The New York Giants open their 2019 preseason schedule by hosting the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Thursday night. After an eventful offseason, the Giants are seeking to turn the corner on their losing ways and become a power in the NFC again.
They can do that by doing only one thing — winning football games — and general manager Dave Gettleman thinks he has assembled enough talent to begin that march up the NFC East standings.
But first things first. The Giants, like the other 31 NFL teams, must find the right 53 players to take into the season with them. This week will be the first test for many of them who are seeking to secure a roster spot or better their lot with the team’s coaches.
Here’s a quick list of some who have the most to gain and the most to lose this week.
Gain: Quarterback Daniel Jones
There’s so much speculation surrounding Jones and most of it undeserved. Earlier this year, he was booed at Yankee Stadium. The media and fans have been very unfair to him and this week, a young fan at practice told him as much to his face:
Jones is at the bottom of the pecking order all around. He is actually a pretty good QB prospect with a bright future. He can shut everyone up simply by making a few eye-opening plays against the Jets. The good part about this audience is that the entire New York football populace will be watching, so all Jones needs to do is not stink and he’ll exceed expectations. Then, the narrative will turn…
Lose: Running back Saquon Barkley
There’s no reason for Barkley to even play in this game. Every football fan knows what he can do already, so why risk getting him hurt? He’ll get more than his share of reps once the season starts, probably more than he did last season if that’s even humanly possible.
Young fans who normally don’t attend regular season games will be in attendance wearing their No. 26 jerseys and will be very disappointed if their hero doesn’t at least play a little. Perhaps the Giants give him a series and sit him. Still, I don’t like it when players who have nothing to prove expose themselves in meaningless games.
Gain: The rookie defensive backs
General manager Dave Gettleman scored big by taking some of the top defensive backs in the draft. Deandre Baker, Julian Love and Corey Ballantine are all predicted to be starting-level players in the NFL. The Jets don’t really have a great wide receiver group, so this will be a golden opportunity for these youngsters to show their wares.
Lose: Cornerback Sam Beal
Beal has been out with a hamstring/groin issue for awhile now and is losing ground in his quest to become a starter on this defense. The rookies are stealing the show on him and if he doesn’t get back on the field soon, he may find himself on IR again.
Gain: Offensive lineman Nick Gates
Gates was a UDFA tackle our of Nebraska last year but ended up spending the season on IR. He’s back healthy this year and has been switched to guard where’s been impressive. A good showing vs the Jets will go a long way for him this week.
Lose: Linebacker B.J. Goodson
Goodson begins the preseason as a second-teamer, losing his starting gig to second-year player Tae Davis. He is also nursing a recent hamstring strain and if he can’t play Thursday he surely won’t be able to take his job back. In fact, he might even end up behind rookie Ryan Connelly in some packages.
Gain: Tight end C.J. Conrad
Conrad can seal a roster spot just by continuing what he’s been doing. The UDFA tight end from Kentucky has shown that he can both catch the football and block at the NFL level. What else is there?
Lose: Wide receiver Darius Slayton
With Sterling Shepard (thumb) sitting and Golden Tate’s appeal of his suspension likely to be denied, there’s a golden opportunity on the table here for the rookie from Auburn. Too bad he hasn’t been able to capitalize as he too has a sore hamstring that has kept him out of action.
Gain: Defender Jake Carlock
Carlock is a kid the Giants will have a hard time letting go, unless he proves the pro game to be too fast for him. We’ll see that this week. He was a cornerback at LIU but the Giants have been playing him all over the field on defense. He’s also a long snapper and is an aggressive special teams player.
Lose: Kyle Lauletta
Don’t assume Lauletta is already the odd-man out — he’s not. While he has quite an uphill battle ahead of him, Pat Shurmur has raved about how much he’s improved from a season ago. Good preseason performances could go a long well in helping Lauletta upset Alex Tanney for the QB3 spot. On the opposite side of that coin however, poor performances will likely end his Giants career.
