5 Dark-Horse Candidates to Make New York Giants' 53-Man Roster

Welcome back from the long holiday weekend, which was hopefully filled with lots of good food, fireworks, fun and pleasant thoughts of the upcoming 2015 football season.

While most everyone was celebrating the U.S.’s official birthday, the calendar page quietly turned to July and with it, another few days were shaved off the waiting list until the New York Giants commence summer training camp on July 30.

As we head into the homestretch, it might be fun to look at some projections and analysis until a new flow of news begins.

In this slideshow, we pay tribute to the underdogs that are off somewhere preparing for this all-important training camp that is coming up—who among these dark horses has the best chance of sticking on the initial 53-man roster?

Here’s a look at five, along with the reason why, with a solid training camp, each has a chance of sticking around.

WR Ben Edwards

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Injuries are going to happen. This is, after all, the NFL’s most-injured team two years in a row, according to Scott Kacsmar of Football Outsiders, who wrote:

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The Giants … became the first team to lead the league in Adjusted Games Lost in back-to-back seasons. This is the fifth year in a row the Giants ranked 22nd or worse, and they have missed the playoffs in four of those seasons.

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There’s no telling if things will be any different for New York this year—certainly the trend would suggest otherwise—but the point is that in order to not crumble under the weight of injuries, depth will be critical.

That brings us to the wide receiver group. When we last left Odell Beckham Jr., he was once again dealing with a hamstring issue.

Meanwhile Victor Cruz, the fountain of optimism, estimated himself to be about 80 percent along in his recovery from a patellar tendon tear—that 80 percent, mind you, has been accomplished through eight months, which would suggest an average of 10 percent progress per month.

The point is that if there are question marks regarding either Cruz or Beckham (or both), the Giants could solve the problem by carrying an extra receiver.

A likely candidate to receive serious consideration is Ben Edwards (5’10”, 197 lbs, Richmond). Edwards might not be very big, but he is a nifty runner who flashed quite a bit when lining up in the slot.

He has deceptive speed and in addition to having a fearless attitude when it comes to going over the middle, he is not afraid to stand back there to field punts—something he has looked very comfortable doing.

Of course, the downside with Edwards is that on the final day of the minicamp, he was escorted off the field by a trainer after suffering what appeared to be a hamstring strain.

It’s obviously too soon to determine if the nature and severity of his injury will limit him in any way when the Giants open camp, but if not, Edwards could find himself on the 53-man roster if he delivers the goods this summer.   

TE Matt LaCosse

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It’s not very often that a team gives an undrafted free agent the maximum signing bonus ($5,000) and guaranteed part of his base salary, as Jordan Raanan reported the Giants did with former Illinois tight end Matt LaCosse.

When that happens, it usually means the team is very serious about hanging onto a promising young player at all costs.

This spring, LaCosse, a versatile tight end in college who was part of a run-blocking unit that enabled the running game to average 3.7 yards per carry (413 rushes on 1,527 yards) and 16 rushing touchdowns, didn’t really have a chance to show off his blocking skills given the non-contact nature of the OTAs and minicamp.

However, he did put his receiving skills on display, doing a nice job of releasing from in-line, working from the slot and going up the seam.  

While it would be ideal for the Giants to find that one tight end who can do it all, tight ends coach Kevin M. Gilbride said that isn’t necessarily a pre-requisite to making the team.

“No matter where you are at, when you play a position that is as multiple as we ask our tight ends to do, you are going to want guys to do different things,” he said on the final day of the minicamp last month.

“We don’t necessarily need this guy to have this receiving skill, this guy has to have run-blocking skill, this pass-protection skill, this speed—they don’t have to have it all, as long as they have a number of attributes that they can use and use well on the field. That is enough for us to be successful.”

So far, so good for LaCosse, who can only help himself with a strong blocking performance this summer, which should be enough to get him a spot on the 53-man roster. 

S Justin Currie

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If you didn't keep up with the tweets and reports from the OTAs and minicamp, you probably missed the news that rookie safety Justin Currie (6’2”, 214 lbs, Western Michigan) received some snaps with the first-string defense.

Granted, the promotion might have been a result of a shortage of healthy bodies at the position—Nat Berhe missed the entire spring with a calf injury and Bennett Jackson was slowed toward the end of the minicamp with a hamstring strain—but it was still interesting nonetheless that Currie got the nod ahead of veteran Josh Gordy, who mostly worked as the slot cornerback in the OTAs and minicamp.

What’s more, Currie didn’t do anything to embarrass himself out there. While he is clearly still trying to get a feel for the new system and looked as though he was thinking out there instead of flying around, with each snap, the 21-year-old seemed to become more comfortable.

The Giants already seem committed to going with an all-youth safety unit, so Currie’s addition to that group wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary. In addition to a solid summer, he will need an injury to either Landon Collins, Nat Berhe, Mykkele Thompson or Cooper Taylor—the projected four to make the 53-man roster—to gain the opening he needs. 

Given this team’s luck with injuries, that wouldn’t be so hard to rule out. Remember, both Berhe and Thompson ended the minicamp with lower body ailments, and the impact of the injuries on their availability for training camp is still unknown.

OL Michael Bamiro

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According to the roster page on the Giants’ official website, eight players are listed as an offensive tackle.

That might sound like a lot, but when you start peeling back the onion to look at who the eight are, you’re left with a paper-thin position that is vital to the offensive line’s success.

Will Beatty, one of the eight listed, is out until November at the soonest. Justin Pugh is currently penciled in at left guard, Troy Kropog is on the PUP list, Marshall Newhouse is a journeyman whose ability to get the job done efficiently has come into question and the rest of the players listed are all inexperienced.

Yikes!

Since offensive line coach Pat Flaherty is going to have to expedite the learning curve of first-round draft pick Ereck Flowers, who right now is projected to be the team’s starting left tackle, he might as well include another potential student with intriguing size and athletic ability in that “honors” class: Michael Bamiro.

Bamiro (6’8”, 340 lbs, Stony Brook) was with the Eagles last summer, so he has a head start on learning the finer points of playing offensive guard and tackle at this level. As the biggest offensive lineman on the roster, Bamiro has that long wingspan that makes coaches drool.

He also has shown athleticism to boot during the spring workouts.

“You can't coach his pure size, his hands, the length of his arms,” Stony Brook coach Chuck Priore told Steven Marcus of Newsday in 2011. “This kid is nimble on his feet. I think the world is his oyster, potentially."

With one NFL training camp under his belt, Bamiro, who was signed by the Giants to a reserve/futures contract in January, is hoping to remain ahead of the pack in a battle for a roster spot.

With head coach Tom Coughlin having declared shortly after Beatty’s pectoral injury that the coaches will be trying different offensive line combinations this summer, Bamiro will probably be someone to keep an eye on for a potential reserve role since guys with his size and length don’t grow on trees. 

LB Cole Farrand

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As things stand at this moment, rookie linebacker Cole Farrand is perhaps the biggest longshot of those listed in this slideshow to make the 53-man roster.

The reason for this is because the six guys projected ahead of him—Jon Beason, Devon Kennard, J.T. Thomas, Jonathan Casillas, Jameel McClain and Mark Herzlich—are all expected to be healthy when training camp begins.

Unfortunately, we all know the recent history when it comes to certain members of this unit, and it hasn’t exactly been kind.

Beason has had issues staying on the field, though the training staff is going to do everything possible to make sure this year is an exception, even if it means halving the 30-year-old veteran’s reps.

In addition, Kennard, the promising outside linebacker, has shown gaps in his durability. Last season, he missed four games due to a hamstring strain. This spring, he missed some team practices with an ankle ailment and then a hamstring injury.

Yes, injuries could end up playing a big factor when it comes time to setting the linebacker unit.

That is why Farrand, an eager student who probably would be better off starting his NFL career on the practice squad where he could also add a little more bulk to better hold up against the run, has a chance of making the 53-man roster.

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes, observations and information were obtained firsthand. Follow me on Twitter.