The New York Giants signed eight undrafted free agents to its roster and those players are looking to prove they belong in the NFL come training camp. There have been many different opinions as to who will be the player to watch for during the summer.
Nick Baumgardner and Scott Dochterman wrote for The Athletic about which undrafted free agent each team should watch for in NFL Training Camp. For the New York Giants, they believe that wide receiver John Jiles from West Florida is the player to watch for.
The reasoning that Baumgardner and Dochterman gave as to why wide receiver John Jiles can have a very good camp for the New York Giants is as follows:
“Academics and the pandemic more or less pushed Jiles out of football for a year in 2021. After getting things in order at Virginia Union, Giles transferred to West Florida last season and exploded with a 1,255-yard, 16-touchdown season (at 19 yards per catch). The 6-2, 219-pounder is a powerful and explosive X receiver with 34 3/8-inch arms and an awareness of how to use his frame in the air. He’s a project but one who could be worth the time.”
John Jiles Has a Lot Of Players To Beat Out For the New York Giants Wide Receiver Spot
John Jiles has a lot of work to do during training camp if he is going to want to make an attempt to sniff either the practice squad or the roster for the New York Giants. At the moment, the Giants can very well have seven wide receivers make the roster in 2024: Malik Nabers, Wan’Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton, Isaiah Hodgins, Isaiah McKenzie, Jalin Hyatt, and Gunner Olszewski.
Bryce Ford-Wheaton, an underrated free agent from West Virginia last season had a chance to either crack the practice squad or make the 53-man roster. He tore his ACL during the third preseason game against the New York Jets.
Ford-Wheaton will also be ahead of John Jiles in training camp. Jiles will have to dominate the competition in training camp like he did at West Florida if he wants to be at least on the practice squad for next season. It feels like a long shot for him to make the New York Giants 53-man roster, but you never know.
Lance Zierlien of NFL.com said about John Jiles by saying:
“Jiles has arms like vines and showed off his ridiculous catch radius on more than one occasion during his college career. Despite playing against smaller foes, he has a lighter win rate on contested catches than he should, as he fails to bully and wall off opponents at the catch point. He’s a sloppy route-runner and lacks NFL long speed. Jiles will need to become more aggressive and consistently competitive to prove he can win possession catches and rise to the challenge of much stiffer competition.”
John Jiles will have a chance to play in preseason games to impress the New York Giants coaching staff. Every undrafted free agent has a unique story to try and make an NFL roster.