New York Giants: Grading the Strength of Every Position Unit Before Camp Begins
In a few short weeks, the New York Giants will have a new 53-man roster that will hopefully stay healthy and band together to pull the team out of its three-year playoff drought.
First, however, the Giants have to get through training camp, the time when they’ll pare down the 90 players who will be reporting to the Quest Diagnostics Training Center next Thursday with the goal of spending most Sundays playing in front of the hometown crowd assembled at MetLife Stadium.
Like every other NFL team, the Giants have questions—loads of them, actually—that will need to be addressed over the summer-camp period.
However, in looking at the roster on a unit-by-unit basis, it looks as though for most of the positions, if this team has a little luck with keeping the injury bug away, the Giants can work themselves back into being more competitive than they have been the last three seasons.
As we wind down these final days before the start of training camp, let’s look at where each position unit currently stands as far as the strength of its talent and assign a grade where possible.
Quarterbacks
1 of 10
So long as the Giants have No. 10 under center, this unit will be in great shape.
Not only has Eli Manning been the picture of durability, but also last season when asked to function in a new offense that changed his mechanics literally from top to bottom, he adapted quickly and well enough to post career highs in completion percentage (63.1), passing yards (4,410) and pass attempts (601).
With a full year in this offense under his belt, not to mention full health—last year remember he was coming off ankle surgery—Manning gives the Giants the best chance to win.
Grade: A
Running Backs
2 of 10
The Giants running game finished 23rd in the league last season, and, yes, a big part of that was the offensive line's poor run blocking.
Another part of that, though, was the the running backs' performance all together. Andre Williams was pressed into taking on a bigger role in the offense a lot sooner than he was probably ready for, this due to Rashad Jennings suffering a knee injury.
The Giants also lost two of their third-down backs, Peyton Hillis and Michael Cox, before finding Orleans Darkwa.
This year things are a lot different for the Giants running backs. Jennings is healthy, and Williams has a year of experience under his belt.
The biggest upgrade, though, was the addition of Shane Vereen, who gives the Giants that receiving threat out of the backfield and another option on third downs that they just didn’t have before.
What kind of potential contribution might Vereen make to this unit? Last season, five Giants running backs—Jennings, Williams, Darkwa, Hillis and Cox—combined to catch 62 passes for 469 yards and zero touchdowns.
Vereen? He caught 53 passes for 447 yards and three touchdowns.
Put all that together with fullback Henry Hynoski, who, per Pro Football Focus, was the NFL's second-best blocking fullback last season, and this unit, if healthy, is just bursting with potential.
Grade: A
Tight Ends
3 of 10
With the switch to a hybrid West Coast offense, the thought was that the Giants tight ends might play a bigger role in the offense than they actually did.
Oh sure, the trio of Larry Donnell, Daniel Fells and Adrien Robinson combined to catch 84 of the 114 passes thrown their way for 861 yards and 11 touchdowns, but when it came to blocking for the running game, this unit really fell short of the mark.
However, those numbers are a tad deceiving, especially when it comes to Donnell, who scored four of his six touchdowns in the season's first month, when defenses weren’t really paying much attention to him as a potential receiving threat.
Once defenses started jamming Donnell, who averaged 59 receiving yards in the first four games, he saw his average receiving yards plummet to 34.2 yards per game.
He also developed a ball-security issue, losing three of his four fumbles over that span.
Per Pro Football Focus, Fells, the most experienced of the group, was the best blocker, while Donnell, the starter, was the worst.
Therein lies the concern with this unit. Much like last season, the offensive line is still not settled—in fact an argument could be made that it’s probably more unsettled given the current situation at tackle what with a rookie, Ereck Flowers, at left tackle and a journeyman, Marshall Newhouse, at the other.
Unless the Giants are able to get better production from their tight ends in sealing off defensive ends and outside linebackers, the running game is not only going to become one-dimensional, it’s going to run the risk of being neutralized.
The good news is that the Giants have some young talent that could make a difference in the blocking department. Those candidates include Jerome Cunningham, Matt LaCosse and Will Tye, all of whom have zero NFL experience.
LaCosse in particular is someone to watch this summer as a blocker. At Illinois, LaCosse, who lined up in-line, split wide, in the slot, as the H-back and as the fullback, contributing solid blocking that helped his team’s rushing game average 3.7 yards per carry (413 rushes for 1,527 yards) and 16 rushing touchdowns.
The pro game is a lot different, so until the pads go on and these guys can start hitting each other, the Giants’ tight ends unit needs to be a lot better than it was last year.
Grade: C
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Receivers
4 of 10
The Giants might have 99 problems, but receiver ain’t one of them.
Yes, even with the uncertainty surrounding Victor Cruz and whether he can not only get back on the field for the start of the regular season but also be the same receiver he was prior to suffering a torn patellar tendon injury, this position is loaded.
There’s last year’s “Superman,” Odell Beckham Jr., who recently told NFL Network’s Kim Jones that the troublesome hamstring that limited his springtime practice reps “feels a lot better.”
While Beckham figures to be a target for frequent double-teams this year, he should benefit from offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s creativity in getting him the best possible matchup, something McAdoo accomplished down the stretch of last season in which Beckham finished with 100-yard receiving efforts in five of his last six games.
Rueben Randle, who has been the very model of inconsistency, showed that he could be dangerous when he put his mind to it, closing out his 2014 campaign with consecutive 100-yard receiving efforts as well.
With Randle entering a contract season, the hope is that his brain blunders which in the past have seen him run the wrong route or miss a meeting thus earning a partial game benching are a thing of the past.
Dwayne Harris was added to the mix during the offseason. Although light on experience in four years as a receiver, Harris figures to see time as an outside receiver when the Giants go to a four-wide set.
The rest of this rather intriguing cast includes a nice mix of youth and experience.
There is Preston Parker, who was serviceable last year but who might be on the roster bubble given that Harris was signed to do some of the return work Parker handled.
Second-year man Corey Washington, whose 6’4” height could create all kinds of nightmares for defenses that try to stop him from the slot or down in the red zone, made the roster last year but didn’t see much action. Might that change this year?
Rookie Geremy Davis, the team’s sixth-round draft pick and a top producer for UConn, is another receiver with nice size (6’2”, 217 lbs). Davis will probably have to make his mark on special teams.
Then there is undrafted rookie free agent Ben Edwards, a poor man’s West Welker spark-plug type who showed some grit and toughness working from the slot and going over the middle during the spring.
The coaches have a lot of options to choose from, assuming they all perform, which is why this unit is probably one the deepest the Giants have had at this position in a while.
Grade: A
Offensive Linemen
5 of 10
Remember I mentioned the Giants having 99 problems on the previous slide?
Yep, offensive line is definitely one of them.
Yes, the Giants have the numbers to get through camp, but in this case, it’s not about quantity as it is about quality, and it’s the latter that makes this unit one of, if not, the biggest question marks on the team.
Let’s start with the good. Weston Richburg and Geoff Schwartz are moving to their best and most natural positions (center and right guard, respectively). That’s going to help the interior a lot.
So too will the shifting of Justin Pugh from right tackle to left guard. In the spring, Pugh looked so at home at left guard that it left one wondering why the Giants didn’t make the move sooner.
The tackles?
Here’s where it gets murky.
The plan was to have first-round pick Ereck Flowers start at right tackle and Will Beatty at left tackle. That plan went down the tubes, however, when Beatty suffered a pectoral muscle tear in late May while lifting weights, an injury that will keep him sidelined until at least early November.
That now means that the Giants—who by the way are one injury away at offensive tackle from having an even bigger catastrophe on their hands—are being forced to plug Flowers, inconsistent pass-blocking technique and all, at left tackle, and journeyman Marshall Newhouse, who just hasn’t graded out well, according to Pro Football Focus’ data, at right tackle.
What about the depth?
You might be sorry you asked.
There’s John Jerry, who was re-signed in the offseason for his versatility. Jerry can play tackle in a pinch, but if he struggled last year with run blocking as the team’s right guard, according to PFF, it would be hard to fault anyone for having doubts about him improving in that area at tackle.
Brandon Mosley? The 2012 fourth-round pick has shown a flash or two here and there, but it’s mostly been at guard. It also needs to be noted that last year with Jerry struggling in the run-blocking department, the coaches didn’t turn to Mosley once.
Pugh? Sure, he’s an option at tackle—he even took some snaps with the second-string offensive line at left tackle during the minicamp. But that’s probably not his best position; besides, if you move him back to tackle, who becomes the left guard?
Brett Jones? He’s a hard worker and an intelligent offensive lineman who won accolades in the CFL for his work at center. Can he get up to speed at guard at the NFL level?
The point is this Giants offensive line is a big question mark right now, which is probably why head coach Tom Coughlin made it clear right from the beginning that the plan was to try different combinations throughout the spring and summer.
That’s not good news for a unit that needs to get settled as quickly as possible and for a unit on which the quarterback, running backs, tight ends and receivers are counting on.
Grade: D
Defensive Linemen
6 of 10
On the surface, the potential loss of defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is a big blow to the defensive line, especially considering that the Giants’ franchise player is perhaps the one defensive end on the team that has the best chance of making an impact as a run defender and as a pass-rusher.
Barring an unexpected turn of events, Pierre-Paul should be back on the field for the Giants this year, as according to Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole, the team is not planning to rescind the franchise tag.
Until that happens, the Giants might end up going to more of a rotation at defensive end than originally planned.
That rotation could see Robert Ayers Jr. and George Selvie as the starters, with a healthy dose of Kerry Wynn, Damontre Moore and Owa Odighizuwa mixed in.
At defensive tackle, things appear more stable. Per Pro Football Focus, Johnathan Hankins was the Giants’ best and most consistent defensive player last season.
This year, Kenrick Ellis, one of the team's most underrated free-agent signings this offseason, will likely join him.
Ellis is a true plugger type, a guy who should be able to draw multiple blockers. If he can do that, that should open up opportunities for Hankins and whomever the defensive ends are to get into the backfield.
Second-year man Jay Bromley projects to be the swingman at both defensive tackle spots, though he is probably better suited for the 3-technique role, currently held by Hankins.
The final roster spot at this position will come down to veterans Cullen Jenkins and Markus Kuhn, with Jenkins having the advantage since he can also play defensive end.
Grade: B
Linebackers
7 of 10
There is “good,” and there is “lucky,” and in the case of the Giants’ linebackers, the two go hand in hand.
The Giants linebackers are the perfect example of this. The current talent level that includes newcomers Jonathan Casillas and J.T. Thomas to a returning group of Jon Beason, Devon Kennard, Jameel McClain and Mark Herzlich is “good.”
That’s because they finally appear to have some speed in the unit, guys who can blitz up the middle and off the edge and guys who can cover from sideline to sideline. (Whether they can drop back in coverage, though, remains to be seen.)
The problem is they need to be better than good if this defense is to have any chance of success this season, and that’s where the luck factor starts to come into play.
Beason can’t seem to stay on the field of late. Even if he does hold up this year, can he be the same player he was for the Giants when he came over in a trade with Carolina in October 2013?
Kennard is starting to rack up some nicks that have been enough to keep him out of practice and/or games in each of his first two NFL seasons. This spring, he was limited with both an ankle injury and a hamstring strain. Last year, he missed games due to a hamstring strain as well.
This unit isn’t the league's worst linebacker unit, as Chris Wesseling of NFL.com opined, not as far as talent is concerned, assuming that talent is on the field.
This is where the Giants’ front office’s insistence of neglecting to address this unit via the draft—only Kennard is a homegrown draft pick, and he was a fifth-rounder at that—is perplexing.
What general manager Jerry Reese has done is take shortcuts with this unit despite year after year having it come back to haunt the team.
More importantly, it’s left this unit's future on less-than-stable footing. For as important as the middle linebacker role is on defense, it’s mind-blowing as to why Reese hasn’t drafted a middle linebacker who could have learned from Beason and McClain before the two veterans move on.
Grade: C+
Safeties
8 of 10
Raise your hand if you’re tired of reading about potential only to be let down.
I hear you loud and clear.
Unfortunately when it comes to the Giants safeties, potential is all there is right now to go on.
The Giants have one guy—newly acquired Jeromy Miles—who has experience starting as an NFL safety.
That’s right, one guy from a group that includes second-round draft pick Landon Collins, Cooper Taylor, Nat Berhe, Mykkele Thompson and Bennett Jackson.
Collins appears to have a hold on one of the starting jobs, though it remains to be seen if he will work down more in the box or if he will switch things around every so often to play the high-safety role.
However, safeties coach David Merritt was quick to put Collins’ rather impressive spring showing into perspective.
“The rookie pitfalls that they all fall into, which is thinking you can come in here and that you know it all. Then you find out you don’t know much of anything, and he has a situation now that he feels the pressure. He has to make the calls and get everyone lined up, and he talked a good game as far as what he had to do at Alabama, and I believe that,” Merritt said.
“Now when you are trying to line up grown men who have wives and children at home and they need that call from you, it is a little different than lining up a freshman. The call has to be right. Right now, he is slow to go, which was expected, but he has to pick it up quickly for us to be successful.”
Taylor lined up alongside Collins during the spring, benefiting from Berhe being sidelined with a calf injury.
The problem with Taylor is that he’s spent all or part of his first two seasons on the injured-reserve list, which casts a big question mark concerning his ability to hold up to the game's physical aspect.
“Mentally, I never doubted Cooper would be able to pick up the defense,” Merritt said. “It is just now getting Cooper’s body to move in the proper direction once he receives the call and allows himself to line up and just see what is happening in front of him.
“Mentally, I am not concerned about him. Physically hoping that he will be able to step up and be durable for us.”
Thompson, the annual draft pick that no one outside the organization could have seen coming even from a foot away, offers some intrigue, according to Merritt.
“I knew was a smart kid. He came here, and he is a cerebral kid, that is for sure,” Merritt said.
“I am starting to see that the kid actually has some football awareness, where I didn’t think he had much of it when we first started off. The [missed alignments] that started at the beginning of rookie minicamp and OTAs have drastically gone down. Mentally, he has excelled past my expectations.”
Again, there is a lot of potential in this position group, though the addition of Miles last week might suggest that there is either concern about the lack of experience or that Berhe’s calf and/or the hamstring strain Thompson suffered at the end of the minicamp are concerns.
If the potential turns into production, this unit is going to be just fine.
Grade: Incomplete
Cornerbacks
9 of 10
In Prince Amukamara and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the Giants have a pair of very solid cornerbacks.
The problem, as with any other position on this team, has been keeping them both healthy.
Amukamara, the 2011 first-round pick, has only made it through one 16-game season in his career, that coming in 2013. Last year, he was on his way to having his breakout season until a biceps tear put a halt to that after eight games.
Rodgers-Cromartie, the Giants’ big free-agent acquisition in 2014, made it through 16 games despite fighting a lower-body injury for a good part of the year. Credit Rodgers-Cromartie for fighting through the pain and keeping his numbers from dropping off too severely, but there were simply times when he didn’t look close to being the player he has shown himself to be in the past.
The Giants' big question mark is at the nickel cornerback spot. Trumaine McBride is the incumbent, who, at 5’9”, has played surprisingly well since joining the Giants last year.
“I thought he showed a pretty good feel for being there,” defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said.
Still, Spagnuolo wasn’t quite ready to anoint McBride as the starting nickelback when he spoke to reporters in the spring.
“That’s one we’re trying to feel through, to be honest with you. … We’ve got some guys that we can try, but we need to get that solved, and we need to identify who the nickel is.”
Another thing he’s going to need to figure out is who his fourth and fifth cornerbacks will be. Josh Gordy has been competing for the nickelback role as has Mike Harris and Jayron Hosley, the 2012 third-round pick who has been a disappointment.
The Giants also have Chandler Fenner, who last year flashed a bit after joining training camp while it was in progress.
That’s a lot of question marks for the unit, but if the coaches can solve the nickelback role, the rest of the depth chart should fall into place.
Grade: B+
Special Teams
10 of 10
If you are wondering why special teams coordinator Tom Quinn is still part of this Giants franchise, look no further than kicker Josh Brown's performance.
The 36-year-old Brown, the oldest player on the roster, had his best season as far as field-goal conversions went. Brown nailed 24 out of 26 attempts for a 92.3 percentage, placing him fourth in the league.
He also hit all 44 of his extra-point tries, and because of his mortar kickoffs, the Giants finished second in the NFL, allowing opponents an average of 18.3 yards per kickoff return.
Things weren’t quite as solid in the punting department, though, to be completely fair, affable punter Steve Weatherford valiantly gutted out the entire season with a severe ankle injury that led to a back problem.
It also didn’t help matters that the punt-coverage unit was inconsistent. That group has allowed four punts returned for touchdowns over the last two seasons.
Looking ahead, the addition of return specialist Dwayne Harris should help the Giants win the starting field-position battle, something that they struggled to do last year. The Giants ranked 19th in punt-return average (7.7 yards per return) and tied with Buffalo for 17th in kickoff returns (23.3 yards per return).
Harris’ 2014 averages easily top the Giants’ team averages in both categories. Last year Harris averaged 24.7 yards on kickoff returns and 9.2 yards on punt returns.
Grade: B+
Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.
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