3 Giants Veterans Whose Roster Spots Could Be in Jeopardy--and Their Biggest Threats

The New York Giants upcoming training camp promises to be a highly competitive multi-week affair in which there will be competition across the board, with very few players being able to safely say they’ll be assured of a starting role.

The most intriguing part of the camp will be the depth, where jobs will definitely be up for grabs. And there could even be a surprise or two when the competitions end and roster spots are awarded.

Three returning veterans could lose their jobs by the time summer camp ends. Here is a look at the three and their biggest competition.

TE Chris Manhertz

Biggest Threat: FB Patrick Ricard

New York Giants tight end Chris Manhertz | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Chris Manhertz has been one of the most underrated Giants reserves since joining the team two years ago as an unrestricted free agent.

He’s not only contributed on special teams, but he’s also handled the dirty work on offense, serving mostly as a blocker for the running game and doing a really good job of it.

Per PFF, he was the team’s third-highest graded run blocker (behind Andrew Thomas and Cam Skattebo) among those Giants who logged a minimum of 100 run blocking snaps.

And while not really a factor in the passing game—he’s caught 4-of-6 passes for 37 yards and one touchdown in his two seasons with the Giants—where he’s been especially solid is as a blocker in the red zone.

Over the two years Manhertz has been on the roster, the Giants have had a 37.5% pass-blocking success rate in the red zone with him on the field. He also has not surrendered a quarterback pressure, per PFF data, when pass-blocking in the red zone.

While on the surface Manhertz would make sense to keep as the third tight end, behind projected starter Isaiah Likely and second-year man Theo Johnson, there is a question of how many they’ll keep at the position—and where Patrick Ricard will fit in.

First, yes, Ricard is listed as a fullback, which would mean that he gets his work in with the running backs' room, right?

Wrong. The nine-year veteran has been working this spring with the tight ends, a strong hint suggesting that the coaching staff might be asking him to do a bit more in-line.

Such a role would not be new for Ricard. Last season, he received 274 snaps on offense with the Ravens. Of those, he worked from the backfield 180 times and from the in-line tight end spot 87. In 2024, Ricard saw more snaps in-line (218) than he did in the backfield (189).

In the red zone, the Ravens had a 66.7% success rate with Ricard on the field over the last two seasons as a pass blocker.

Whether Manhertz makes the roster will all boil down to the numbers. If the Giants keep four at the tight end spot, there will be room for Manhertz and Ricard, though it would be hard to envision the Giants activating four on game day.

LB Darius Muasau

Biggest Threat: LB Jack Kelly

New York Giants linebacker Darius Muasau | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

It’s not so much that Darius Muasau has been a bad player for the Giants—because he hasn’t.

The 2024 sixth-round pick has just had to deal with injuries in his short career, plus he faces the added challenge of having no ties to the current coaching staff, unlike the previous staff, where he had a connection with special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial, now with Arizona.

Muasau, who has primarily been a special teams contributor, has logged 732 defensive snaps across 27 games since his rookie season in 2024.

He has 94 tackles (45 solo), one sack, 10 pressures, five tackles for loss, and one interception in that span. A strong argument could be made that Muasau was pressed into action prematurely as a rookie thanks to injuries to inside linebackers Bobby Okereke and Micah McFadden.

Through two seasons, Muasau, against the run, has a 15.3% tackle rate, which, when compared to Okereke’s 18% figure, ranked second among the team’s linebackers based on PFF data.

With the arrivals of Tremaine Edmunds and Arvell Reese, any realistic chance of Muasau landing a starting job has probably evaporated. That leaves him to compete for a depth role where his primary competition will be rookie Jack Kelly, a sixth-round pick out of BYU, who, like Muasau, is an inside linebacker that can provide help on special teams.

Kelly appears to bring a little more to the table. For one, he offers a bit more as a situational pass rusher. Per PFF, Kelly posted the fifth-most quarterback pressures (36) in the 2026 draft-eligible linebacker class.

The former BYU standout ended his final year of college play with the best pass-rush win rate (19.8) among 26 qualifying linebackers with a minimum of 90 pass-rushing attempts.

Muasau has value to a team, but again, his lower ceiling as a pass rusher could swing the pendulum in Kelly’s favor.

WR Jalin Hyatt

Biggest Threat: WR Malachi Fields

New York Giants wide receiver Jalin Hyatt | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Receiver Jalin Hyatt’s shaky hold on a roster spot isn’t exactly breaking news, not when the receiver has seen his opportunities shrink every year since joining the team in 2023.

Since joining the Giants, Hyatt has run 681 routes in 41 games but has been targeted just 72 times, catching 26 (36%) for 470 yards and no touchdowns.

He’s posted six career drops per PFF and has struggled with not only tracking the ball when it’s in flight but also with using any sort of physicality to fend off defenders.

His overall game lacks physicality. He has forced just one missed tackle in his career, that coming back in his rookie season, and his contested catch rate stands at 42.1%.

He doesn’t consistently run crisp routes; as a result, he’s been the intended target on seven interceptions over the last three years.

Lastly, he hasn’t been much of a downfield run blocker, which is part of the job; Hyatt has not posted a PFF grade above 43.7 over the last two seasons.

While some of Hyatt’s shortcomings are a result of coaching (or lack thereof), it spoke volumes that, during this past spring, Hyatt seemed to be sliding down the depth chart again. And with the Giants, under Harbaugh, looking to play bully ball, they need more physicality at every position.

Malachi Fields (165 receptions out of 278 pass targets for 2,486 yards and 16 touchdowns over five seasons) has much better upside. Start with the fact that he’s four inches taller than Hyatt, which gives him a wider catch radius that will help quarterback Jaxson Dart on the deep balls.

Fields has a slightly better contested catch rate percentage (47.3%), has forced 29 missed tackles, and has only been the intended target on 13 interceptions (out of 278 pass targets).

As if that’s not enough, Fields is a much more physical blocker; his lowest run-blocking grade was 59.8, earned in his second college season.

Given that it is currently unknown when Malik Nabers, the undisputed No. 1 receiver on the team, will be fully ready to go following his season-ending ACL tear, the Giants need physical play-making receivers with a history of production.

While Fields has yet to take an NFL snap, the fact that he received a healthy dose of reps in the spring can certainly be interpreted as the coaching staff having full confidence in his development.

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