Giants' 2020 Roster Report Card: Grading the Wide Receivers

General manager Dave Gettleman surprised more than a few people when he decided not to spend a draft pick on a receiver in a historically deep class.

As it turns out, he didn’t have to. Gettleman was able to get three undrafted players in that class—Austin Mack, Derrick Dillon, and Binjimin Victor—who were initially projected to be low Day 3 round picks anyway. If you believe in those projections, the Giants potentially came away with outstanding value without spending a draft pick.

(And even if those three don’t work out, next year’s class is shaping up to be equally as deep, but we digress.)

Some believe the Giants aren’t doing their young quarterback, Daniel Jones, a solid by not giving him a legitimate No. 1 receiver. But head coach Joe Judge, at his introductory press conference and every press conference since, has stressed that the goal on offense is to run a system that is not dependent on one or two guys each week.

With such a philosophy, an argument could be made that spending a high draft pick on a receiver was not the way to go. Further supporting that argument is the Giants appear set with their top three receiver spots (Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard, and Darius Slayton) for 2020. Next year might very well be a different story though if the Giants decide to move on from Tate, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

Roster Locks: Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton

Golden Tate drew a lot of ire from fans even before he set foot on the field for the Giants, mainly because many people thought Tate was the Giants’ answer to replacing Odell Beckham Jr. It didn’t help that right out of the gate, Tate had to serve a four-game suspension for a PED violation.

Tate was a solid addition. In 11 games, he was the team’s runaway leader in yards after the catch with 291, and the leader in average yards per reception (5.9), while finishing second with 30 receptions for a first down (behind team leader Darius Slayton).

Tate was also the Giants’ best option at punt returning in 2019, Tate’s ten returns averaged 9.7 per with a long of 17 yards but moving forward, it would be hard to envision Tate serving in that role again with so many younger players nipping for a chance.

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Shepard, who last off-season received a contract extension, struggled to stay healthy due to concussion issues that cost him six games. Playing primarily as an outside receiver—he spent 331 snaps on the perimeter and only 256 in his customary slot position—the good news is Shepard’s dropped passes sharply declined, from eight in 2018 to only three in 2019.

But while he held a respectable 80.2 rating as a receiving target, he also saw the number of interceptions on balls targeted his way double from 2018 (to four in 2019).

Further, two of his three touchdown receptions came from the slot last year. That stat continues to befuddle as to why the Giants added Tate, a solid slot receiver in his own right, given how Shepard seems far more productive when he’s in the slot.

Slayton, last year’s pleasant surprise, is poised for another big season. With it being anticipated that the Giants will switch to more of a vertical offense this year, Slayton’s skill set would appear to be a perfect fit for those deep vertical routes.

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Likely Backups: Cody Core, Corey Coleman

To no one’s surprise, Cody Core, a special teams dynamo, was re-signed this off-season. But as was the case last year, Core probably won’t see much, if any time on the offense and will subsequently be at the bottom of the depth chart.

The player to watch for the fourth spot on the depth chart is Corey Coleman, the one-time first-round pick of the Browns who bounced around the league before finally appearing to find a home with the Giants. Coleman, known for his blazing speed, was in an ideal spot to latch on to a significant roster role.

Bubble Guys: Alex Bachman, Da’Mari Scott, David Sills V, Binjimen Victor, Austin Mack, Derrick Dillon,

The Giants have some interesting candidates for the bottom of the receiver depth chart, but before we get to those, let’s cover the long shots.

Alex Bachman, an undrafted free agent out of Wake Forest who spent part of last summer with the Rams, spent part of last year on the Giants practice squad. Bachman caught two passes for 24 yards with the Rams during the preseason and averaged 8.0 yards on a pair of punt returns and had a 15-yard kickoff return. Bachman figures to be in the mix for a returner’s role, but with the undrafted free agents the Giants added after the draft, he would appear to have an uphill battle for a roster spot.

Da’Mari Scott is back on the roster after spending the 2019 season bouncing on and off the roster. Scott has that slashing quality that’s you like to see on kickoff returns, but when it comes to punt returns, he sometimes looked uncomfortable with the stop-and-go nature required of a punt returner.

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David Sills V was a highly productive receiver at West Virginia University, where he accumulated 1966 receiving yards and 33 touchdowns en route to being named first-team All-Big 12 in 2018. He received All America honors from eight different media outlets, including The Sporting News, CBS Sports, and Sports Illustrated, who named him a first-team All-America for his 2017 season.

But after failing to catch on with the Bills, he signed with the Giants practice squad where he remained until December 17 when he was promoted to the 53-man roster after the Giants placed tight end Evan Engram on injured reserve. Sills didn’t see any action, so if he is to have a chance at making the Giants roster, he’s going to need to show that he can get into the end zone as he did in college and show that he’s improved his ability to separate.

Now let’s get to the three undrafted receivers the Giants signed this off-season, starting with Ohio State's Binjimen Victor, the guy we think might have the best chance of finding his way onto the roster.

Victor is an intriguing player and is one who could end up surprising for a roster spot. Standing 6’4 and 199 pounds, Victor is at his best running vertical concepts, offering a better than average catch radius given his34-inch arms. He’s not a traditional speed burner, but he has a second gear that led to him scoring a touchdown 4.6 receptions over his college career. If he can demonstrate prowess on special teams this summer, Victor might have a chance to sneak onto the 53-man roster as that tall receiving target that so many analysts believe would benefit Daniel Jones.

Austin Mack, who like Victor played his college ball at Ohio State, came to the Buckeyes as a 4-star recruit from Indiana, but never really lived up to his rating. Mack recorded his best season last year with 27 receptions for 361 yards and three touchdowns. Mack is athletic enough at 6’2, 215 pounds, and runs decent routes as an outside receiver, but given his pedestrian college production, Mack will not only have to turn on the jets this summer, he’ll have to show that he can handle special teams duties.

Derrick Dillon, out of LSU, is an undersized (5’11, 188-pound) burner with intriguing speed who was primarily a backup for the Tigers. Dillon wasn’t invited to the combine but was able to impress with a 4.28-second performance in the 40-yard dash at LSU's Pro Day. He finished the season with 15 catches for 202 yards and two touchdowns, but his size and skill set appeared to translate more toward the slot, where the Giants are currently loaded.

Grade: B

The Giants might not have a true No. 1 receiver, but I'm not convinced they need one if the plan is to spread the ball around to a different set of playmakers each week (and yes, they have playmakers at this position).

What the Giants receiver group does need, however, are two things. The first is health. They obviously can't have injuries like they did last year. But more importantly, they need to uncover some legitimate depth at the bottom of the roster just in case. And it's that point that is the most concerning about this specific position group.