It may be fun to predict the performance of players, but one fact that looms over us all is that old cliche that football is a war of attrition and typically the healthier teams prevail. The Giant’s depth being a concern might seem like a ridiculous understatement after the last decade of snake-bitten rosters, but it is a new season. The question at hand is at what position groups is the team most vulnerable. How many injuries can they endure before the season goes down the crapper? I am rating the urgency based on how great the drop-off in talent would be or if the absence of a player or two in a given area would cause a general system failure.
Quarterbacks
- Daniel Jones: 44 TD 29 interceptions and 84 QB rating after three years.
- Tyrod Taylor: 58 TD 28 interceptions and 88 QB rating after ten years.
After last year’s nightmare of a quarterback situation new general manager Joe Schoen quickly locked up veteran QB Tyrod Taylor for two years. They know what they are getting with him and he has a history of some success with an overall record of 26-25-1 as a starting QB. Because of his reliability and the uncertainty around Jones, one can’t consider an injury here to be the worst-case scenario. The bigger Daniel Jones critics believe Taylor should be starting and that it is all a matter of time before he does.
Urgency: Mild
Running Back
- Saquon Barkley
- Matt Breida and Company
There will be a significant drop-off if Barkley goes down again for he is the only multi-purpose back on the roster. The former general manager drafted him second overall, which to some was a sort of mortal sin. In my opinion, he did so to try using a great back to make a bad line seem competent because there was no way he was rebuilding the entire line before Eli Manning’s retirement. We still have a poor line until it is proven otherwise and without Barkley the running game will sputter.
Urgency: Significant
Wide Receivers
Kadarius Tony
Kenny Golliday: Only receiver over 6’ 1” likely to make the team.
Kadarius Tony: Injury prone in his rookie season.
Sterling Shepard: Seventh season, coming back from a season-ending injury.
Obi Wan’Dale Robinson: Undersized rookie but had a impressive camp playing all over the field.
Darius Slayton: Had a poor showing last year, like everyone else.
Richie James/CJ Board: Both are special teams specialist.
No team fares well when they lose three or four players from a single-possession group but the giants could likely survive missing one or two of their receivers. It is basically tradition for this team at this point.
Urgency: Mild
Tight End
Daniel Bellinger
Ricky Seals-Jones: Career backup receiver.
Jordan Akins: 114 receptions, 1260 yards, and three touchdowns in four years.
Daniel Bellinger : Rookie who unlike the others has a history of blocking.
Having Bellinger to help the offensive line, especially by chipping for rookie tackle Evan Neal. Yet, not only will TE ot factor that much in the Daboll/Kafka offense, but they also don’t have the talent at the moment to factor into it.
Urgency: Minimal
Offensive Tackle
Evan Neal
Andrew Thomas: 4th overall pick, Anchor of the line
Evan Neal: 7th overall pick, Rookie
Matt Peart: Still recovering from last year’s knee injury
Matt Gono: Out with career-threatening neck injury
Will Holden: Journeyman, recently signed.
Josh Ezeudu: Rookie who played both tackle and guard at the college level. Was projected to be a backup guard but looks like he may end up playing both positions once again.
This has to be all too familiar for the Giants faithful. With the injuries, the depth here at the moment should be the main piece of supporting evidence for those predicting another poor season. If one of those starters goes down, it may get real ugly real fast.
Urgency: Panic
Offensive Guard
%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_image%2Fimage%2F69896275%2F1288670016.0.jpg&f=1&nofb=1 "Giant's Season Will Still be Very Vulnerable to Injuries 6")
Shane Lemieux: Returning from an early season knee injury last year. The only returning starter who also has yet to put together a full, strong season. He might have to shift to center in Jon Feliciano can’t start which could begin a series of changes along the line.
Mark Glowinski: Signed a three-year deal this off season to give some stable veteran experience. Average ability but a upgrade nevertheless.
Josh Ezeudu: With the rash of injuries, this third-round pick and a projected developmental player might end up being the Giant’s key reserve offensive lineman.
Marcus McKethan: The rookie picked in the fifth round is out with a season-ending knee injury.
The team faces a good amount of dominant defensive tackles this season who might very well be circling the Giants on the calendar.
Urgency: Critical
Center
Nick Gates: He is trying to return from a badly broken leg early last season.
Jon Feliciano: Free agent acquisition switching from guard to center where he believes he needs to be.
Max Garcia: 8th-year free agent signing who has played both guard positions as well as center but is not an upgrade over Will Hernandez who replaced him in Arizona.
There are zero certainties at this position but it seems to be somewhere between a duct tape and bubble gum fix. There might be only one if any serviceable centers among the bunch and if he goes down then Danny may have to go to shotgun full time.
Urgency: Panic
Defensive Tackle
Dexter Lawrence: 2019 17th overall pick moving to nose tackle
D..J. Davidson: sturdy 2 down nose tackle in college, Rookie, 5th round pick
Lawrence is one of many players expected to make a jump this year, and Davidson is a rookie who had shown promise in camp, The other two on the roster are journeyman Justin Ellis and David Moa who is more likely to make the practice squad. There would be a significant drop-off if the Giants were to lose Lawrence and it would at least somewhat affect how the defense would function.
Urgency: Moderate
Defensive End
Leonard Williams: 81 combined tackles and 6.5 sacks last year
Jihad Ward: Journeyman backup signed for his familiarity with Martindale’s system
They do not seem to have another true defensive end on the roster which suggests that there will be a lot of players moving around and Lawrence as well as some of the outside linebackers will be playing a lot of defensive end, which might not be a bad thing. If they were to lose Williams, they would have a problem.
Urgency: Significant
Outside Linebacker
Elerson Smith
Kayvon Thibodeaux: This year’s 5th overall draft pick
Azeez Ojulari: 8 sacks in his rookie season
Oshane Ximines: Underwhelming veteran
Quincy Roche: A second-year player who has shown effectiveness when given the chance
Cam Brown: A third-year special teamer who shows some quickness of the edge.
Elerson Smith: A second-year player with great measurables. Injured for most of his rookie season.
This group is extremely young but, in a position, where youth can still make a quick impact. There may be a drop-off from the starters but, personally, I believe it is one of the team’s deeper positions. On paper one might consider it an area of significant concern but I think it could weather a few injuries.
Urgency: Moderate
Inside Linebacker
Blake Martinez: Upper echelon tackler returning from a major injury
Tae Crowder: The Surprising 7th round pick played well enough to keep a starting position
Carter Coughlin: 3rd year 7th round pick, special teams contributor
Micah McFadden: Rookie 5th round pick, solid zone defender
Darrian Beavers: Rookie 6th round pick, better at blitzing than coverage
There will be quite the drop-off after Martinez but this year the defensive calls will be made by the safety position so it wouldn’t be as bad as it was when they lost Martinez last year. Martindale plans on moving a lot of people around so if the middle linebacker position gets depleted he may be able to move outside linebackers in without a major issue.
Urgency: Moderate
Cornerback
Aaron Robinson
Adoree Jackson: Number one corner ability when healthy
Aaron Robinson: Third-round pick who has an injury-plagued rookie season
Rodarius Willaims: Older 2021 draft pick coming off of ACL surgery. Press corner in college.
Khalil Dorsey: Practice squad player coming from Baltimore
Cor’Dale Flott: Undersized rookie projected to compete for slot corner position.
Darnay Holmes: Has had an inconsistent first two years in the league. Will try to keep slot position.
At best you can say there is a lot of youth that could prove themselves. At worst, a single injury to the starting squad will result in what happened to Baltimore’s defense last year under Wink Martindale. It wasn’t pretty.
Urgency: Critical
Safety
Xavier McKinney: He is possibly the only Pro-Bowl caliber player on the team
Julian Love: Corner back turned safety who may be a little underestimated
Dane Belton: Promising 4th-round pick. Projected to fit 3rd safety role well.
Yusef Corker: Projected 5th round pick went undrafted. Signed by the Giants and had a good camp.
Andrew Adams: Seventh-year player competing for a final roster spot.
The Starting duo should be at least solid, but like most of the team, the depth consists of inexperienced players.
Urgency: Significant
All we can hope for is that unlike the last several seasons this season we might actually get a chance to see what the team could be without injuries derailing it all.
