The New York Giants have not found a decent spot on any power rankings list since about 2016. That’s understandable considering how poorly the team has played since that playoff hiccup nearly five years ago.

However, there are plenty of reasons for optimism as they head into the 2021 season. They’ve finally found a quality coach and some level of consistency, and they’ve completely reshaped their roster over the previous two seasons.

Still, that wasn’t enough to (entirely) sell our friends over at Touchdown Wire who, although they acknowledge the reasons for optimism, still have the Giants listed in the bottom half of the league in their pre-training camp power rankings.

23. New York Giants

Two things can be true.

New York Giants fans can be excited about their team heading into training camp. After all, they made some impressive additions this off-season, including Kenny Golladay in free agency along with Kadarius Toney, Azeez Ojulari and Aaron Robinson in the draft. They will be returning Saquon Barkley to the backfield after his injury a season ago, giving them yet another weapon. They also return what was a fascinating defense led by defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, and players like Leonard Williams up front and James Bradberry in the secondary.

That is true. What’s the second truth? Let me guess… Is it about Daniel Jones? It is, isn’t it?

And yet, perhaps that optimism should be tempered, while we wait to see year three from Daniel Jones.

Giants fans do not need to look far for hope, as they just have to turn their eyes to the north a bit. Many Giants fans are looking for Jones to make the kind of leap forward that Josh Allen made a season ago. After all, Allen was paired with a free agent receiver in Stefon Diggs and became an MVP candidate.

Can Jones make a similar jump?

Yes, Jones can make the jump. Will he? That remains to be seen, but there’s plenty of reason to believe it will finally happen now that he’s been given a fair shake and has returned to health.

If Jones does turn the corner, it will be interesting to see how many pundits and analysts step up and admit they were wrong. My guess? Not many. He’ll turn into a carbon copy of Eli Manning where the argument becomes “he’s overrated” or “he just got lucky.”