The Giants' Leonard Williams warms up before an NFL game...

The Giants' Leonard Williams warms up before an NFL game against the Cowboys on Jan. 3 in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit: AP/Corey Sipkin

Leonard Williams or Dalvin Tomlinson?

The choice wasn’t even close, as Williams himself proved with the best season of his career in 2020. The outcome of the last two days was therefore no surprise, with Tomlinson going to the Vikings on a modest two-year, $22 million free-agent deal and Williams staying put.

The better news: The Giants weren’t hamstrung for a long period of time by Williams’ onerous $19 million salary cap hit as the team’s franchise designation. They knocked that number down to around $11 million by virtue of Williams agreeing to a new three-year contract, reported to be worth $63 million.

That’s not the kind of long-term commitment Williams may have been looking for, but it’s a responsible deal that keeps the Giants’ best defensive player under contract through at least the 2023 season — and potentially beyond — and allows Williams to hit the open market again while he’s still in his prime.

I give Williams a ton of credit. An underachieving first-round pick through much of his career with the Jets, he played up to his potential in his first full season with the Giants in 2020 and turned out to be as impactful a player as the team had during an improved season in which they briefly flirted with a playoff run.

Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham used Williams in a variety of ways — even having him play as a stand-up defensive end and linebacker in certain formations — and Williams responded with 11 ½ sacks — four more than the previous three years combined. He flashed the kind of big-play capability you need to build a championship defense, and while the Giants certainly can’t claim to be at that level, Williams can be a core element if the team can build around him.

Tomlinson was a nice player who, when paired along the line with Williams was a consistent presence in the middle. But he simply didn’t have the same athletic talent as Williams, and in a league in which you have to make plenty of tough choices, this was a no-brainer: If you can only keep one, you keep Williams.

Now for the next act: finding some more help on offense, especially at receiver. The Giants still haven’t replaced the home run threat Odell Beckham Jr. gave them during his tumultuous five-year run, and there is no excuse for them not to address the position in a significant way in the coming days and weeks.

The free agent market includes the Lions' Kenny Golladay, JuJu Smith-Schuster of the Steelers, Will Fuller of the Texans and T.Y. Hilton of the Colts. The draft is also deep at receiver, with the big three of DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle of Alabama and LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase. So there’s no excuse that the Giants can’t come away with at least two upgrades at the position.

That doesn’t include the receiver they agreed to terms with on Tuesday. The one-year deal for former first-round pick John Ross of the Bengals is a flier for a player who flashed 4.22 speed at the Scouting Combine, but never lived up to his potential in Cincinnati. Ross played in just 27 games over four years, scoring a combined 10 touchdowns. If the Giants get 25 catches for 400 yards and five touchdowns, that will be a plus.

And Devontae Booker won’t be a game-breaker either. The Giants will sign the former Raiders running back to a two-year, $6 million deal to become Saquon Barkley’s backup.

General manager Dave Gettleman at least took some heat off by agreeing to a new deal for Williams and giving himself some salary cap wiggle room to dive into the free agent market in a more meaningful way. Remember, too, that you don’t judge an offseason by what happens in the first week; you look at the entirety of the offseason — which includes signings after June 1, when quality veteran players often become available because of salary-related issues.

It’s a quiet start so far for Gettleman, but it’s still early. Plenty of time to find help where it’s needed most. Especially on offense.

Re-signing their best defensive player made that just a bit easier.

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