A Look Back at the Highs and Lows of the Giants' 2025 Roster Building Process

How sturdy was the Giants' 2025 roster? Let's look back at the roster building phases and see.

New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

While the New York Giants capped off their 2025 season with a two-game winning streak, they enter the 2026 offseason fresh off a third consecutive losing season with plenty of changes likely in store.  

While team success didn’t result in a winning season, there were signs of promise and improvement from certain positions that the franchise addressed. 

As we wrap up 2025 and look ahead to 2026, we review the Giants' major roster-building decisions. 

The Draft

New York Giants first round draft picks, Abdul Carter and Jaxson Dart | Thomas Salus-Imagn Images

The selection of quarterback Jaxson Dart and outside linebacker Abdul Carter in last year’s NFL draft provided a template for how the Giants wanted to continue along with their rebuild. 

Dart was viewed as a dynamic dual-threat developmental prospect with the ceiling of a versatile quarterback.

At the same time, Carter was projected to be an instant impact pass-rushing specialist to add to a group that included outside linebackers Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, and defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence along the defensive line. 

It took Carter until the final month and a half of the season to put together sack numbers that aligned with his team-high pressure totals; the top-five selection ended his rookie campaign with four sacks and 28 pressures in his final six games. 

Dart took over the starting quarterback role in Week 4 of the NFL season and amassed over 2,700 yards of total offense and 24 total touchdowns in 13 starts to cement himself as the team’s future franchise signal caller.

Dart, one of six candidates for the Pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Year award, finished 21st in completion percentage league-wide (63.7%). His five interceptions were tied for the second fewest in the league, and his seven turnovers tied for the fourth fewest.

His running ability–49 of his 86 rushing attempts were designed runs, fourth most among quarterbacks, and his 202 rushing yards were first among quarterbacks. 

Again, that is some solid production. 

Carter? No, he didn’t have massive sack totals, but he finished tied for 12th in pressures per PFF (66), and was fifth on ESPN’s top-20 Pass-Rush Win-Rate for edge rushers.

Beyond the first two round picks, the Giants also came away with some solid value in the other rounds. 

Darius Alexander rebounded from a slow start to his rookie campaign, in which he recorded 11 of his 15 quarterback pressures from Week 12 onward.

Running back Cam Skattebo, the fourth-round pick, was an instant hit for his infectious and at times raw enthusiasm, not to mention his hard-nosed, throwback style of play on the field.  

Despite his season being cut short, he graded it as the Giants' best running back; his 307 yards after contact tops the team (3.04 avg.).

Fifth-round pick Marcus Mbow also ended up as a pleasant surprise, proving that the game wasn’t too big for him. In 325 snaps, 261 of which came at left tackle.

Mbow finished with a 92.6 pass-blocking efficiency rating with 26 total pressures allowed, making a case to be considered for a starting job in 2026.

Free Agent Gains

New York Giants cornerback Paulson Adebo | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

While Adebo and Holland didn’t have the best PFF coverage grades on the season, respectively, each contributed high marks in coverage when it came to forcing incompletions and not allowing an excessive amount of defensive touchdowns. 

In 12 games for Adebo, the former third-round selection forced eight incompletions, broke up five passes, and recorded an interception across 74 targets.

He even led the team in dropped interceptions (3) while only surrendering two touchdown passes on the year. 

Holland started 14 games for the Giants and amassed four forced incompletions and three pass breakups to go with his lone interception on the season.

The two defensive backs, alongside teammates Dru Phillips and Cordelle Flott, spearheaded a league-average pass defense on the season.

Free Agent Losses

Former New York Giants linebacker Azeez Ojulari | Kevin R. Wexler / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Unlike 2024, when the Giants lost some big fish in free agency, their 2025 losses weren’t quite as devastating.  

Quarterbacks Drew Lock and Tim Boyle were among those who departed, as did outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari, once a second-round pick. 

We would have preferred the Giants to trade Ojulari when they had the chance, but Schoen, as he's done before, held out for more than what he was offered. 

So in the end, he was left with nothing rather than a draft pick, a practice that really has to change moving forward.

Free Agency Signings 

New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Giants’ major free agent additions who counted toward the 2026 compensatory formula–not that the Giants are getting any comp picks in 2026–included cornerback Paulson Adebo, quarterback Jameis Winston, safety Jevon Holland, quarterback Russell Wilson, defensive lineman Chauncey Golton, and offensive tackle James Hudson III.

Suffice it to say, that was a rather underwhelming group for the most part. 

Wilson lasted all of three games as a starter, and when the Giants made the switch to Mike Kafka at head coach, they also wisely made the switch to Winston, who is among the bright spots of the 2025 incoming free agents.

Hudson was supposed to be the swing tackle. Still, after his infamous Week 2 meltdown, he was banished to the bench, getting a gameday uniform only if a starting tackle was injured and rookie Mbow had to step in, Mbow having passed Hudson on the depth chart. 

Golston was another player who fought injuries all year long. In 10 games played (167 defensive snaps), he managed only five pressures and one sack, per PFF. 

And against the run (73 snaps), he managed 13 tackles, five tackles for loss–not exactly worth the $4 million cap hit he was in 2025. 

Adebo and Holland were solid contributors, but they also missed time due to injuries.  Adebo, in 12 games, forced eight incompletions, broke up five passes, and recorded an interception across 74 targets. He also led the team in dropped interceptions (3) while only surrendering two touchdown passes on the year, per PFF. 

Holland started 14 games for the Giants and amassed four forced incompletions and three pass breakups to go with his lone interception on the season. Opponents rarely targeted him, though, making his numbers somewhat deceptive.

Free Agency Retentions

New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton | Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The idea of re-signing wide receiver Darius Slayton, the most notable and expensive of the Giants' own free agents, to a 3-year, $36 million deal made sense at the time, given his leadership and seniority in the locker room. 

The idea, or hope, was that he could complement rising star Malik Nabers on the outside, and Slayton was the avenue to that reality.

In retrospect, the move doesn't seem worth the expense. Slayton tied for the 11th most dropped passes among receivers (6) in his 14 games played. He also recorded a 41.7% catch rate on third down while also yielding a lot of snaps to slot receiver Wan’Dale Robinson. 

The Giants are thought to be looking to add to the receiver corps, but that shouldn’t affect Slayton’s status on the team since he does have guaranteed money this year. But he will definitely need to cut back on the dropped passes and be more efficient on third down.

Slayton has guaranteed money owed to him in 2026, so he’s going to be on the roster. But it will be interesting to see what happens to his targets once Nabers returns and whether the Giants add another outside receiver in the draft.

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