New York Giants Biggest Remaining Questions As Camp Ends
The regular season's start is less than two weeks away, and training camp is about to wrap up, but there are still some unknowns when it comes to certain parts of the Giants’ roster.
We will learn a lot about how the official depth chart will look within the next week when the roster is trimmed to 53 and, as is usually the case, tweaked as other players hit the waiver wire.
As we wait to see what decisions head coach Joe Judge intends to make regarding his roster, here are some of the most pressing unanswered questions remaining.
1. Who will round out the Giants' depth chart at receiver?
Jones has plenty of weapons to work with this season. This is an offense that includes Barkley, Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate, Darius Slayton, and Evan Engram.
Shepard, Tate, and Slayton will be Jones’ three main receivers. Former first-round pick Corey Coleman was one of the favorites to win a roster spot, appears to have done so as well.
But after that, who are the remaining receivers? The Giants signed Johnny Holton to presumably replace Cody Core on special teams. He would be the fifth receiver.
So will it be Alex Bachman? David Sills? Austin Mack? Binjimen Victor? Derrick Dillon? CJ Board? That's a lot of candidates for what appears to be one remaining roster spot on the 53-man depth chart.
2. How many tight ends will the Giants carry?
Other roster areas will require more depth, so it seems unlikely that the Giants will carry more than four tight ends. Engram, Kaden Smith, and Levine Toilolo are all going to make the roster, so that leaves one more likely tight end spot.
Should the Giants decide to go with four tight ends, that last spot will go to either Eric Tomlinson or Garrett Dickerson. Tomlinson caught a late touchdown in the Blue-White scrimmage.
He was with the Giants at the beginning of the 2019 season and was cut in late September. Tomlinson spent time with the New England Patriots and Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders.
Dickerson played in a few games for the Giants last year but did not see any action in the passing game. There’s always a chance that Judge and Gettleman decide only to carry three tights on their roster.
For depth purposes, either Tomlinson or Dickerson will probably be given a roster spot, especially if the Giants decide to drop the roster's fullback position.
3. Who will be the odd man out on the defensive line?
With training camp winding down, the Giants’ defensive line is relatively solidified. Leonard Williams, Dexter Lawrence, and Dalvin Tomlinson are very likely to start. B.J. Hill and Austin Johnson will probably come off the bench and rotate in.
That likely leaves one more spot for a defensive lineman, with that competition boiling down to Chris Slayton or R.J. McIntosh.
McIntosh has 18 total tackles and two sacks over the two seasons he’s spent with the Giants. Earlier this week, he was unable to finish practice after suffering an injury.
Even going back to last year, McIntosh failed to stand out when given regular-season snaps. He could be the odd man out in this equation, especially after Slayton, who spent most of last year on the practice squad, was added to the roster at the end of last season to keep other teams from poaching him.
4. How will the linebackers play out?
The Giants have a lot of linebackers, including at least three--Oshane Ximines, Kyler Fackrell, and Markus Golden--who are best at the weak-side. But for a team that has struggled to find pass rushers, having an abundance--and let's include Lorenzo Carter in that mix even though he's likely to play on the strongside--isn't necessarily a bad thing.
But what about all those rookies they added to a group that includes veterans Josiah Tauaefa, Blake Martinez, and Ryan Connelly? (David Mayo is currently recovering from knee surgery.)
Do the Giants have any solid candidates from their four draft picks this year to push any of those guys, or are they all destined for the practice squad if they clear waivers?
5. Who will return kicks for the Giants this season?
After he was one of their main kick returners two years ago, Corey Coleman missed the last season due to an injury. He had 23 kick returns for a total of 598 yards in 2018.
Coleman could retake this role for the Giants in 2020, but the guy who took over for him last year probably has a better chance: Corey Ballentine.
During his rookie season in 2019, Ballentine had ten kick return attempts for 256 yards. He has the size and speed to be a talented return man.
Coleman did well when asked to take on this role in 2018, but the Giants will probably have him mainly focus on being a receiver this year.
6. Will this Giants team be competitive?
The Giants are not alone in having had no real off-season and an unusual preseason, but that doesn't mean they can't be competitive when the curtain rises on September 14.
Head coach Joe Judge has done everything in his power to cover every little detail to make that happen, including enforcing accountability among the players.
But will it work? If the Giants get off to yet another slow start, it could get very ugly quickly in East Rutherford.
