8 Players on New York Giants' 2017 Roster Bubble

This year, NFL head coaches and front-office personnel have been given an extra week to evaluate their 90-man rosters, thanks to the elimination of the mandatory cut from 90 to 75 that has instead been replaced with a straight cut from 90 to 53.

With the extra week, that's a lot of time for members of the New York Giants "bubble" club to find ways to reverse their fortunes, be it through an injury that depletes depth or a sudden uptick in performance.

The competition across the board is going to be as hot as the weather backdrop to training camp. So, let's look at some of those players who might be on the bubble and what they can do from a performance perspective to avoid a visit from the Turk.

TE Will Tye

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Thanks to an unexpected twist of fate the last two years, Will Tye found himself as the starting tight end.

But just because Tye became the starter because of an injury to Larry Donnell's neck injury two years ago or his nosedive in form last year, that doesn't mean he's a lock to remain the starter this year.

The Giants have added blocking tight end Rhett Ellison and first-round draft pick Evan Engram to the mix. Both men are projected to be starters on offense if healthy.

Tye's biggest competition for a roster spot appears to be Matt LaCosse, who had an impressive spring, earning first-team reps at times. Tye, on the other hand, saw quite a bit in terms of second-team reps.

Where Tye, who last year caught 49 of 67 pass targets, can really help himself is in his average yards per reception.

Last year, the 25-year-old averaged 8.2 yards per catch, dead last out of a group of 23 tight ends who took at least 60 percent of their team's snaps.

Another area where Tye can help himself is being where his quarterback expects him to be for the catch. He was the intended target on four interceptions thrown last year, tying him for the most among that same group of 23 tight ends, with three other players.

WR Roger Lewis

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It's never a good sign for a young player when he sees his snap counts and opportunities to contribute cut back despite him being healthy.

That's exactly what happened to receiver Roger Lewis, an undrafted free agent out of Bowling Green who last year made the Giants' 53-man roster.

Lewis has impressive straight-ahead speed that the Giants tried to take advantage of following the team's bye week—he saw his opportunities increase likely because of the decrease in opportunities given to former receiver Victor Cruz.

However, all the 23-year-old contributed in 13 games with one start was seven out of 19 pass targets for 97 yards and two touchdowns, a 36.8 conversion percentage and the lowest of the Giants receivers who had double-digit pass targets thrown their way. 

Lewis, who also contributes on special teams, is looking at increased competition this summer in the forms of Tavarres King, Darius Powe and undrafted rookie Travis Rudolph. If he is to avoid being cut, he's going to need to raise his conversion percentage to over 50 percent.

DE Kerry Wynn

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

It wasn't that long ago—2014 to be exact—that defensive end Kerry Wynn, an undrafted rookie free agent out of Richmond who made the roster, looked like he would be the next big steal.

Instead, Wynn, who came into the league as a strong run-stopper, seems to have regressed since his rookie year, when in five games, he recorded 17 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one pass defensed and interception.

Besides the fact that Wynn was passed over for a spot in the starting lineup when Jason Pierre-Paul went down last year with an injury—Romeo Okwara replaced Pierre-Paul—the Giants have added Devin Taylor and drafted Avery Moss to beef up the defensive end depth.

If Wynn, 26, wants to help save his roster spot, he can probably get back to being the run-stopper he was as a rookie.

That season, his 8.9 run-stop percentage was second-best among the Giants defensive ends that season. (He finished last among the Giants defensive ends last year, posting a 0.0 run-stop percentage.)

RB Shaun Draughn

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Barring injury, the Giants running back rotation will include starter Paul Perkins, Shane Vereen and rookie draft pick Wayne Gallman.

The fourth running back, though, is still to be determined and will come down to either Orleans Darkwa or Shaun Draughn, the latter of whom was signed as an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.

Draughn, 29, is a journeyman who is on his seventh NFL team since 2011. He's only played an entire 16-game season twice, in 2012 for the Kansas City Chiefs and last year for the San Francisco 49ers. His career best came in 2015 in six games played for the 49ers when he rushed 76 times for 263 yards.

Darkwa doesn't have quite as much experience and last year dealt with a broken leg that landed him on injured reserve. But, when he's been given the opportunity to carry the rock, he's been impressive, averaging 3.8 yards per carry and 2.7 yards after initial contact, while hauling in 10 of his 12 career pass targets for 91 yards, 87 after the catch, one drop and no fumbles.

Both Darkwa and Draughn are contributors on special teams, but for the latter to beat out the former in this competition, he likely will have to boost his career yards per rush average from 3.2 yards per carry and his yards after contact from 1.9 while also doing a better job with ball security.

DE Owa Odighizuwa

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

After two washout seasons—Owa Odighizuwa dealt with injuries for most of his rookie term which then put him behind the following year—the former UCLA defender has been dealing with an undisclosed personal issue that kept him out of the OTAs and the mandatory minicamp.

Right now, it's not known if the 25-year-old will be back for the start of training camp or if the fact that the NFLPA's public cap report shows the Giants with 91 players under contract (which might suggest someone is either going to be cut or perhaps moved to a reserve list assuming that figure isn't in error) means something more.

Odighizuwa, if he continues his career, did show signs of being a capable pass-rusher, recording eight quarterback disruptions (sacks, hurries and hits) last year.

Where he can help himself, though, is in developing as a run-stopper, where in 18 games played and 81 run defense snaps he has all of six tackles.

LB J.T. Thomas

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The last two seasons have clearly not gone the way linebacker J.T. Thomas and the Giants would have hoped.

Thomas, a versatile linebacker who can play in the middle and on the weak side as well as contribute on special teams, has been snakebit since signing with the Giants two years ago. In that period, the 28-year-old has played in 13 games with 11 starts, registering 46 tackles.

With Thomas set to enter the final year of his contract, a year in which his $4 million cap hit is the highest of the Giants' linebackers and the ninth-highest cap figure on the team this year, he can help himself in two ways.

The first would be to take a pay cut, as even if he sticks on the roster, it wouldn't be as a starter. Secondly, he needs to stay healthy.

QB Josh Johnson

Uncredited/Associated Press

Logic would dictate that Josh Johnson is the natural fit to win the Giants' backup quarterback competition this summer given he's spent a year in the system and was healthy enough to take all his snaps during the spring ahead of newcomer Geno Smith.

However, that logic might be short-sighted. Smith offers more experience as a starter, even if that experience hasn't always been steady.

And while no one wants to see starter Eli Manning go down for any length of time, because Smith has experience as a starter and in a system very similar to what the Giants currently run, there is a chance that with the weapons the Giants have and with improved play from the offensive line, Smith could fare better than he did with the Jets.

To make sure he helps himself in his quest to win the backup battle, Smith might want to aim for completing at least 60 percent of his pass attempts this summer in games, while making sure his touchdowns far outnumber his interceptions thrown, something he's yet to do in his career.

CB Valentino Blake

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

When the Giants lost reserve cornerback Coty Sensabaugh to free agency—he signed a two-year deal with the Steelers—they added veteran Valentino Blake to provide depth at a position that it's probably safe to say has some question marks outside of starters Janoris Jenkins and Eli Apple and slot cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

While Blake has been steady against the run throughout most of his career, he's come up short in coverage.

Per Pro Football Focus, the 26-year-old has allowed 65.9 percent of the pass targets thrown against him to be completed for 1,879 yards since 2013. Over that same period, he's given up 13 touchdowns while picking off four balls and breaking up 15 for an NFL Rating of 104.1.

The Giants have a pair of young cornerbacks in Michael Hunter and Donte Deayon who are going to compete for playing time this summer.

If one or both surpasses Blake in the preseason, it might be hard to see him sticking around on the 53-man roster unless he can get his interceptions and pass breakups up and his NFL rating and pass targets allowed down.

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