5 Biggest Needs the New York Giants Have Yet to Address This Offseason
The annual NFL free-agency period is concluding its second week, but the New York Giants still have quite a bit of work to do regarding filling their remaining roster needs.
Despite the fact that there is still more work to be done, team co-owner John Mara—who attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the renovated Police Athletic League facility in Manhattan, which his family helped fund—is pleased with what the team has done so far in free agency, according to Nick Powell of NJ Advance Media.
"We added some depth, which I thought we needed," Mara said, according to Powell. "There weren't any big, splashy signings, but I think we helped ourselves. We've still got some holes to fill, but so far, so good on what we've done.”
What they have done, according to the tracker at Inside Football, is add linebackers Jonathan Casillas and J.T. Thomas; defensive lineman Kenrick Ellis, offensive tackle Marshall Newhouse, running back Shane Vereen and return specialist Dwayne Harris.
They’ve also re-signed several of their own free agents from last year, including linebacker Mark Herzlich, fullback Henry Hynoski, cornerback Chykie Brown, offensive lineman John Jerry and tight end Daniel Fells, just to name a few.
What positions still need to be addressed before this team goes to training camp this summer?
Let’s take a look.
Safety
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As previously outlined, there is no reason to panic regarding the direction the safety position is headed on this Giants team.
Youngsters Nat Berhe and Cooper Taylor will both compete for starting jobs. The Giants could also be looking to add a safety via the draft on Day 3, where there appears to be an abundance of lower-round talent that could be a fit.
Still, the numbers at this position are paper-thin—in addition to Berhe and Taylor, Thomas Gordon is the only other safety under contract at this moment.
The Giants could be waiting for unrestricted free agent Stevie Brown, whom Pro Football Talk reported had offseason foot surgery, to get a little further along in his rehab before re-signing him.
Whatever their thinking, they do need to add numbers at this position so that the team has enough guys to share the practice snaps in camp.
Whether the additional numbers come on the back-end of free agency or in the draft, more safety help is coming.
Defensive End
2 of 5
The Giants are still searching for another veteran defensive end who would, theoretically, take the spot previously held by Mathias Kiwanuka.
More importantly though, with Robert Ayers Jr. and Damontre Moore both reportedly still on the mend from physical ailments, the Giants could be operating under the assumption that they might be short-staffed at defensive end once OTAs begin in May.
Ayers, remember, suffered a season-ending torn pectoral muscle last year.
In a mid-February update, Jordan Raanan of NJ Advance Media reported that Ayers was still on the mend and hadn’t been cleared to lift weights, though, it’s certainly possible that Ayers' status has changed since that report was issued.
More recently, Moore was spotted at Texas A&M’s pro day by Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram with his right arm in a sling.
After trying to sign Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham, according to ESPN.com's Dan Graziano, the Giants have since turned their attention to George Selvie, most recently with Dallas.
Selvie, was supposed to meet with the Giants on Thursday, but Raanan reported that Selvie’s flight was delayed, and hence his meeting with the Giants was pushed back to Friday.
Selvie has also drawn interest from Tampa Bay, according to the Tampa Bay Times, so it will be interesting to see if he makes that meeting or if he and the Giants end up agreeing to terms when they finally do meet.
Cornerback
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The Giants were hoping to re-sign slot cornerback Walter Thurmond III, who last year never really got a chance to yield a return on the investment they made in him because of a season-ending pectoral injury suffered in Week 2.
Unfortunately, the two sides couldn’t agree to terms, and Thurmond took his talents down the New Jersey Turnpike to the Eagles.
So where does that leave the slot cornerback position for the Giants? As of now, the early odds favor Trumaine McBride, who relieved Thurmond at that slot cornerback position last year, as the new incumbent.
However, that move isn’t set in stone, nor is the depth that comes behind starters Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Prince Amukamara.
Behind the starters are McBride, Chykie Brown, Chandler Fenner, Jayron Hosley, Bennett Jackson, Josh Victorian and Mike Harris.
While that sounds like a lot to pick from, other than McBride and Brown, it remains to be seen as to whether anyone from that group will step up in camp this year.
With the Giants needing to carry at least five cornerbacks into the season, the addition of a veteran free agent, if one is still out there who fits their needs, would be a big boost to this unit.
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Tight End
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Although the Giants just announced the re-signing of tight end Daniel Fells to another one-year contract, they might want to get a jump-start on addressing this position this summer if they can rather than waiting.
Per Jordan Raanan of NJ Advance Media, Fells was signed to a one-year deal, which means the 31-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent again after the season.
Also set to be an unrestricted free agent after this season is Adrien Robinson, the Giants’ fourth-round pick in 2012, who finally started to show flashes of being ready to contribute on more of a full-time basis in the offense toward the end of last season.
This coming season, in fact, will be a critical one for Robinson, who so far has five receptions for 50 yards with one touchdown in 19 games played.
Per Pro Football Focus, Robinson was the second-best graded tight end on the Giants’ roster last year, earning a 2.1 mark.
With the Giants having had poor success in re-signing their Day 3 draft picks in the Jerry Reese era, if Robinson can have a strong showing this year, he could be the first Day 3 draft pick chosen by Reese since long snapper Zak DeOssie (Round 4, 2007) to earn a second contract with the team without having to go elsewhere for a year or two only to return.
Jerome Cunningham, who flashed last summer, is currently the fourth tight end, but the Giants are almost certain to bring in at least one more prospect to compete for a roster spot, with that prospect likely being an undrafted free agent.
Offensive Line
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Whether it’s a guard or a tackle, the Giants offensive line still appears to be one starter short.
Yes, they re-signed John Jerry, who last year started at right guard for them. Jerry, however, wasn’t very effective as a run-blocker, grading out with the worst run-blocking grade on the offense, according to Pro Football Focus, who gave Jerry a minus-16.4 mark in that category.
Logic would seem to dictate that the Giants would be looking to upgrade the interior of their offensive line, which struggled to open holes up for the running backs.
The new offensive interior is projected to have Weston Richburg at center, Geoff Schwartz at right guard and either Justin Pugh at left guard or a still-to-be-determined player who will likely be a veteran free-agent signing.
Unless otherwise noted, advanced stats are from Pro Football Focus.
Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirerand Sports Xchange. All quotes and information obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.
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