It is a continuous swinging pendulum for the honor of “Kings of New York” NFL football between the New York Giants and New York Jets.
The Jets owned the honor in the Joe Namath era of the 1960s, but under Phil Simms in the 1990s the Giants regained the glory.
Eli Manning also brought the Giants Super Bowl titles about 10 years ago, but in recent years, neither team has made a surge for the honor of being superior.
The team closest to being bestowed with this honor right now is the Giants.
Here’s why.
The Giants Have a Better Team
The Giants are further along in their development of a good young team.
They have settled on their franchise quarterback Daniel Jones.
The running game is in good hands with Saquon Barkley.
Joe Judge, a rookie coach last year during the pandemic, appears to be the leader this organization needs.
My man Joe Judge last year came in with a young team with no time to prepare. They then proceeded to exceed expectations.
Now you give Judge some talent this off season. Judge and the Giants are getting ready to take the league my storm!
STAAAAAAAAAND UP GIANTS FANS! pic.twitter.com/TCAfjGiSwk
— The Entertainah (@DaEntertainah85) May 2, 2021
Though the Giants finished 6-10, they have made good offseason moves.
No one has really ever filled the shoes of Odell Beckham Jr. since he left the Giants a few years ago so the Giants rectified that in the offseason by acquiring free agent wide receivers Kenny Golladay (Detroit Lions) and John Ross (Cincinnati Bengals), along with tight end Kyle Rudolph (Minnesota Vikings).
Then at the draft, the Giants added Florida’s Kadarius Toney who has the makings to be a superstar.
KADARIUS TONEY
NEW YORK GIANT
— PFF College (@PFF_College) April 30, 2021
The Jets Are a Mess
Sadly, the Jets hold the record for the longest playoff drought by an NFL team; the last time they reached the postseason was in 2010.
However, It does appear the Jets are really trying to right the ship and learn from the horrible mistakes they made with their 2018 first-round pick (third overall) Sam Darnold.
To cut ties with a 23-year-old quarterback in Darnold to draft a 21-year-old in Zach Wilson with the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft speaks volumes to the disarray in the Jets organization.
Zach Wilson already putting in work 💪.@zachkapono1 | @nyjets pic.twitter.com/qLggLRtkox
— NFL UK (@NFLUK) May 10, 2021
It is not new though; Darnold was one of eight quarterbacks drafted by the Jets since 2009; four of those quarterbacks were first-rounders.
Darnold had two coaches in his three seasons with the Jets and limited offensive support to help him achieve much success.
With the hiring of Robert Saleh for the 2021 season and with a new era beginning with Wilson, things could be turning around.
The Jets have always been a defensive minded team & I think it will stay that way with Robert Saleh as our HC
But the pieces we have in place for this offense makes you really think we are set up to have great success on the offensive side of the ball in the near future
— 𝙅𝙀𝙏𝙎 𝙈𝙀𝘿𝙄𝘼🛫 (@NYJets_Media) May 19, 2021
Perhaps the Jets’ draft picks (specifically first-rounders) under Saleh will have a longer career with the Jets and not be traded away before hitting their prime.
In addition to Darnold, the Jets traded Leonard Williams (2015 sixth overall pick was traded to the Giants) and Jamal Adams (2017 sixth overall pick was traded to the Seattle Seahawks).
Both teams’ rosters are getting younger so there are definitely expectations that both the Giants and Jets will be competitive in the coming seasons.
This means the title of “Kings Of New York” could be highly contested and ever changing.
NEXT: 2 Overpaid Cowboys Holding Dallas Back This Season