Where Giants Stand Ahead of Draft at Receiver
With a historically deep wide receiver class in this year's draft, it would seem almost criminal if the Giants didn't dip into that group. The question, though, is what kind of receiver might they be looking to add?
On the Roster:
Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, Corey Coleman, Alex Bachman, Cody Core, Da'Mari Scott, David Sills V, Reggie White Jr.
Off the Roster:
Cody Latimer (Washington), Amba Etta-Tawo (unsigned) Russell Shepard (unsigned)
The Breakdown:
The wide receiver position is the only unit on the roster in which the Giants did not add any veteran help, this despite earlier reports by some that they had an interest in Chiefs wideout Demarcus Robinson.
That report never made sense, not given what the Giants have and what they stand to get from this historically deep draft class.
We'll start with what they have. On paper, the Giants would appear set with their top three receiving options in Tate, Sheard, and Slayton, but there are some risks to counting on this trio long term.
Although Tate proved to still be a reliable receiver, there continues to be some question as to whether he's a true No. 1 receiver.
There is also some question as to how much longer he'll be with the Giants.
The 31-year-old isn't going anywhere this year, and he'll likely be around next year as well.
But at some point, the Giants will need to weigh if the production and the deployment of Tate makes carrying his 2021 cap hit of $10,852,942 worth it.
Shepard, meanwhile, bounced back from two concussions suffered within a month of each other.
While one would like to think that his injury issues are behind him, if he should have another concussion in the coming season, there would have to be some serious thought given to his NFL future.
Slayton is the rising star of the group and the only established receiver who can stretch a defense and give the Giants a vertical downfield threat.
It should come as no surprise that Slayton was targeted the most on deep pass attempts (20) among the Giants receivers last year.
With Jason Garrett now serving as the offensive coordinator, the belief is that the Giants are going to move away from that horizontal West Coast offense that they've run for the last few years and get back to a more vertical type of system.
To do that, the Giants are going to need receivers that can separate and who have a second and third gear. Again, Slayton showed himself to be the most consistent in this regard, as did Tate.
Corey Coleman, who also showed an ability to stretch the field before a torn ACL suffered last July put him on the shelf, is going to get another chance to prove himself worthy of being part of the picture.
But as we saw to be the case with the Chiefs, having speed at the receiver spot can do some big-time damage to opposing defenses. And when at least one of your speed guys is a big, physical receiver, even better.
