey Davis (Update: The New York Jets have reportedly agreed to a deal with Davis.)
No. 20 EDGE Romeo Okwara (Update: The Detroit Lions have signed Okwara to a multi-year deal.)
No. 19 QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (Update: The Washington Football Team have reportedly agreed to a deal with Fitzpatrick.)
No. 18 CB Shaquill Griffin (Update: The Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to a deal with Griffin.)
No. 17 TE Hunter Henry (Update: The New England Patriots have reportedly agreed to a deal with Henry.)
No. 16 TE Jonnu Smith (Update: The New England Patriots have reportedly agreed to a deal with Smith.)
No. 15 WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
No. 14 WR Curtis Samuel
No. 13 QB Jameis Winston (Update: The New Orleans Saints have agreed to a one-year contract with Winston.)
No. 12 WR Will Fuller
No. 11 EDGE Yannick Ngakoue
No. 10 C Corey Linsley
No. 9 EDGE Matt Judon (Update: The New England Patriots have reportedly agreed to a deal with Judon.)
No. 8 G Joe Thuney
No. 7 EDGE Jadeveon Clowney
No. 6 WR Kenny Golladay
No. 5 EDGE Carl Lawson (Update: The New York Jets have reportedly agreed to a deal with Lawson.)
No. 4 EDGE Trey Hendrickson (Update: The Cincinnati Bengals have reportedly agreed to a deal with Hendrickson.)
No. 3 EDGE Bud Dupree
No. 2 EDGE Shaquil Barrett (Update: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed Barrett to a multi-year deal.)
No. 1 OT Trent Williams
Running Backs
Current depth: Saquon Barkley, Elijhaa Penny, Jordan Chunn (Reserve/Future deal), Taquan Mizzell (reserve/future deal)
Pending free agents: Wayne Gallman, Dion Lewis, Alfred Morris
Saquon Barkley was drafted with the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and put up historic numbers in his first two seasons. His third season was derailed by a torn ACL in Week 2 of the 2020 season, but he is expected to make a full recovery in time for the start of the upcoming season. Wayne Gallman has spent the last four seasons with the Giants after being drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 draft. He started a career-high 10 games following Barkley's injury and registered career marks in carries (147), rushing yards (682), touchdowns (six) and yards per attempt (4.6). Dion Lewis signed with the Giants last offseason and gained 115 yards on 29 carries (4.0 avg.) with two touchdowns. He also caught 19 passes for 127 yards and an additional score. Alfred Morris was signed to the practice squad in the middle of the 2020 season and wound up playing in nine games for the Giants, recording 238 yards on 55 attempts (4.3-avg.) with one touchdown. He also caught the first receiving touchdown of his career. Gallman, Lewis and Morris are all set to become free agents. Elijhaa Penny signed with the Giants a few weeks into the 2018 season and has served as the team's fullback over the last 2.5 seasons. Jordan Chunn signed a reserve/future deal with the Giants in early January after sitting out the 2020 season. Taquan Mizzell signed a reserve/future deal after spending part of the 2020 season on the Giants' practice squad.
Top running backs available according to NFL.com (comments from NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal)::
Chris Carson (No. 40), Seattle Seahawks: "It's not cool to value tackle-breaking running backs like Chris Carson, but it is exceedingly cool to watch Chris Carson play football."
Kenyan Drake (No. 59), Arizona Cardinals: "He had to work harder in 2020, but Drake topped 1,000 yards from scrimmage for the third straight season. His best role would be as a dangerous tag-team partner, rather than as a lead back."
Duke Johnson (No. 71), Houston Texans: "I remain convinced Johnson can be one of the best third-down backs in football, even after landing in two straight tricky situations for running backs."
Marlon Mack (No. 77), Indianapolis Colts: "One of the league's most underrated running backs would be worth a flier, even coming off a torn Achilles."
James Conner (No. 90), Pittsburgh Steelers: "The Pittsburgh offensive line didn't help Conner's decisiveness over the last two seasons."
James White (No. 92), New England Patriots: "A reunion with Tom Brady would make a lot of sense after both players appeared to miss one another in 2020."
Mike Davis (No. 100), Carolina Panthers: "Panthers coach Matt Rhule helped a whole lot of players reach career highs last year, including Davis, who topped 1,000 yards from scrimmage."
View the current depth on the roster at the running back position.
Saquon Barkley
Elijhaa Penny
Jordan Chunn
Taquan Mizzell
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) during a week 17 regular season game against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium on Sunday December 29th, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) during a week 13 regular season game against the Green Bay Packers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday December 1st, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey
Saquon Barkley (26)
RB Saquon Barkley (26)
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) during a week 1 regular season Monday Night football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at MetLife Stadium on September 13th, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) takes part in a week 8 regular season game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Sunday October 27th, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) takes part in a week 15 regular season game against the Miami Dolphins at MetLife Stadium on Sunday December 15, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey
New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley (26) during a week 9 game against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) during a week 16 regular season game against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field on Sunday December 22nd, 2019 in Landover, Maryland
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) scores a touchdown in a week 8 regular season game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Sunday October 27th, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan
New York Giants running back Elijhaa Penny (39) during a week 15 regular season football game against the Cleveland Browns at MetLife Stadium on December 20th, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey
New York Giants running back Elijhaa Penny (39) in action during an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
New York Giants running back Elijhaa Penny (39) takes part in a week 12 regular season game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Sunday November 24th, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois
RB Elijhaa Penny (39)
Elijhaa Penny (39)
Elijhaa Penny (39)
RB Elijhaa Penny (39)
New York Giants running back Elijhaa Penny (39) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants running back Elijhaa Penny (39) during a week 15 regular season football game against the Cleveland Browns at MetLife Stadium on December 20th, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey
New York Giants running back Elijhaa Penny (39) takes part in a week 4 regular season game against the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium on Sunday October 6th, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey
Jordan Chunn during the second half of a preseason NFL football game Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018, in Houston.
Jordan Chunn runs the ball for a touchdown in the second half of a preseason NFL football game agains the Houston Texans in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019.
Jordan Chunn runs the ball for a touchdown in the second half of a preseason NFL football game against the Houston Texans in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019.
Jordan Chunn runs during an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019 in Santa Clara, Calif.
Jordan Chunn runs with the ball during an NFL preseason football game against the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018 in Santa Clara, Calif.
Taquan Mizzell makes a 10-yard reception for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018, in Detroit.
Taquan Mizzell runs with the football during an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018 in Chicago.
Taquan Mizzell runs after the catch during an NFL regular season football game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2018 in Santa Clara, Calif.
Taquan Mizzell runs during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018, in Chicago.
Taquan Mizzell falls into the end zone after catching a 10-yard pass for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018, in Detroit.
