


There was nothing frenzied or desperate about the way the Giants attacked this offseason, as far as injecting a badly needed infusion of talent into their passing game.
It can be stated that their greatest frenzy or desperation was reserved for the pursuit of a long-term contract for quarterback Daniel Jones.
Jones was secured with a four-year contract worth $160 million in early March and the Giants quickly went to work finding him more weapons.
They did not guarantee Jones $82 million to have him hand the ball off.
A week after Jones signed his new deal, the Giants acquired tight end Darren Waller from the Raiders.
Two days after that, they signed wide receiver Parris Campbell as an unrestricted free agent.
Those turned out to be the two most significant veteran additions to augment Jones’ passing arsenal.
The acquisitions were based on availability, of course, but also on head coach Brian Daboll’s philosophical beliefs, in terms of how to best build an offense.
“Did they do enough to get better? They definitely improved it,’’ Chris Simms, a former NFL quarterback and currently a football analyst for NBC Sports, told The Post earlier this offseason.
“There’s no superstar, bona fide No. 1, ‘Oh we got to double cover this guy.’ I also think that’s a little bit of the organization formula. I think that’s the Brian Daboll approach. He’s from New England and all that. The reason they didn’t have a lot of superstars at receiver for a lot of years is because they were leading the league in open receivers. Nobody threw to more open receivers in the history of football than Tom Brady. All the analytics sites would tell you that. They know how to design plays and formulate a game plan.
“I like what they did and it has the potential to be even better than what people think. Parris Campbell has superstar ability, he just has not been able to stay healthy. Darren Waller is a superstar but the injury thing is a little bit of a concern with him, too.’’
If Campbell does indeed possess “superstar ability,’’ it has rarely revealed itself in his four-year NFL career with the Colts.
His first three seasons were marred by injuries, and he spent more time off the field than on it.
He finally clocked in with a healthy year in 2022 and his production (63 receptions for 623 yards and three touchdowns) was encouraging, but garnered him no more than a one-year deal (for $1.4 million) on the open market.
Waller is the newcomer who actually has displayed superstar ability, in 2019 and 2020 with the Raiders, before a series of hamstring issues relegated him to part-time status and opened the door for the Giants to obtain him for only a third-round draft pick.
For the Giants’ passing game to truly take off, it appears Waller will have to be the catalyst.
“We know from the fringe red zone, red zone, being a mismatch piece, he is someone that you call the problem creator,’’ assistant general manager Brandon Brown said. “You look at what he can do in terms of opening up the field for the rest of our guys, whether it’s adding Parris Campbell, adding Darius Slayton in terms of bringing him back, what he can do from separating, I call it stretching a defense, whether it’s vertically and laterally. He adds to that. He’s going to open up the field, and we get Wan’Dale [Robinson] back and add those pieces in the slot, Shep [Sterling Shepard] back.
“I think it’s one of those things where he’s a force multiplier, right? He just doesn’t make himself or our offense better, but he makes other players better, and he’s going to help set us up that way.’’
Waller, in shorts and a T-shirt during the work with his new team in the spring, looked like a gazelle sprinting across the middle of the field.
His length is striking, as he is every bit of 6-foot-6.
When Jones, at a statuesque 6-5, tossed one up in the air for Waller, it had the look of two tall guys playing keep-away from the shorter kids.

Shea Tierney, the Giants’ quarterbacks coach, cannot forget the first impression Waller made on him.
It was not outside on the grass, but rather inside the team facility.
Waller was standing in the doorway of Tierney’s office and there was no room whatsoever to maneuver past him.
“He blocks out the door,’’ Tierney said. “I was like, ‘Hey, I can’t get in my door, you take up the whole thing.’ He’s huge.’’
The Giants got Waller to enhance and not to impede their coaching staff.
“He’s over there one-on-one, go ahead and throw it to him, right?’’ Tierney said. “And if they take that away, we got something else. If they’re trying to do stuff to take him away it opens up things for everybody else.’’
That’s the plan.