5 Perfect Free-Agent Fits for New York Giants

It's never good to enter a season with holes in your roster.

The New York Giants have a handful to patch up before the 2015 season rolls around. At least one will be sewn up in free agency; the following slides will feature the five perfect fits for New York.

To be clear, this is not a shopping list, and none of these players are official free agents until March. Even if all five of these players reach free agency, there's no way the Giants sign them all. Team general manager Jerry Reese already said he won't be spending much in free agency, according to Nick Powell of NJ.com.

First, review this list. Then, if New York can only afford to sign one of these players, ask yourself: Who has the most convincing case to become a Giant?

LB Brandon Spikes

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It seems like every offseason the Giants are on the prowl for retreads to play linebacker. A recent example would be Jameel McClain, a former Baltimore Raven who was signed before the 2014 season. Jon Beason fits the mold, but he was acquired in an in-season trade with the Carolina Panthers—not via free agency.

Other examples during the Tom Coughlin era (2004-present) include Michael Boley, who joined the Giants in 2009 after four seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, and Antonio Pierce, who became a Pro Bowl-caliber middle linebacker with the Giants after breaking into the league as an undrafted rookie for the Washington Redskins in 2001.

The Giants may need to travel down this path again this offseason, as three linebackers who joined the team in 2011 now face free agency. Those linebackers are Jacquian Williams (originally a sixth-round pick), Mark Herzlich (undrafted) and Spencer Paysinger (undrafted).

New York is not guaranteed to re-sign all—or any—of these three linebackers. Whichever ones the Giants lose, they can replace with an upgrade in Brandon Spikes.

Spikes is 27 years old and coming off a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills. Before that, he was a member of the New England Patriots, who drafted him in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft (62nd overall). If Spikes is interested in joining a third team in as many years, New York would be a good fit.

While he's not an exceptional athlete (he ran a 5.0-second 40-yard dash coming out of Florida), Spikes is an instinctive, home run hitter at linebacker who often winds up near the ball. One might call him the anti-Jacquian Williams.

New York's defense, which appeared limp at times in 2014, would feed off Spikes' passion and emotion for the game. These intangibles went a long way toward helping the Bills field the NFL's fourth-best defense in terms of yards allowed.

WR Cecil Shorts III

Stephen B. Morton/Associated Press

Giants fans dreaming of a Beckham-Cruz pairing at wide receiver are underestimating the severity of Victor Cruz's knee injury. While there's no reason to believe New Yorkers won't be graced with another season of Odell Beckham Jr.'s athletic greatness in 2015, the team is playing it safe and preparing for a season without Cruz, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.

Players often return from torn patella tendons, but the injury is far less common than a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), from which a rebound has become nearly routine. We don't know what type of long-term effect this injury will have on Cruz, a 28-year-old slot receiver whose style of play relies upon stopping, starting and changing direction rather quickly.

The way Reese spoke of Cruz during his postseason press conference, Schwartz noticed, sounded a lot like the way he spoke of running back David Wilson a year ago.

Giants fans know how that one ended.

But New York can be prepared for a season without Cruz, just like it was for the loss of Wilson. Last year, the Giants brought in Rashad Jennings and Andre Williams at running back. This year, they should bring in Cecil Shorts III to play wide receiver.

Shorts' production has dipped each of the past two seasons, but it's hard to tell how much of the decline is due to injuries and playing for a terrible Jacksonville Jaguars team (only 14 wins since he was drafted in 2011). It's time for Shorts to get a chance in a real offense, not the Jags or Division III Mount Union.

A saturated wide receiver market, which includes Demaryius Thomas, Dez Bryant, Randall Cobb, Jeremy Maclin and Torrey Smith, could allow New York to land Shorts at a team-friendly price. At 6'0" and 200 pounds, the 27-year-old pass-catcher is similar to Cruz in terms of size and skill set.

Shorts can be New York's perfect safety valve at slot receiver.

OL Orlando Franklin

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The Giants are one lineman shy of formidable, if perfectly healthy.

Will Beatty will stay at left tackle, where he has lined up since the Giants drafted him in 2009. The rest of the line, however, is up in the air.

Geoff Schwartz was the big free-agent signing last spring, but he only played in two games. If he makes a full recovery from the bum ankle that landed him on injured reserve in 2014, he should step be a pretty good left guard again.

Weston Richburg filled in for Schwartz a lot at left guard as a rookie, yet the long-term plan for him is to play center. He'll need to displace the 2014 starter—J.D. Walton, who was only average—for that plan to come to fruition as soon as next season. 

Justin Pugh insists he's the Giants' permanent right tackle, per Tom Rock of Newsday; does that change if Orlando Franklin is signed?

Franklin, 27, has played four seasons with the Denver Broncos, starting every game but one. Before switching to left guard in 2014, he was Denver's full-time starter at right tackle. A 6'7" and 320-pound behemoth, he is just the monster New York's offensive line currently lacks.

The best thing about Franklin is his starting experience at multiple positions. The Giants value versatility in their O-linemen, so this former second-round selection (46th overall) from "The U" can be utilized however the team sees fit.

Quarterback Eli Manning should be perfectly comfortable dropping back behind Franklin, since he successfully protected his brother, Peyton, each of the past three years.

TE Jordan Cameron

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Remember how flaky the Giants' tight end situation was last offseason?

Many fans considered the position New York's most glaring deficiency, yet it was ignored in free agency and in the draft. Honestly, the team was lucky to have former undrafted rookie Larry Donnell emerge from the pack as a veritable playmaker.

Donnell was imperfect, though. Half of his six touchdowns on the season came in an early-season blowout over the Washington Redskins. Although he finished with a respectable 63 catches for 623 yards, Donnell's impact waned as that of rookie receiver Odell Beckham Jr. waxed.

Somewhere during that progression Donnell became a liability instead of an asset. With four fumbles, his ball security was suspect. And although he displayed the potential to make incredibly acrobatic grabs, it's not like he was a vacuum at the tight end position (29 incomplete targets).

At times, backup Daniel Fells—a less athletic but more reliable veteran—became the preferred pass-catcher.

This offseason, the Giants can shore up this position once and for all with one swift free-agency signing by targeting Jordan Cameron.

This past season, Cameron's production took a hit. After he recorded Pro Bowl-worthy stats in 2013, his reception, yardage and touchdown figures were cut in half in 2014.

It's not usually a good sign when a player fails to perform in a contract year, but Cameron had head and shoulder injuries hampering his output. Get him healthy and in a better offense, and there's no reason why this 26-year-old can't have a bounce-back season.

The Giants should sign Cameron to a one-year, prove-it deal when he becomes a free agent.

LB/DE Brian Orakpo

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Assuming the Giants retain Jason Pierre-Paul, and he continues his upward swing into 2015, New York will still need another pass-rusher to complement him on the other side.

Longtime Giant Mathias Kiwanuka could be on his way out, after a poor showing in 2014 and due a $7.45 million payday due next season. Kiwi's replacement, Damontre Moore, hasn't yet become what New York drafted him to be.

If nothing is done, the Giants will risk fielding another toothless pass rush.

Instead of watching JPP toil through double- and triple-teams all year, New York should pursue a dynamic pass-rusher to balance out the opposing offense's pass protection. The best candidate is Brian Orakpo, who has made three Pro Bowls in six seasons with the Washington Redskins.

Lately, however, Orakpo has struggled with injuries. He has torn his pectoral muscle three times in his career, and twice in the last three years it has landed him on injured reserve. Although effective when healthy, he isn't a high priority for Washington to re-sign considering Ryan Kerrigan's emergence as a pass-rusher.

One team's trash is another team's treasure, though. The Giants reclaimed former first-round pick Robert Ayers Jr. last offseason, and he looked like a pretty good D-end until he was lost to IR with a torn pectoral (go figure). Now, they should do the same with Orakpo, the 13th overall pick from the 2009 NFL draft (same class as Ayers—again, go figure).

The only caveat is that the 28-year-old pass-rusher will need to make a transition from 3-4 outside linebacker to 4-3 defensive end. With his fist in the turf, maybe Orakpo can redefine his career and make a difference for New York's defense in 2015.