Breaking Down New York Giants' Deepest, Thinnest Roster Spots

Although the New York Giants have 90-man roster in place, arguments can still be made as to whether they really have enough depth at every position.

Evaluating the roster depth comes with a caveat: It's not always about the numbers. For instance, a player who can perform multiple roles at a decent enough level gives the Giants some flexibility regarding their numbers.

In other cases, experience or the health at a position could have a direct effect on the quality of the depth.

Where are the Giants deep and where are they thin? Let's take a spin around the roster and break things down.

Deep: Tight End

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

The Depth:

Jerell Adams

Rhett Ellison

Evan Engram

Matt LaCosse

Colin Thompson

Will Tye

Last year the Giants carried three tight ends on their roster—Larry Donnell, Will Tye and Jerell Adams. Those three  combined for 79 receptions for 609 yards, three touchdowns and five dropped balls, per Pro Football Focus.

Even worse is that none of the three managed to catch a pass longer than 27 yards, with that figure belonging to Tye. And if that isn't bad enough, when it came to blocking for the running game, the tight ends came up short time and again, with none of the three earning a positive run-blocking grade.

This year, rebuilding the tight end position was another of the front office's priorities.

The Giants added Rhett Ellison, a blocking fullback/tight end hybrid whose contributions helped Adrian Peterson and the rest of the Minnesota Vikings ground game land in the top 10 league-winded in three of the last five seasons, including two appearances in the top five (fourth in 2015, second in 2012).

The Giants also drafted Evan Engram with their first-round pick to provide the firepower over the middle and in yards after the catch that none of Donnell, Tye or Adams provided last year.  

Engram gives Eli Manning a legitimate deep threat in the seam. Per Pro Football Focus, the Giants quarterback completed just six of 23 pass attempts for 152 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions over the middle of the field.

Engram by himself showed last year that the deeper the pass over the middle, the more effective he was. His reliability led to passer ratings of 106.4 on balls thrown between 10-19 yards, and 141.4 on those over 20 yards.

Both Tye and Adams will compete for roster spots, as will Matt LaCosse, who spent the first two years of his career on the injured reserve list. The Giants did not re-sign Donnell, who remains an unrestricted free agent.

Thin: Kicker

Uncredited/Associated Press

The Depth:

Aldrick Rosas

In the past, the Giants have always brought two kickers to training camp, just in case one didn't work out.

This year, at least so far, they have been standing pat with Aldrick Rosas, whose only pro experience was in 2016 when he was in the Tennessee Titans training camp.

Rosas, who has never kicked in a regular-season game, bounced around from tryout to tryout before finally landing with the Giants in January on a reserve/futures contract.

So far, so good. At last week's rookie minicamp, special teams coordinator Tom Quinn gushed about what a pleasure Rosas has been to coach.

But he saved his biggest praise for the 22-year-old's performance in the short time coaches have had to work with the players this year (during the Phase 2 part of the offseason program).

"He's got nice size, a nice strong leg and he's been highly accurate since he's been here," Quinn said. "He's very coachable, so he's been very good to work with.”

After the draft, general manager Jerry Reese didn't rule out adding another kicker to the mix. As of now, such a move seems to have been put on the back burner, at least until such time when Rosas shows he can't get the job done.

That's just fine with Quinn, at least in in this instance where the goal is to give Rosas as many opportunities as possible to win the job.

"The problem nowadays is there's a lot less kicks than there used to be," Quinn said. "With no more two-a-days and limited practice, you have to give the guys everything you can. If you start bringing in two or three kickers, it really waters it down."

For now, the job seems to be Rosas' to lose. Whether he gets any competition further down the line remains to be seen.

Deep: Backup Defensive End

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

The Depth:

Stansly Maponga

Avery Moss

Owa Odighizuwa

Romeo Okwara

Evan Schwan

Kerry Wynn

Ishaq Williams

Jordan Williams

Kerry Wynn

Last season, the Giants had starting defensive ends Olivier Vernon and Jason Pierre-Paul each play in more than 90 percent of the defensive snaps per game.

A big reason for that was the significant drop in talent. Although Romeo Okwara stepped in for Pierre-Paul and had an impressive pro debut, ultimately the loss of the 28-year-old caught up with the pass rush and Vernon in particular, since he drew extra attention from opposing offensive lines.

The Giants need to find a viable third defensive end who can rush the passer. They added Avery Moss in the fifth round of this year's draft. They also signed priority undrafted free agent Evan Schwan out of Penn State.

Moss, Owa Odighizuwa and Okwara all figure to be among the three players who will merge to the forefront for that third defensive end spot.

Okwara likely has the edge thanks to the experience he gained last year. He ended up playing the run a little better than he did rushing the passer last year, outside of his NFL starting debut in Week 14 against the Dallas Cowboys when he recorded one sack, two hits and one hurry, per Pro Football Focus.

Still, don't rule out Moss as being a legitimate candidate for some serious playing time. At the rookie minicamp, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo liked what he saw from Moss.

"He is a pretty explosive guy," he said. "When you watch him on tape—I don't know if anyone knows Hugh Douglas from down in Philadelphia. He was the first guy that was just thick and powerful from (the waist) down.

"Avery is not quite as thick as that, but I thought of him when I watched Avery on tape and he has played that 4-3 defensive end position, which we do a lot of. We still play some under where they have to move down and he looks comfortable doing it, so hopefully put him in the mix with the other guys that we have."

Is Spagnuolo concerned that Moss had to miss a year of football while in school thanks to a chain of events that led to his expulsion from Nebraska?

"Well, we will see," he said. "In 2010 when I was in St. Louis we drafted Robert Quinn who didn't play a whole year in Carolina. It did take him a while to get back to speed, so we will see what he is."

As far as Odighizuwa—the team's third-round draft pick from two years ago—is concerned, this is a make-or-break year for a young man whose NFL career has been sabotaged by injuries.

Assuming Odighizuwa has resolved the issue that caused him to fire off some cryptic tweets in April about him stepping away from the game—he has since reversed course and has been working out with his teammates in the offseason program—he desperately needs to justify his draft pedigree.

Thin: Backup Quarterback

William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports

The Depth:

Josh Johnson

Geno Smith

Davis Webb

In an ideal situation, a team's backup quarterback consists of a guy who has been there, done it and done it decently enough to hold down the fort.

Unfortunately for the Giants, they don't yet appear to have the next Jimmy Garoppolo on their roster, a guy who can step in and not miss a beat should the unthinkable happen to starter Eli Manning.

Rookie Davis Webb will pretty much spend this season as the third-string quarterback while he smooths out some of his mechanical issues and transitions his game from the Air Raid to the West Coast offense.

That process isn't going to happen overnight, but the good news is that Webb seems committed to expediting the transition and getting himself up to speed to where perhaps by the end of the season he might push for the No. 2 quarterback spot.

That leaves the No. 2 spot up for grabs between former Jets starter Geno Smith and Josh Johnson, who was on the roster last year and who had moved to the No. 2 spot when Ryan Nassib went on season-ending injured reserve with an elbow ailment.

Despite not being in the league as long as Johnson, Smith has more regular-season experience. The problems with Smith are two-fold.

First, he's probably going to be limited for the rest of the spring as he continues to rehab from a torn ACL suffered last season. That means he probably won't get a chance to apply what he's learning in the classroom on the field until training camp at the soonest.

Second, Smith has had his share of struggles throughout his career that are concerning.

Excluding the last two seasons—years in which due to injuries he was limited to just three games played—Smith never completed at least 60 percent of his pass attempts, his interception totals in his first two season either matching or exceeding the number of touchdowns thrown.

With the Giants, Smith would have to learn yet another offense. While it's not impossible to do, that he couldn't unseat Ryan Fitzpatrick last year with the Jets while Fitzpatrick seemed to hold off on re-signing with Gang Green until literally the 11th hour is a bit of a red flag.

Johnson, who's been in the league since 2008, has played in 29 NFL games, his last live action coming in 2012 as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals. He's thrown 177 pass attempts, completing 96 for 1,042 yards, five touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Someone from the Smith-Johnson competition will win the backup job to Manning. Regardless, it wouldn't be surprising if the Giants are secretly holding their breath that nothing happens to Manning's iron-man streak.

Deep: Running Back

Don Wright/Associated Press

The Depth:

Khalid Abdullah

Orleans Darkwa

Shaun Draughn

Wayne Gallman

Jacob Huesman

Paul Perkins

Shane Vereen

Don't feel too bad for the Giants because LeGarrette Blount ended up signing with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The league's 29th-ranked rushing offense last season has undergone a dramatic makeover that has put a commitment to youth.

Head coach Ben McAdoo has already named second-year man Paul Perkins as his starter for the upcoming season.  

Perkins' 4.1 yards per carry average was tops out of three Giants running backs (Jennings and Bobby Rainey being the other two) who took at least 100 snaps last season—and that was behind an offensive line that, per Football Outsiders, finished 24th overall.

Veteran Shane Vereen, who missed most of last year with a triceps injury, took a pay cut earlier this year, but he is still in the team's plans.

The Giants really missed Vereen's contributions, particularly in third-down situations. According to the team's year-end stat package, they converted 46.5 percent of their third-down attempts when Vereen was in the lineup.

When Vereen was out of the lineup, the Giants converted 26.7 percent of their third-down attempts. 

The Giants drafted rookie Wayne Gallman in the fourth round, and he will compete for a spot in the pecking order with veterans Orleans Darkwa and Shaun Draughn.

Darkwa has shown flashes of being a decent enough runner, having averaged 3.8 yards per carry over the last three years. His role on offense, however, has been limited as the coaches have used him more for special teams, at least until last year when a season-ending leg injury cut short his year.

The Giants also signed an intriguing undrafted free agent, Khalid Abdullah out of James Madison University.  

Abdullah is a smallish running back listed at 5'9", but he's a powerfully built 220-pounder who recorded 1,809 yards and 22 touchdowns on 298 carries and could be an early candidate for the practice squad if he stays healthy and has a strong camp. 

Normally one shouldn't pay much attention to quantity at a position, but rather quality. In the case of the Giants running backs, they appear to have some quality options to work with in helping the running game out of the league's basement. 

Thin: Free Safety

William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports

The Depth:

Andrew Adams

Nat Berhe

Jadar Johnson

Rahim Moore

Ryan Murphy

Trey Robinson

Darian Thompson

Mykkele Thompson

The Giants' free safety position is another case of where they have quantity but a lot of questions to go with that.

First, Darian Thompson, who won the starting free safety job in the spring last year, is coming back from a season-ending foot injury. He will be limited during the rest of this spring in the hopes that he will be ready for the start of training camp.

Even if he is, it's not guaranteed that he will reclaim his starting job from Andrew Adams, who filled in last year and did a decent job.

Then there is a matter of a couple of other guys coming off injuries, Nat Berhe and Mykkele Thompson have missed all or part of the last two seasons due to injuries. While they might have a grasp on the playbook, getting out there and showing they can execute is another matter.

The Giants added a pair of undrafted free agents, Jadar Johnson and Trey Robison, to compete for what Spagnuolo anticipates will be three spots in addition to strong-side starter Landon Collins.

Ryan Murphy and veteran Rahim Moore will also be in the mix.

Ideally, the Giants would like to have a defensive back who can fill in at both corner and safety as needed. Right now, Spagnuolo is about as unclear as to how the safety position is going to pan out as he can be.

"Look, this time of year, all jobs are open," he said when asked about the safety position. "Now when I say that, there are some obvious ones that come out. But at that particular position, I think the guys realize that they have to come in and somebody has to surface.

"Whoever that is will start at the beginning and like every year, you need probably more than three. Nowadays, you probably need four, so we will see how it plays out."

Deep: Receivers

Phelan M Ebenhack/Associated Press

The Depth:

Odell Beckham Jr.

Dwayne Harris

Tavarres King

Roger Lewis Jr.

Brandon Marshall

Kevin Norwood

Darius Powe

Travis Rudolph

Sterling Shepard

Kevin Snead

Jalen Williams

The Giants will have plenty of receivers to divide among the three lineup levels this summer. However, the same can't be said for the number of jobs on the 53-man roster.

Barring injury, Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall, Sterling Shepard and Dwayne Harris all figure to be safe bets for the roster. If the Giants view tight end Evan Engram as a pseudo-receiver like Washington has deployed their tight end, Jordan Reed, New York might be able to keep one less receiver on the 53-man roster.

Undrafted free agents Tavarres King and Roger Lewis Jr. both made the final roster last year. If the Giants keep five receivers, presumably the last roster spot will come down to one of those.

Then again, if the Giants view Harris as strictly a return specialist, perhaps they will end up going with six receivers. If that's the case, there are some intriguing options, including undrafted free agent Travis Rudolph and Darius Powe, the latter of whom had a solid camp last summer but ended up on the practice squad when there was no room at the inn.

The competition for the bottom of the depth chart at this position will be interesting to play out. When the dust settles, don't be surprised if two of the dark horses at this position find themselves on the roster—early favorites include Rudolph and Powe.

Thin: Backup Slot Cornerback

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

The Depth:

DaShaun Amos

Valentino Blake

Donte Deayon

SaQwan Edwards

Michael Hunter

Anyone remember what happened to the Giants in the Wild Card Game last year after slot cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was injured?

No one will blame you if you blocked that memory out. But for those of you who need a refresher, the Green Bay Packers went right to work on Rodgers-Cromartie's replacements, which included Trevin Wade, with slot receiver Randall Cobb having his way in the process.

Fast forward to the present and the Giants are paper-thin at this key position, so much so that even defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is holding his breath regarding viable options to replace Wade, who wasn't re-signed by the team, and Coty Sensabaugh, who jumped ship to the Steelers. 

"We can always use more," Spagnuolo said during the team's rookie minicamp last week. "You can never have enough corners."

In this case, the Giants don't appear to have enough should something happen to Rodgers-Cromartie.

While they have quantity, they lack guys with NFL experience.

Donte Deayon was on injured reserve after signing with the team as an undrafted rookie free agent last year. SaQwan Edwards was unsuccessful in his quest to latch on with the Oakland Raiders.

DaShaun Amos is a rookie and Michael Hunter appeared in just two NFL games, both last season, for a total of 17 defensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus. 

Blake has the most NFL experience out of the candidates, his career beginning in 2012 with the Jaguars before continuing for three seasons with the Steelers and then in 2016 with the Titans.

However, his experience in the slot has been limited; last season for Tennessee, he played just 23 snaps in the slot, and he played just 22 snaps in the slot during his three seasons with the Steelers.

While it's still possible the Giants will add another slot cornerback, all Spagnuolo can do for now is hope Rodgers-Cromartie doesn't get injured while someone from his group steps up in his development.  

Unless otherwise noted, all advanced statistics are from Pro Football Focus.

Patricia Traina covers the New York Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.