For all the excitement of having John Harbaugh in the building, there are plenty of alarm bells ringing in The Meadowlands.
Nearly every year at least one team goes from worst to first in the NFL, and there are some projecting the Giants to be that squad in 2026.
Color me a skeptic.
The Giants have little to no depth on most of their roster, which has already been hit by injuries, notably among their running backs.
In comes Harbaugh, who wants his teams to be hard as nails with as many padded practices= as allowed by the league.
But does he have the roster to do that?
He’s repeatedly brought in former Ravens players to set the culture, while calling Cam Skattebo an “infectious disease” in a bizarre rant as he gathered some unsportsmanlike penalties during practice.
The Giants weren’t the worst team in the NFL last season – far from it. Though you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at their record as they blew five fourth-quarter leads, including an 18-point edge vs. Denver.
Big Blue was also 1-7 in one-possession games; surely, there’s some positive regression to be had here in that aspect.
But is Harbaugh the guy to fix that?
From 2021-23, Harbaugh was a disaster at holding fourth-quarter leads. Baltimore squandered nine leads of seven or more points in that stretch, the most in NFL history.
He never really solved Lamar Jackson’s fumbling and turnover problem; that’s something that gives me pause about his ability to develop quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Big Blue also brings in a ton of cooks in the kitchen on the offensive side of the coaching staff with former head coaches Matt Nagy and Brian Callahan, while Greg Roman also is with the team as a senior offensive assistant; it’s a weird grouping, to say the least.
The Giants should be better this year; they went 4-13 last year and added a decent amount of talent through the draft and free agency.
Harbaugh is an adult in the room who will be able to make the team a bit more professional rather than a frat house, but their schedule is another area of concern.
They have the 10th-hardest schedule in 2026 by win totals, and 10 games are against teams in the top 12 in DVOA passing offense.
We could be looking at some shootouts and I’m not sure the Giants will be able to keep up.
I also like the Eagles and Cowboys in their division this year, and the math doesn’t line up for the Giants to make that Patriots-style leap — at least this year.
Catch up on The Post’s NFL betting previews and predictions for the 2026 season
They’re 30/1 to have the worst regular-season record, which I feel like is a little strong considering there’s talent on the roster and many teams will be tanking for a quarterback during the second half of the year.
Big Blue is a Dart injury away from joining the Arch Manning sweepstakes alongside the Cardinals, Dolphins and other teams among the league’s worst.
PREDICTION: Giants under 7.5 total wins (-115, BetMGM) | Small bet on Giants to have the worst record in the NFL (30/1, DraftKings)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting. During the football season he’s showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons. While constantly betting long shots, his return on investment is 30.15 percent since 2022.
