New York Giants: 53 Man Roster Projection

The New York Giants are less than a month away from reducing their roster to 53 players. Unlike last year there are a decent amount of players who have job security going into the 2019 season. On August 31st the team will have some tough decisions to make as they have depth in a few positions for the first time in recent years. 

Here’s my projection of the 53 man roster as we get ready for the team’s first preseason game of the 2019 season: 

Quarterback:

Eli Manning 

Daniel Jones 

Alex Tanney 

Running Back:

Saquon Barkley 

Paul Perkins 

Wayne Gallman

Fullback:

Elijah Penny 

Wide Receiver:

Sterling Shepard 

Golden Tate 

Cody Latimer 

Darius Slayton 

TJ Jones 

Bennie Fowler 

Russell Shepard 

Tight End:

Evan Engram 

Rhett Ellison 

Scott Simonson 

CJ Conrad

Offensive Tackle: 

Nate Solder 

George Asafo-Adjei

Mike Remmers 

Chad Wheeler

Offensive Guard:

Kevin Zeitler

Will Hernandez 

Center:

Jon Halapio

Spencer Pulley

Defensive End:

BJ Hill 

Olsen Pierre 

Dexter Lawrence 

RJ McIntosh

Defensive Tackle:

Dalvin Tomlinson

Chris Slayton 

Outside Linebacker:

Lorenzo Carter 

Oshane Ximines 

Markus Golden 

Kareem Martin 

Inside Linebacker:

Alec Ogletree

Tae Davis

Ryan Connelly

BJ Goodson

Cornerback:

Janoris Jenkins 

Deandre Baker 

Grant Haley 

Corey Ballantine 

Sam Beal 

Antonio Hamilton 

Safety:

Antoine Bethea 

Jabrill Peppers 

Julian Love

Michael Thomas

Long Snapper:

Zak DeOssie 

Kicker:

Alrick Rosas

Punter:

Riley Dixon 

Some notable roster decisions in my projection:

Offense:

The team decides to keep Alex Tanney instead of Kyle Lauletta. While it would make sense to keep the younger quarterback who has more upside in a rebuild, he hasn’t shown the upside. Instead of a future backup in Lauletta, they end up seeing the value in what is essentially an extra coach for Daniel Jones. 

The Giants keep three running backs. The game-plan in 2019 probably looks something like “Saquon Barkley and more Saquon Barkley” making a fourth running back on the roster far from a necessity. Paul Perkins and Wayne Gallman have both been productive at times with most of Perkins’ production coming this summer. Elijah Penny could also take handoffs in an emergency situation since he was originally a running back. 

The Giants keep seven wide receivers on the initial 53 man roster. This is assuming Golden Tate loses his appeal. Robert Mathis was given a four-game suspension for the same reason as Tate and his appeal was denied. When Tate returns they will either send one of the other receivers to the practice squad or release them. The only receivers with job security after Tate’s suspension are Sterling Shepard, Cody Latimer, Golden Tate, and Darius Slayton. 

With plenty of depth at the position, the team keeps four tight ends. Rhett Ellison proved to be an adequate fill-in for Evan Engram but there are guys that can play behind Ellison, too. Scott Simonson and CJ Conrad have shown they are complete tight ends who can not only catch but also block well. Garrett Dickerson is a fifth tight end on the roster who’s having a good camp but teams have an extremely hard time keeping five tight ends. That’s the only reason Dickerson doesn’t make this team. 

Only two guards on the initial 53 man roster. This could change after Tate’s suspension but this is a position where the Giants haven’t collected any sort of depth. The available guard options in free agency are most likely comparable to what the Giants have lined up as second-team guards right now. This makes them one of the more replaceable assets while the team carries an extra receiver early in the season. If one of the starters were to get injured a signing at this position would be nearly certain. 

Defense:

Julian Love’s roster spot ends up counting toward the safety budget leaving room for Antonio Hamilton to sneak onto the roster. Julian Love has looked good as a safety and the team has solid depth at the cornerback position. It’s a win-win for both of these players. In terms of raw value, this unit has depth but they’ve yet to experience their growing pains. If they’re not awesome right out of the gate it won’t be time to panic.

The Giants keep four inside linebackers. While this is two more than what they’ve kept in recent years they need at least three ready to play in a 3-4 defense. It’s a weak position for this team and they have four guys who are a step above the inside linebackers available in free agency. The ”strength in numbers” approach let’s a fourth inside linebacker make the team.

Tonight will be the first real step toward forming the 53 man roster.