With sixteen days until the NFL Week 1 opener, The Athletic's Mike Sando, who is also a Pro Football Hall of Fame selector, recently joined the Giants Huddle podcast to discuss factors that weight into his evaluation of NFL teams' overall potential and roster efficiency.

Sando touched on the New York Giants, a team he admitted he feels optimistic about. First-year Head Coach Brian Daboll and General Manager Joe Schoen, he attested, seem to have their priorities straight. "You have a synched-up head coach and GM. These two guys were in Buffalo together. There aren't any issues between the two. They're not on a different timeline," Sando shared.

He continued, "There's a chance to be competitive right away, which I think is important for your culture...There's an opportunity this year with the state of the NFC East to maybe be better than you might otherwise be if you were in the AFC West. I think that balancing of the short-term and the long-term is where the Giants are this year." Sando added that the Giants' recent first round draft choices – Andrew Thomas, Kadarius Toney, Evan Neal and Kayvon Thibodeaux – reflect the makings of a good foundation.

Also on Mike Sando's mind was his quarterbacks publication, released annually in July. Sando spoke about working with anonymous evaluators and taking into consideration the ways an overall roster impacts quarterback performance. The widening gap between the AFC and NFC, he added, impacts how starting quarterbacks are perceived relative to one another. In evaluating former players, Sando detailed the process of electing a Hall of Fame class, including how the committee aims to strike a balance in electing dominant players and long-term, impactful players.

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