Five Young Prospects Who Could Slip onto the Giants' 53-man Roster

There will be plenty of competition in Giants training camp this year. So let's take a look at five young players who have the skillset and a potential opportunity to grab a spot on the 53-man roster.

There will be plenty of competition in Giants training camp this summer. And with that, there are bound to be surprises who could slip onto the 53-man roster if they have solid training camps and preseason. 

Here is a look at five young players who could be among those who come out of nowhere to win a roster spot.

OLB Carter Coughlin

Typically, a team's seventh-round draft pick is thought of as more of a developmental prospect. 

Edge rusher Carter Coughlin, the first of the Giants seventh-round draft picks this year (and one of four linebackers drafted), might very well turn out to be an exception.

Coughlin, the 218th overall pick and former Golden Gopher, ranked third behind Ohio State’s Chase Young and Nick Bosa among Bug-10 edge defenders in pass-rushing during a single season, according to Pro Football Focus.

While the grades are subjective, there’s no denying Carter’s production at the collegiate level in four seasons at Minnesota. 

As a true freshman, he participated in 11 games. By his sophomore season (2017), but it was his junior season in which he had a breakout campaign.

That year, Coughlin posted 48 total tackles (one shy of his career-high, which he’d set the following year as a senior), and career highs in tackles for a loss (15), sacks (9.5) and forced fumbles (4) to earn a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection.

Coughlin offers speed and athleticism and like teammate Ryan Connelly, Coughlin has very little wasted motion. 

He has shown that he quickly makes his reads and can get into position to make a play on the ball carrier. His mental processing speed might just be among his top strengths. By the time he’s processed what’s in front of him and determined what he’s going to do, he’s often past his opponent.

Besides Carter, the Giants have a lot of potential at their edge rusher position, including Lorenzo Carter, Oshane Ximines, and newcomer Kyler Fackrell.

They’re also hopeful of getting Markus Golden back on the UFA tender if no one signs him. While on paper that should be enough, how great would it be if the Giants eventually developed a trio of young pass rushers.

RB Javon Leake

Leake is an undrafted free agent who, in three years at Maryland, rushed for 1,144 yards on 145 carries and 17 touchdowns while adding ten receptions for 59 yards. Where Leake can potentially beat Jonathan Hilliman and Wayne Gallman for a roster spot is on special teams.

Leake was the Terps’ kickoff returner, and he racked up 1,445 yards on 59 returns, a very respectable 24.5 yards per return average. His change of direction ability (COD) and explosiveness in moving laterally is hard not to like.

Corey Ballentine, last year’s kickoff returner, did a decent job. Still, with the possibility of Ballentine being needed more on defense this year, Leake has a golden opportunity to grab a roster spot if he can show the same explosiveness and shiftiness he showed in college.

WR Austin Mack

Mack is one of three undrafted free agent receivers signed by the Giants (and one of two to come from Ohio State).

Standing 6’1”, 212 pounds, Mack’s production over his four-year career with the Buckeyes is pedestrian looking at first glance—79 receptions for 1,050 yards with only six touchdowns. 

But it’s important to note that he was also part of a loaded receiver group, and he also dealt with a foot injury that put a significant crimp in his production as a senior.

Mack’s skillset is intriguing if you’re looking for a possession receiver. He has sufficient strength to hold his own against physical cornerbacks and is fearless going over the middle.

Mack is also not afraid to fight for the contested catches and does a good job of securing the ball and making sure he's at or past the first-down marker

If he’s over his foot injury, his upside is very intriguing and could lead to a spot toward the bottom of the Giants' receiver depth chart.

WR David Sills V

Sills was added to the Giants practice squad last year after his short stint with the Bills didn't pan out.

The 6'4", 210-pound receiver is an exciting prospect. Although he had limited opportunity last summer with the Bills, the former quarterback is surprisingly technically sound, considering he's only been playing the position since 2017, when he made the conversion from quarterback while at West Virginia.

Upon making that conversion, in two seasons, Sills recorded 125 receptions for 1,966 yards (15.72 average) and 33 touchdowns, no doubt putting to good use his understanding of routes from his days as a quarterback.

Sills proved to be versatile enough to play inside or outside, and he varies his speed just enough to fool defenders and gain separation.

Sills didn't quite carry over his college production to the Bills, but to be fair, the Bills were probably a little more stacked at receiver than the Giants currently are. 

With a big second chance awaiting him, if Sills can excel on special teams while transferring his technically sound play at receiver to the NFL level, he could find himself on the 53-man roster.

ILB Josiah Tauefa

The Giants placed a premium on upgrading the inside linebacker spot, adding Blake Martinez from Green bay, re-signing David Mayo, and drafting the versatile Cam Brown, Tae Crowder, and TJ Brunson.

But don't be so quick to assume that Josiah Tauefa is finished. Last year, Tauefa, an undrafted free agent out of UTSA, took advantage of a tiny number of defensive snaps (22), most of which came against the run, and was effective.

Tauefa registered four tackles, three of which were stops for zero or negative yards. He also showed instincts and was quick to flow to the ball.

While at times he might have been outmuscled by a bigger, more physical player, that's not uncommon with rookies who need to spend a year in an NFL quality weight training program.

In eight coverage snaps, Tauefa allowed two (out of two) passes to be completed but only for minus-1 yards. That's pretty impressive if you remember that when it comes to linebackers, it's not how many tackles they make but how close to the line of scrimmage those tackles come.

Tauefa isn't a draft pick, which may or may not hurt his status, but if nothing else, he's shown that he can be productive in limited snaps, which gives him an early advantage in the competition for a roster spot.