Checking in on New York Giants' Biggest Project Players

When a team is coming off a 6-10 win-loss record, there almost certainly are some rebuilding projects added to the to-do list for the ensuing season.

That is the position that the New York Giants find themselves in as they look to get back on the right side of the .500 mark.

After going on a massive roster turnover in the 2014 offseason, the Giants are hoping that the foundation put in place solidifies now that it’s had a year to work together, and the newcomers added in the 2015 offseason will develop and complement what’s already in place.

In this slideshow, we will look at some of the “projects” the coaching staff hopes will be ready by the start of the 2015 season.

DB Bennett Jackson

Uncredited/Associated Press

The Giants have definitely replenished the lost depth at safety this offseason; the problem, though, is that with the exception of Josh Gordy, the others at the position are very short on live reps.

In rebuilding the unit, New York added Landon Collins via the draft this year; Collins figures to be one of the two new starters at the position.

The second starting job will probably come down to Cooper Taylor, Gordy or Nat Berhe, the latter of whom has been sidelined with a calf strain.

Then there is second-year man Bennett Jackson. Jackson, a sixth-round draft pick in 2014 out of Notre Dame, is a cornerback by trade.

Last summer, he fought back from an ankle sprain, but thanks to the numbers ahead of him, he was unable to land on the 53-man roster.

Instead, he landed on the practice squad, where he contributed until a knee injury that required microfracture surgery knocked him out of action.

This past offseason, head coach Tom Coughlin told Jordan Raanan of NJ Advance Media that Jackson would be making the switch to playing safety.

Coughlin followed through on that plan, as Jackson took the field for the rookie minicamp last month at the safety position.

Where He’s At

Jackson has shown no signs of being slowed by his knee, which is the good news. However, he admitted to me during the rookie camp last month that the safety position is still very new to him and that he was still trying to get a feel for playing inside instead of on an island.

He seems to be making progress in that regard, albeit slow progress because although he was on the practice squad last year, losing a chunk of his rookie season deprived him of a chance to experience live reps.

Jackson is still working on taking the correct angles. On one play during the fourth OTA, he was beaten on a seam pass thrown to a tight end, a pass that had Jackson taken a better angle, he might have limited the yards after the catch.  

Instead, the former Notre Dame defender ended up with a fistful of the tight end’s jersey.

The Hope

Assuming there are no other injuries, the Giants are projected to keep four safeties and five cornerbacks. If Jackson can grasp the concepts of playing safety, he could serve as a swing man at both positions, which would all but assure him of a roster spot this season.

TE Adrien Robinson

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

By now the story of tight end Adrien Robinson is well-known.

Within moments after the 6’4”, 264-pounder out of Cincinnati was chosen in the fourth round of the 2012 draft, general manager Jerry Reese launched the nickname heard ‘round the world when he dared to describe Robinson’s physical attributes to that of their successful 2010 first-round pick, defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul.

Thus, the "JPP of tight ends" was born, a moniker that to this day still has people wondering if Robinson, who again compared physically to Pierre-Paul, will ever enjoy the success of the defensive end.

So far, it’s been a no-go. Robinson was late starting the offseason program as a rookie, this due to his classes at Cincinnati running late. He then went on to deal with some injuries that set him back even further.

Last year, Robinson, along with the rest of his offensive teammates, got a fresh start under new coordinator Ben McAdoo. Robinson also was assigned a new position coach in Kevin M. Gilbride; however, the results were still the same: he couldn’t get on the field much ahead of Larry Donnell, the undrafted free agent who was named the starter, and veteran Daniel Fells, who was out of football in 2013.

Ultimately, things clicked for Robinson, who started to see more chances later in the 2014 season.

Per Pro Football Focus, Robinson played 77 snaps on offense, finishing with a 2.1 overall grade and a 1.2 run-blocking grade.

As a receiver, though, Robinson wasn’t used much in the seam, as his five receptions were caught within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. Still, he showed enough to warrant what might just be his final look-see from the team that invested a draft pick in him. 

Where He’s At

So far, so good for Robinson, who has been working with the starters during OTAs. According to Dan Salomone of Giants.com, Robinson has been on the receiving end of some "nice" receptions, many of which have gone beyond the 10-yard range he was limited to last year.

What Robinson still needs to show is whether he can block. Given the noncontact nature of the drills, that won’t be known for sure until the pads go on during training camp.

The Hope

At the end of last season, general manager Jerry Reese confirmed what had long been suspected: He was reluctant to give up on draft picks, instead allowing them a chance to fail before pushing them out the door too soon.

Unfortunately, for Reese, that philosophy has led to sacrificing more qualified players who probably could have helped the team.

With Robinson, they’re hoping he finally has the breakout season they’ve been envisioning since they drafted him and that whomever from the group of Will Tye, Daniel Fells, Jerome Cunningham and Matt LaCosse who doesn’t make the roster doesn’t go on to become the next Ed McCaffrey.

The Offensive Line

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Although this slideshow is supposed to be about individual players, the Giants' offensive line warrants an honorable mention since it is one of the keys to a successful 2015 season.

First, a little history. The Giants began their offensive line rebuild project following the 2013 season. That ensuing offseason, they added Geoff Schwartz in free agency and drafted Weston Richburg to be their center of the future.

Thanks to injuries to Schwartz and Chris Snee's forced retirement before the start of the 2014 training camp, the offensive line rebuild plan was thrown into a state of disarray.

Well, it's a new year, but the same situation. This time it’s the injury to left tackle Will Beatty that leaves the Giants' offensive line with five—that’s right five—new starters at each position.

The current configuration begins with rookie Ereck Flowers, who was initially projected to play right tackle, at left tackle. He will be flanked by Justin Pugh, who moves from right tackle to left guard; Richburg, who moves from left guard to center; Schwartz, who moves from the injured reserve list and before that, left guard to right guard; and newcomer Marshall Newhouse.

Where It’s At

This offensive line configuration has only worked together for about three weeks since the Beatty injury, all in non-contact workouts, so it’s hard to fully gauge where the unit’s rebuild is. Head coach Tom Coughlin did tell reporters after the first OTA practice that the coaching staff would likely try different combinations on the offensive line, so this current configuration is far from being the final one.

The two players to watch are the tackles. Flowers, the No. 9 overall draft pick, has been criticized by numerous predraft scouting reports as having sloppy technique, something that Coughlin himself acknowledged when he told reporters that the former Miami lineman had some things he needed to work on.

On the other side, Newhouse might have the experience that comes from having played for six seasons.

According to Pro Football Focus, Newhouse, who was with current Giants offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, in Green Bay’s West Coast system, didn’t once post a positive overall grade, his worst showing coming in 2011 where he played mostly at left tackle and finished with a minus-37.0 overall grade, giving up nine sacks that year. 

The Hope

With Beatty sidelined at least until the end of October, the Giants are hoping that Flowers’ learning curve—he did play left tackle in college—will be a short one.

If it’s not, then it could be a long year for quarterback Eli Manning and the rest of the Giants offense as that offensive tackle position is paper-thin.

LG Justin Pugh

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

Speaking of the offensive line, let’s look at Justin Pugh, the Giants’ first-round pick in the 2013 draft.

Pugh, a college left tackle, spent the first two years of his pro career at right tackle.

With Ereck Flowers' arrival, head coach Tom Coughlin told reporters at the opening OTA practice that the decision to move Pugh to left guard was made before incumbent left tackle Will Beatty suffered a torn pectoral muscle during a weightlifting session.

Pugh, who at the end of last season made it clear to reporters that he wasn’t enthusiastic about the possibility of moving inside to guard for 2015, has since done a 180-degree turn, telling reporters before the draft that he was willing to play wherever the coaches needed him.

That spot, left guard, is one that Pugh told reporters he has only dabbled in here and there since high school, when he last started a game at that position.

"

Obviously it is a totally different position. I am on the other side of the ball. I feel comfortable being in a left-handed stance. I played left tackle all through college. You just have a guy that is right on you. It is a lot closer. Everything happens a lot quicker. I am leaning on John Jerry and Geoff Schwartz to really help me out because they have that experience in that position. 

[Guards] are responsible for the depth of the pocket and tackles are responsible for the width. Keeping guys out of Eli’s face is part of it. I love it. There are spots where I get to go help out a tackle, which I know what it is like to be out there on an island. My left tackle is going to love playing next to me. 
  

"

Where He’s At

Regardless of what happens with the rest of the offensive line, the coaches seem committed to leaving Pugh at left guard, for better for worse.

It’s probably for the best as well as while Pugh did get noticeably bigger and stronger in the upper body, he was never going to rival former right tackle Kareem McKenzie in terms of measurables, particularly in the wingspan, where it is so important for a tackle to have that wide wingspan to swallow up defenders.

Then there's David Diehl's spirit that has been passed on to Pugh.

Diehl, the former Giants offensive lineman who retired after the 2013 season, played multiple positions for the Giants, doing so at a high level.

When Pugh was a rookie, Diehl served as a big brother/mentor to the former Syracuse offensive lineman not just on the field, but off of it.  

Pugh has learned his lessons well from Diehl, including the need to be selfless when it comes to the greater good of the team. He now has a chance to carry on that tradition in his work with Flowers, the rookie who will line up alongside of him.

Pugh is excited about that opportunity.

“Me and him are learning this together, because I’m at guard for the first time and he’s coming into a new system,’’ Pugh told Paul Schwartz of the New York Post following the conclusion of the Giants’ first OTA practice last week.

“Doing that together will create that bond and I think we’ll be great.’’

The Hope

With a rookie slated to start at the all-important left tackle spot, the coaching staff as well as starting quarterback Eli Manning is no doubt hoping that Pugh picks up the intricacies of playing left guard quickly enough so that he can help Flowers with his transition to the NFL's faster pace.

DE Kerry Wynn

Uncredited/Associated Press

The Giants might have the numbers at the defensive end position, but the unit is far from being stable for the future.

Jason Pierre-Paul, George Selvie and Robert Ayers are all about to enter contract years. The same also holds true for Cullen Jenkins, the swingman at defensive end and defensive tackle.

That leaves Damontre Moore, Owa Odighizuwa and Kerry Wynn as the only defensive ends signed beyond this season.

With Pierre-Paul not in camp—he has yet to sign his franchise tender—and Ayers sidelined with an ankle injury, there is a big chance for one of the young defensive ends to step up and grab the starting job previously held by the since-released Mathias Kiwanuka.

Wynn, the undrafted free agent out of Richmond last year who came on in the second half of the season and played surprisingly well against the run—per Pro Football Focus, he ranked second behind Pierre-Paul against the run—is hoping to make a strong enough case for that role.

Where He’s At

Wynn looks noticeably bigger and stronger, which would suggest that he spent a lot of time in the weight room working to add some needed muscle to his frame. Listed at 6’5”, 264 pounds on the Giants’ roster, Wynn has been practicing with a more aggressive streak, at times looking angry out there.

He also seems to be taking to new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defense well. While there is no contact in the OTA drills, Wynn has continued to do well in playing against the run, setting the edge and forcing the runners to cut back inside.  

As a pass-rusher, he also looks like he has added a couple of new moves to his repertoire and has a quicker burst off the snap.

Again, it’s too soon to make any definitive judgments on pit players during OTAs given the non-contact nature of the workouts, but so far, the second year of the Wynn project looks to be very promising.

The Hope

Given that Spagnuolo’s defense starts up front against the run and in getting after the passer, if Wynn can develop into a pass-rushing threat, he will provide another intriguing option if Spagnuolo decides to field a five-man defensive pass rush—an upgraded version of the “Four Aces,” if you will. 

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

Follow @Patricia_Traina