As they do every spring, the New York Giants load up on undrafted free agents directly after the NFL Draft concludes. There are usually a few uncovered gems and useful players in that lot and this year the Giants are hoping they found a few.
Here are five that could end up sticking with the team this season.
Wide receiver, Reggie White Jr.
The 6-foot-2 208 pound Monmouth product was one of the first UDFAs the Giants signed after the draft. They already have a load of veteran wide receivers in house and just drafted Darius Slayton out of Auburn, so why would they put so much emphasis on White? And…let him wear No. 13?
White had 71 catches for 1,133 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2018 and ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash and a 6.77-second 3-cone drill at his Pro Day. He also recorded a 37.5-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot broad jump.
“Just watching him play [on video], we felt like he had the skill and ability to be an NFL player,” Giants head coach Pat Shurmur said of White. “He runs good routes. He catches the ball well. And he’s got pretty good instincts – he’s smart. I could see in just the couple of sessions that we’ve had here that he’ll be able to pick it up.”
As Gettleman always says, “you can’t have too many players at one position,” and it appears that White will be getting a fair shake to make the roster in training camp.
Defensive back, Jake Carlock
A local kid who can play multiple roles that the Giants appear to be very high on. Carlock is 6-foot-3, 225 pounds and is kind of a ‘tweener’ that has piqued the interest of the Giants’ coaches.
“He is a very good long snapper,” said Shurmur. “We are always looking for guys at skill positions. He is a very accomplished linebacker as well.”
“He is what he is,” said special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey.. “He’s a young guy with a lot of potential. He can run, he’s very athletic. So what we’ll see what happens with Jake. We’re excited about the chance of working with him.”
“Really smart player,” said outside linebackers coach Mike Dawson. “He was able to play both the Sam and the Will at the outside spot. One series was playing one side. The next series, playing the other side. He showed some flexibility to be able to go ahead and do that. Between the special teams, and the offense and defense reps that he had, he played a million miles an hour the whole entire time. He’s a great guy to be around.”
Quarterback, Eric Dungey
We’ve expounded on Dungey in prior posts during rookie minicamp. The former Syracuse star was also hotly pursued by the Giants after the draft. Not many teams see Dungey as a viable quarterback, or even a backup, but he does have some value as a change-up player, a wildcat option and a special teamer.
“He is a very accomplished quarterback and made a lot of plays with his feet,” said Shurmur. “He made some good throws out there as well. He is one of those guys we had our eyes on at the draft. We will see. I think he is a good football player. Usually there is a place on the field for good football players. We will see what happens.”
Linebacker, Josiah Tauaefa
Tauaefa went undrafted and that was no surprise to anyone. His college career at Texas-San Antonio began with a bang and then was interrupted by a knee injury. In his junior year, Tauaefa made 113 stops and led the Roadrunners with 11.5 tackles for a loss and 4.5 sacks.
“High-energy inside linebacker with a willing spirit and a strong desire to get to as many plays as possible,” wrote NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein. “Tauaefa has the size and frame of a thumper inside, but needs to do a better job of imposing his will rather than trying to elude blocks so often. He is a two-down linebacker with coverage limitations who needs to do a better job of playing with patience in his flow, but he’s got a shot if he can embrace a role of banger and prove himself as a core special teamer.”
The Giants are in need of depth at inside linebacker and are always on the lookout for special teams help and Tauaefa can assist in both of those areas.
Center, James O’Hagan
The Giants appear to be set at center after signing both Jon Halapio and Spencer Pulley to contracts this offseason. That doesn’t mean they won’t retain a third center, however. O’Hagan, like Carlock, is a Long Island kid who played his college ball at Buffalo who the Giants signed and brought to rookie minicamp, where he impressed the coaches.
“He’s really, really tough,” offensive line coach Hal Hunter said. “He’s fairly smart and he knows how to play with leverage. He’s not quite as big as you’d like him to be (6-1, 300), but by the same token when you play with leverage you can play bigger than you actually are. He has all of that combined.”
You know how Gettleman likes his “hog mollies” and O’Hagan seems to fit the mold.
