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Performance Based Value: New York Giants

In this series of pieces, Pro Football Focus is hammering into the value of players. To us it’s a “Performance Based Value” number, telling you what players were worth (by our grading) in 2012. You can read about the work we’ve done to create it here, but in short:

• It’s solely about what a player did on the field in 2012
• Players are grouped by positions so their play essentially earns them a portion of the positional salary pool
• It’s all about cap hits (these values are approximate)

Here are 2012′s most undervalued and overvalued New York Giants:

(* Denotes player missed significant portion of time through injury)

 

Undervalued

 1. William Beatty, Offensive Tackle

It took a David Diehl injury for Beatty to crack the starting lineup in 2012, and luckily for the Giants it was a move that ended up helping the team. He allowed just three combined sacks/hits, which was second fewest for tackles with at least 200 pass-block snaps. His +10.9 run block rating was third-best among left tackles, which made him a double threat at the position. The Giants did a great job locking up Beatty for the long term just two days ago.

2012 Cap Hit: $850k
2012 Performance Based Value: $8.0m
Value Differential: +$7.2m

2. Jason Pierre-Paul, Defensive End

Some might thing Pierre-Paul had a down year because his sack total was cut in half, but really JPP was still a great player. His dominance comes more in the run game where his Run Stop Percentage of 9.0 was second among 4-3 defensive ends. He had 55 total pressures, which was 15th-most, and still leaves him as a very good edge rusher — which is a position which typically makes a lot of money.

2012 Cap Hit: $2.5m
2012 Performance Based Value: $7.6m
Value Differential: +$5.1m

3. Linval Joseph, Defensive Tackle

Linval Joseph is yet another very young Giants player that is playing much better than his rookie contract is worth. His 6.9 Run Stop Percentage and 6.3 Pass Rushing Productivity are both better than average at the position. He still has a ways to go to be among the very best at the position, but he has made a good start.

2012 Cap Hit: $930k
2012 Performance Based Value: $5.3m
Value Differential: +$4.4m

4. Martellus Bennett, TE – Cap: $1.8m, PBV: $5.6m, Value Differential: +$3.8m

5. Victor Cruz, WR – Cap: $540k, PBV: $3.8m, Value Differential: +$3.3m

6. Ahmad Bradshaw, HB – Cap: $4.5m, PBV: $7.3m, Value Differential: +$2.8m

7. Eli Manning, QB – Cap: $9.6m, PBV: $12.3m, Value Differential: +$2.7m

8. Hakeem Nicks, WR – Cap: $1.8m, PBV: $4.4m, Value Differential: +$2.6m

9. Stevie Brown, S – Cap: $610k, PBV: $2.8m, Value Differential: +$2.2m

10. Domenik Hixon, WR – Cap: $660k, PBV: $2.5m, Value Differential: +$1.9m

 

Overvalued

1. Corey Webster, Cornerback

In 2012, Webster was near the top of the leaderboard in some categories where you want to be at the bottom. His yards per catch allowed of 16.7 was fourth-most, and his eight touchdowns allowed was second for all cornerbacks. It doesn’t help that he had previously restructured his contract which led to a larger cap hit in 2012 and 2013.

2012 Cap Hit: $9.3m
2012 Performance Based Value: $1.1m
Value Differential: -$8.3m

2. Antrel Rolle, Safety

Rolle is another Giants defensive back not earning his ridiculously high salary. He allowed a 72.7% catch rate, which was the fourth worst among safeties who were targeted at least 40 times. His 12 missed tackles don’t help him either. Although he at times is an asset in the run game, that isn’t nearly enough to make him worth $9 million.

2012 Cap Hit: $9.0m
2012 Performance Based Value: $1.1m
Value Differential: -$8.0m

3. Chris Canty, Defensive Tackle*

In this case the Giants already decided Canty was overvalued and released him after the season. He is a good interior pass rusher with a Pass Rushing Productivity of 8.6, which was 10th-best at defensive/nose tackle. The problem is he missed half of the season, and even if he played in that time it would be hard for him to match his high cap hit.

2012 Cap Hit: $8.0m
2012 Performance Based Value: $2.9m
Value Differential: -$5.1m

4. Michael Boley, LB – Cap: $5.7m, PBV: $1.1m, Value Differential: -$4.6m

5. Justin Tuck, DE – Cap: $5.4m, PBV: $1.1m, Value Differential: -$4.3m

6. Osi Umenyiora, DE – Cap: $5.0m, PBV: $1.2m, Value Differential: -$3.8m

7. Mathias Kiwanuka, OLB/DL – Cap: $4.6m, PBV: $830k, Value Differential: -$3.8m

8. David Diehl, OL – Cap: $3.4m, PBV: $930k, Value Differential: -$2.5m

9. David Baas, C – Cap: $3.4m, PBV: $2.1m, Value Differential: -$1.3m

10. Chris Snee, G – Cap: $5.5m, PBV: $4.2m, Value Differential: -$1.3m

 

Summary – Team Value Differential: -4.3m

It would be hard to find another team that has so many undervalued offensive players, and so many overvalued defensive players. Three of the top six overvalued likely won’t be back with the Giants next year, and a lot of that money will probably be used to pay some of the undervalued offensive players to restore balance to the Giants.

 

Follow Nathan on Twitter: @PFF_NateJahnke


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