The New York Giants dropped their first preseason game to the Detroit Lions, 21-16, at Ford Field on Friday night. Precious few of their starters played and it was more of an early audition for depth players.
Some shined and others dulled out a bit. It changed the early perception on some of the positional battles and led to a few changes in our way-too-early roster projections.
With all of that in mind, here’s a 53-man roster prediction entering Week 2 of the preseason courtesy of Giants Wire:
Quarterback (2)
Starter: Daniel Jones
Backup: Tyrod Taylor
Analysis: Tommy DeVito played admirably against the Lions but no matter what he does, it’s unlikely he plays his way onto the 53-man roster. But he may be earning a practice squad spot.
Running back (4)
Starter: Saquon Barkley
Others: Matt Breida, Gary Brightwell, Eric Gray (R)
Analysis: Brightwell could have seen his chances at a roster spot damaged after sitting out Friday night due to injury, but James Robinson had a forgettable performance and didn’t put apply any real pressure. Jashaun Corbin made a little noise, however.
Wide receiver (8)
Starters: Isaiah Hodgins, Parris Campbell, Darius Slayton
Others: Jalin Hyatt (R), Sterling Shepard, Wan’Dale Robinson, Jamison Crowder, Cole Beasley
Analysis: Will the Giants really carry eight wide receivers with so many other needs? We didn’t think so initially but Beasley proved he can still provide some value and security to the team. They may have to go with bulk.
Tight end (3)
Starters: Darren Waller, Daniel Bellinger
Others: Tommy Sweeney
Analysis: Lawrence Cager could be a surprise weapon for the Giants but he’s still developing and may not be there just yet. Sweeney, meanwhile, made his presence felt on Friday night with a nice touchdown reception and looked like a better blocker than Cager (although that’s not saying much since the TEs struggled in that area).
Offensive line (9)
Starters: Andrew Thomas, Ben Bredeson, John Michael Schmitz (R), Mark Glowinski, Evan Neal
Others: Joshua Ezeudu, Shane Lemieux, Tyre Phillips, Marcus McKethan
Analysis: Nothing has changed here. The only guarantee is that Korey Cunningham is firmly on the roster bubble and must turn things around or be cut. Wyatt Davis needs to return to guard and get things rolling as well.
Defensive line (5)
Starters: Leonard Williams, Dexter Lawrence
Others: A’Shawn Robinson, Jordon Riley, Rakeem Nunez-Roches
Analysis: It doesn’t look like D.J. Davidson will return in time to start the regular season despite hopes that he might, which may be a good problem to have for the Giants. Riley played solid football in his NFL debut and Davidson starting the season on PUP would allow them to carry the rookie.
Inside linebacker (4)
Starters: Bobby Okereke, Micah McFadden
Others: Darrian Beavers, Carter Coughlin
Analysis: We initially had Cam Brown earning the roster spot over Coughlin due to his special teams play but on defense, Coughlin just seems like the better player right now. Brown has all the talent in the world but he needs to take that next step. Short of that, the Giants may go with Coughlin instead but this battle is far from decided.
Outside linebacker (5)
Starters: Kayvon Thibodeaux, Azeez Ojulari
Others: Jihad Ward, Oshane Ximines, Tomon Fox
Analysis: We’re still giving the nod to Ximines at this point but if he continues to struggle against the run like he did on Friday night, it’s possible that Tashawn Bower or Habakkuk Baldonado sneaks in and steals a roster spot from him. Fox, meanwhile, helped strengthen his handle on a roster spot with a good performance.
Cornerback (5)
Starters: Adoree’ Jackson, Deonte Banks (R), Darnay Holmes
Others: Tre Hawkins (R), Cor’Dale Flott.
Analysis: Aaron Robinson may or may not return prior to the regular season but with no official word, we have him landing on PUP to start the season. We’re also putting Holmes back out in front of Flott, who suffered an injury on Friday night and wasn’t overly impressive when he played.
Safety (5)
Starters: Xavier McKinney, Jason Pinnock
Others: Dane Belton, Bobby McCain, Nick McCloud
Analysis: Gevarrius Owens has talent and it may be a risk to put him on the practice squad, but McCain’s veteran presence and run defense is hard to ignore. Meanwhile, Nick McCloud can also play cornerback, which helps in the numbers game.
Specialists (3)
Kicker: Graham Gano
Punter: Jamie Gillan
Long snapper: Casey Kreiter
Analysis: This is about as locked in as things can get barring injury. These three guys are absolutely going to make the 53-man roster.
