New York Giants Roster Review: Where Things Stand Ahead of Week 1

The Giants will probably continue tweaking their 53-man roster, but for the time being, here is where each position group currently stands.

It's officially Week 1 of the New york Giants regular-season, so let's run down the state of the roster, which should be pretty much set, at each position group.  

Quarterback (2)

Rostered: Daniel Jones, Tyrod Taylor
Practice squad: Davis Webb

Given the injury situation at other spots, there was little chance that the Giants would keep three quarterbacks. But for those who fretted that the team might lose Webb after he had a solid preseason showing, the reason Webb decided to continue his career rather than transition into coaching was to be a part of the Giants program as run by Brian Daboll.

 Although Webb will be on the practice squad, given the injury histories of Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor, there’s a better than average chance of Webb seeing time on the 53-man roster at points during the year.

Running Backs/Fullbacks (5)

Rostered: Saquon Barkley, Matt Breida, Antonio Williams, Gary Brightwell, Chris Myarick (FB)
Practice squad: Jashaun Corbin

A year ago, the Giants selected Gary Brightwell for his contributions on special teams. This summer, Brightwell expanded that offering by doing some return work, though it’s not clear if he will continue in that role. Antonio Williams always seemed to be a lock, given his familiarity with the offense from his time in Buffalo.

Chris Myarick has expanded his offering from tight end to include fullback/H-back. Undrafted rookie Jashaun Corbin will get a chance to continue honing his craft on the practice squad.

The guy to watch is Saquon Barkley. He's been talking all summer about how good he feels, how optimistic he is, and how ready he is for the season. That's nothing new, to be honest. But all the talk and feel-good sentiments in the world won't mean a thing if Barkley doesn't show it on the field.  

Tight Ends (2)

Rostered: Daniel Bellinger, Tanner Hudson
Practice squad: Austin Allen

Technically, the Giants have three tight ends on the roster if one counts Myarick in this group (we have him with the running backs). Overall, this is a very young and inexperienced group with just 33 games of experience under its collective belt.

 Considering the Giants planned to have veteran Ricky Seals-Jones, now on injured reserve, as part of the trio to give themselves some experience at the position, one can’t help but wonder if a veteran addition is coming after Week 1.

Wide Receivers (7)

Rostered: Kenny Golladay, Wan’Dale Robinson, Kadarius Toney, Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, David Sills V, Richie James
Practice squad: C.J. Board, Kalil Pimpleton

Whether there were actually takers for Darius Slayton, whom general manager Joe Schoen said will be on the Week 1 roster, or if the Giants decided to hang on to him is debatable. 

Whatever the case, Slayton and his $2.5 million cap hit remains part of this roster. That might not be a bad thing considering that Kenny Golladay, who has not looked right all summer long, underwent an off-season procedure that limited him in the spring, Sterling Shepard is still getting himself back into playing shape after spending most of the summer on PUP (Achilles), and Kadarius Toney has had some injury issues of his own during the summer. 

The Giants decided the numbers worked against Alex Bahman, who, despite reportedly being invited back for a spot on the practice squad, is said to be exploring his options after finishing as the league leader in receptions (19).

Overall the Giants have quantity at this position which, if healthy, can be very good. But therein lies the most critical question: Can the top guys stay healthy to fill the roles planned for them in this offense?

Offensive line (9)

Rostered: Andrew Thomas (LT), Devery Hamilton (LG - projected), Jon Feliciano (C), Mark Glowinski (RG), Evan Neal (RT), Joshua Ezeudu, Ben Bredeson, Jack Anderson, Tyre Phillips
Practice squad: Max Garcia, Will Holden, Wyatt Davis

The first regualr-season game is just days away, and the Giants' offensive line still doens't appear to be settled. Blame that on injuries, which were a big culprit in wrecking last year's line. The good news is that the injury situation isn't as bad this year--really, the only question mark is the identity of the starting left guard.

There are also some depth questions brought about by injury. Will Bredeson, who missed the back half of camp with an elbow injury, be ready? That he didn't land on IR to start the season is encouraging, but there is still a mystery surrounding his status. And how quickly can offensive line coach Bobby Johnson get newcomers Anderson and Phillips up to speed?

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Defensive line (5)

Rostered: Leonard Williams, Dexter Lawrence, Justin Ellis, Nick Williams, D.J. Davidson
Practice squad: Ryder Anderson, Henry Mondeaux

Every year, this unit develops into one of the deepest and strongest on the team, and this year appears to be no exception. Williams and Lawrence, the latter who was Pro Football Focus's third-highest graded Giants defender in the preseason, should thrive in defensive coordinator Wink Martindale's new system.

Davidson, the rookie, was the second-best pass rusher among the defensive linemen this summer, registering a unit-leading three pressures in 47 pass rush snaps. The Giants also made sure to leave themselves with some strong depth on the practice squad in Anderson and Mondeaux.

Edge (5)

Rostered: Azeez Ojulari, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Jihad Ward, Oshane Ximines, Tomon Fox
Practice squad: Quincy Roche, Chuck Wiley

The Giants have some quality talent on this unit, but the question is, how healthy is that talent? Ojulari, Thibodeaux, and Ward all missed time in the summer with injuries but are expected to be ready to go, if not by Week 1, shortly thereafter. And even if they are ready to go, will any lingering effects from the injuries be present?

Inside Linebacker (5)

Rostered: Tae Crowder, Micah McFadden, Carter Coughlin, Austin Calitro, Cam Brown
Practice Squad: None

The release of Blake Martinez initially was shocking but, in retrospect, not surprising if one goes back and connects the dots. Martinez agreed to a pay cut after suffering a torn ACL, but when the new system was installed, it became clear, based on playing time, that Martinez wasn't going to have the same kind of role in this system as he did in the previous one.

Throw in the loss of the radio helmet and his team captainship, and it became evident that a divorce could be in the making. The Giants might look thin at this spot, but it's probably fair to wonder if the inside linebackers will have as big of a role in this system as they did in the previous one.

Otherwise, in this position group, you have two guys--Brown and Coughlin--who are mainly special teams contributors (Coughlin can provide some help on the edge in certain packages if need be). McFadden was a solid blitzer in college, so it remains to be seen if that's how he's deployed early on in his pro career. Calitro was a playmaker for the Giants in the preseason; can he keep that up in the regular season?

Cornerback (6)

Rostered: Adoree’ Jackson, Aaron Robinson, Darnay Holmes, Cor’Dale Flott, Justin Layne, Nick McCloud
Practice squad: Fabian Moreau, Zyon Gilbert 

The Giants tweaked this group after setting the initial 53-man roster, but there are still some questions about how good the depth is in the event of injury. 

Justin Layne, formerly with the Steelers, is a 6-foot-2, 192-pounder that has played in 151 defensive snaps over three years. Although still inexperienced, he has some tools worth developing. 

Meanwhile, Nick McCloud comes to the Giants off waivers from--you guessed it--Buffalo, where Schoen did a lot of scouting on the former Notre Dame defender signed as an undrafted free agent by the Bills last year. And the Giants added some additional experience, albeit to the practice squad for now, in former Commanders draft pick Fabian Moreau.

Overall is the backup depth better than what the Giants had during the summer? We're not so sure it is, but we're also hoping the Giants don't have to find out for a while. 

Safety (4)

Rostered: Xavier McKinney, Julian Love, Dane Belton, Jason Pinnock
Practice squad: Tony Jefferson II, Trenton Thompson

The Giants cut veteran Andrew Adams and decided to go with a youth movement. Grabbing Pinnock off waivers from the Jets was a major get for the team--Pinnock allowed one reception out of three pass targets in coverage. 

Pinnock is an interesting story. The Jets' fifth-round pick in 2021r switched positions, moving from cornerback to safety midseason due to injuries in Gang Green's defensive backfield. Pinnock played well, though, and looked like he might seriously push for more playing time with the Jets this year, but it was not meant to be. 

Belton, the Giants' third-round pick this year, is recovering from a broken collarbone and should be ready to go in limited spots within the first two weeks of the season.

Special teams (3)

Placekicker: Graham Gano
Punter: Jamie Gillan
Long snapper: Casey Kreiter

Nothing to really talk about here so long as everyone is consistent throughout the season.

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