Analyzing New York Giants' 5 Deepest Roster Spots

Competitions will kick off this week as the New York Giants head into organized team activities.

Several positional units are swelling with talent after being bolstered through free agency and the draft this offseason. The battles at these positions are sure to be the fiercest, where starting roles and roster spots are up for grabs.

Starting this spring, these positions will start to take shape for the Giants. Through the summer, spanning training camp and the preseason, the depth chart will become a lot clearer. For the purpose of this article, depth is measured in terms of quality of personnel more so than quantity of personnel.

This article will highlight five of New York's deepest positional units leading up to the 2015 season.

Wide Receiver

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Odell Beckham Jr.

Depth	Player	Ht./Wt.	Age
1	Odell Beckham Jr.	5'11"/198 lbs.	22
2	Victor Cruz	6'0"/204 lbs.	28
3	Rueben Randle	6'2"/208 lbs.	24
4	Dwayne Harris	5'10"/202 lbs.	27
5	Preston Parker	6'0"/200 lbs.	28
6	Geremy Davis	6'2"/216 lbs.	23
7	Corey Washington	6'4"/214 lbs.	23
8	Julian Talley	6'1"/192 lbs.	25
9	Marcus Harris	6'1"/187 lbs.	25
10	Juron Criner	6'3"/220 lbs.	25
11	Chris Harper	6'1"/228 lbs.	25
12	Ben Edwards	5'10"/197 lbs.	23

Quarterback Eli Manning will have options in 2015.

Odell Beckham Jr. is the best young receiver in the game, earning the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year honor last season. Beckham, Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle, if all healthy, could make for a diverse and dependable starting trio. Former Giant Stephen Baker told Nick Powell of NJ Advance Media they can "eat people alive."

Because of Cruz's knee injury, however, the Giants may need to count on their depth. Dwayne Harris, a 2015 free-agency acquisition, could replace him in the slot if needed as could Preston Parker or Marcus Harris. Parker saw playing time in Cruz's stead last season, and the latter Harris impressed during the 2014 preseason.

Julian Talley has clung to the Giants since 2012 but has only played in four games. He'll have a tough time making the team again this year with bigger receivers in Corey Washington and Geremy Davis, a 2015 sixth-round draft pick, crowding the competition.

Defensive End

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Jason Pierre-Paul

Depth	Player	Ht./Wt.	Age
1	Jason Pierre-Paul	6'5"/278 lbs.	26
2	Damontre Moore	6'5"/250 lbs.	22
3	Robert Ayers	6'3"/275 lbs.	29
4	Owa Odighizuwa	6'3"/267 lbs.	23
5	George Selvie	6'4"/270 lbs.	28
6	Kerry Wynn	6'5"/264 lbs.	24
7	Jordan Stanton	6'4"/263 lbs.	24
8	Brad Harrah	6'5"/258 lbs.	23

The Giants are usually well-stocked with defensive ends, and 2015 is no deviation from the norm. Jason Pierre-Paul, currently franchise tagged, will lead the rush again with his All-Pro pedigree. He's a shoo-in to start on one side of the line, but the position opposite him is open after the departure of Mathias Kiwanuka.

Although Damontre Moore will have every opportunity to win the job, he's the lightest of all New York's ends at only 250 pounds. He can definitely rush the passer, yet counting on him to hold the edge against the run is concerning. If Moore ends up a situational pass-rusher, Robert Ayers and George Selvie are likely candidates to start opposite Pierre-Paul. Ayers and Selvie have combined for 20.5 sacks over the past two seasons.

Owa Odigizuwa, a 2015 third-round draft pick, should find the field in some capacity. He can provide the D-line rotation with some fresh legs off the bench, as can Kerry Wynn. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo must find a way to employ his full stable of ends in order to maximize the unit's potential.

Running Back

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Rashad Jennings

Depth	Player	Ht./Wt.	Age
1	Rashad Jennings	6'1"/231 lbs.	30
2	Andre Williams	5'11"/230 lbs.	22
3	Shane Vereen	5'10"/205 lbs.	26
4	Orleans Darkwa	6'0"/215 lbs.	23
5	Akeem Hunt	5'10"/183 lbs.	22
6	Kenneth Harper	5'10"/233 lbs.	22

The Giants have a good mix of talent at running back, starting with Rashad Jennings. Although Jennings was injured most of last season, there was a notable difference when he was fully healthy. He's a dynamic back, a smart and smooth runner who can catch the ball out of the backfield, too.

Andre Williams' running style is the opposite of Jennings' style. Williams is a bullheaded bruiser who barrels through the line of scrimmage to look for contact. He's not much of a pass-catcher, but his strength in short-yardage situations makes him New York's most valuable ball-carrier when a first down or touchdown is just a yard away.

On third down, former New England Patriot Shane Vereen should be New York's go-to back. Third down is a big passing down, and the Giants signed Vereen this offseason mostly for his ability as a pass-catcher (Vereen in four seasons with Pats: 907 rushing yards and 1,023 receiving yards).

A fourth running back could sneak onto the roster, as the Giants have a few interesting options from which to choose. Orleans Darkwa was signed during the 2014 season, and one of his five carries with the Giants went for a touchdown. He'll have to defend his roster spot from speedster Akeem Hunt and bowling ball Kenneth Harper, both undrafted rookies, moving forward.

Safety

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Landon Collins.

Depth	Player	Ht./Wt.	Age
1	Landon Collins	6'0"/228 lbs.	21
2	Nat Berhe	6'0"/194 lbs.	23
3	Mykkele Thompson	6'2"/191 lbs.	22
4	Cooper Taylor	6'4"/228 lbs.	25
5	Bennett Jackson	6'0"/192 lbs.	23
6	Josh Gordy	5'11"/196 lbs.	28
7	Justin Currie	6'2"/204 lbs.	21

The Giants don't have much experience at safety, but they do have plenty of options. If a healthy competition at the position develops this summer, the Giants could have sudden depth. 

New York has five players under the age of 25 with a legitimate shot to land a major role, headlined by 2015 second-round pick Landon Collins. Behind him, there's a cast of fifth-round selections competing for time on the field.

Collins is in line to start as a rookie, and Nat Berhe (2014 fifth-rounder) is the favorite from the field to line up beside him, Art Stapleton of the Record predicted. But the Giants drafted Mykkele Thompson (2015 fifth-rounder) with the thought of pairing him with Collins in mind, head coach Tom Coughlin told Tom Rock of Newsday. Cooper Taylor (2013 fifth-rounder) is New York's biggest defensive back and will try to keep pace with Collins at strong safety.

Bennett Jackson can't be counted out, either. The 2014 sixth-rounder spent his rookie season as a cornerback on injured reserve, but Jackson is coming back this summer as a safety, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post reported.

Tight End

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Larry Donnell.

Depth	Player	Ht./Wt.	Age
1	Larry Donnell	6'6"/265 lbs.	26
2	Daniel Fells	6'4"/260 lbs.	31
3	Adrien Robinson	6'4"/264 lbs.	26
4	Jerome Cunningham	6'4"/240 lbs.	24
5	Matt LaCosse	6'6"/245 lbs.	22
6	Will Tye	6'2"/262 lbs.	23

The Giants are without a perfect candidate at tight end, but a surefire starter is likely hiding in the depths.

Last year, Larry Donnell started and proved himself a viable target in the passing game. Daniel Fells filled a role off the bench, usually as a blocker. Donnell and Fells combined for a third of quarterback Manning's 30 touchdowns in 2014.

Adrien Robinson has a lot of ground to make up in his NFL journey, which has been underwhelming to date. Since selecting Robinson in the fourth round of the 2012 draft, the Giants have only extracted five receptions from him. Patience may be wearing thin on this front, as the team searches for new options to replace him.

A couple undrafted rookies in Matt LaCosse and Will Tye have what it takes to usurp Robinson's roster spot in 2015. Both players have made good first impressions with Coughlin, according to Powell of NJ Advance Media.

*All roster information courtesy of Giants.com. [Note: Depth chart order at each position is unofficial.]

Kevin Boilard writes about the New York Giants at Bleacher Report.