The New York Giants have officially concluded the 2020 NFL Draft and will be looking to fill out their 90-man roster with some undrafted rookie free agents in the coming days, many of which have already been identified.
Eventually, the Giants will then have to trim that 90-man roster down to a 53-man roster, which will balloon to 55 players on gameday with the addition of two practice squad players, per the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
With all of that in mind, here’s a way-to-early 53-man roster and depth chart prediction.
QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | CB | SAF | ST
Quarterback (3)
| QB1 | QB2 | QB3 |
| Daniel Jones | Colt McCoy | Alex Tanney |
Analysis: There really are no surprises here, although it’s weird to project the Giants’ 53-man roster without the presence of Eli Manning. Instead, we get the second year of Daniel Jones, the continued presence of Alex Tanney and the introduction of Colt McCoy.
Notable cuts: Case Cookus
Running back (5)
| RB1 | RB2 | RB3 | RB4 | FB |
| Saquon Barkley | Dion Lewis | Wayne Gallman | Jon Hilliman | Eli Penny |
Analysis: There’s not much of note here outside of the arrival of Dion Lewis, who will serve as Saquon Barkley’s primary backup. His pass-catching ability guarantees that he will factor in, while Wayne Gallman and Jon Hilliman will be left fighting for scraps. Eli Penny will, of course, return as the team’s fullback.
Notable cuts: George Aston, Javon Leake
QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | CB | SAF | ST
Wide receiver (6)
| WR1 | WR2 | WR3 | WR4 | WR5 | WR6 |
| Golden Tate | Sterling Shepard | Darius Slayton | Corey Coleman | Cody Core | Binjimen Victor |
Analysis: The Giants clearly felt comfortable with what they had at the position, so they didn’t select a wide receiver in the draft and spent very little attention on them in free agency. Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton will lead the way, 1-3, with Corey Coleman and Cody Core returning — both of whom will contribute on special teams. We give WR6 to undrafted rookie free agent Binjimen Victor specifically due to his size (6’4”, 198 lbs.).
Notable cuts: Da’Mari Scott, David Sills, Reggie White Jr.
QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | CB | SAF | ST
Tight end (3)
| TE1 | TE2 | TE3 |
| Evan Engram | Kaden Smith | Levine Toilolo |
Analysis: It’s entirely possible the Giants keep four tight ends on the roster (that nod would go to Eric Tomlinson), but with greater needs along the offensive line, an abundance of defensive linemen and a reliance on linebackers may prevent that. Accordingly, Evan Engram, Kaden Smith and free agent addition, Levine Toilolo, get the nod(s).
Notable cuts: Eric Tomlinson, C.J. Conrad, Garrett Dickerson
QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | CB | SAF | ST
Offensive line (9)
| Pos. | Starter | Backup | Backup |
| LT | Nate Solder | Cam Fleming | |
| LG | Will Hernandez | Nick Gates | Lemieux |
| C | Spencer Pulley | Gates | Lemieux |
| RG | Kevin Zeitler | Shane Lemieux | Gates |
| RT | Andrew Thomas | Matt Peart |
Analysis: There are a lot of moving parts here, and you can basically mix and match them. It’s possible Andrew Thomas starts at left tackle and Nate Solder is moved to right tackle, but for now, we’ll keep the veteran at his original spot. Nick Gates will also become the ultimate utility man, while we can expect the return of Jon Halapio come summer, which will also shake this depth chart up. For now, he’s left off.
Notable cuts: Eric Smith, Chad Slade, Tanner Volson
QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | CB | SAF | ST
Defensive line (7)
| Pos. | Starter | Backup | Backup |
| DE | Leonard Williams | B.J. Hill | |
| NT | Dalvin Tomlinson | Austin Johnson | Chris Slayton |
| DE | Dexter Lawrence | R.J. McIntosh |
Analysis: This is an extremely deep unit with talent all over the place. Almost too much talent. Leonard Williams, Dalvin Tomlinson and Dexter Lawrence will likely draw the weekly starts, but don’t sleep on B.J. Hill or Austin Johnson. R.J. McIntosh also showed significant growth toward the end of 2019. Chris Slayton continues to hang on.
Notable cuts: Kevin Wilkins
QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | CB | SAF | ST
Linebackers (8)
| Pos. | Starter | Backup | Backup |
| OLB | Kyler Fackrell | Oshane Ximines | Carter Coughlin |
| ILB | Blake Martinez | Mayo | |
| ILB | Ryan Connelly | David Mayo | |
| OLB | Lorenzo Carter | Cam Brown | Ximines |
Analysis: This is going to be the key group for the Giants in 2020. Much of their pass rush will be reliant on the entire group above — a “by committee” approach, if you will. The Giants will take a page from the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots by keeping eight or more linebackers and relying on them to generate a consistent rush. As far as the players we kept, we went with Carter Coughlin over some other rookies due to his value as an edge rusher.
Notable cuts: Tae Crowder, T.J. Brunson, Josiah Tauaefa, Chris Peace, Devante Downs
QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | CB | SAF | ST
Cornerbacks (5)
| Pos. | Starter | Backup | Backup |
| CB1 | James Bradberry | Sam Beal | |
| CB2 | DeAndre Baker | Corey Ballentine | Holmes |
| Nickel/slot | Darnay Holmes | Beal | Ballentine |
Analysis: This group looks substantially better on paper than it did in 2019, but James Bradberry is going to carry a heavy load as the other youngsters round into shape. This is a very inexperienced group that is heavily relying on the rapid development of DeAndre Baker, Sam Beal, Corey Ballentine and Darnay Holmes.
Notable cuts: Grant Haley, Dravon Askew-Henry
QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | CB | SAF | ST
Safety (4)
| SS | FS | SAF3 | SAF4 |
| Jabrill Peppers | Xavier McKinney | Julian Love | Nate Ebner |
Analysis: The Giants may have liked to keep a fifth safety since Nate Ebner is primarily a special teams players, but they may get that with the two additional roster spots on gameday (practice squad players). Jabrill Peppers and Xavier McKinney will be the starters, while Julian Love will not only be a primary backup, but will play outside cornerback and nickel cornerback as well.
Notable cuts: Chris Williamson, Sean Chandler
QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | CB | SAF | ST
Special teams (3)
| Kicker | Punter | Long snapper |
| Aldrick Rosas | Riley Dixon | Colin Holba |
Analysis: There’s really nothing here worthy of note. Aldrick Rosas will return for another season as the team’s starting kicker, Riley Dixon continues to improve as an all-around punter and Colin Holba will likely be tabbed to take over for long-time Giant Zak DeOssie.
Notable cuts: Sean Smith, Casey Kreiter, Drew Scott
QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | CB | SAF | ST
