New York Giants 53-man Week 1 roster projection

New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur and the rest of the coaching staff will have to cut the roster from 90 players to 53 by 4 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 1.

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY—Less than 48 hours after the New York Giants preseason finale against the New England Patriots on Thursday night, they’ll have to cut their roster down from 90 players to 53.

This will undoubtedly be the task for head coach Pat Shurmur and the rest of the coaching staff.

Most of the roster spots are already determined, but they’re several spots that could be determined by which players perform the best on Thursday night.

Here are ESNY’s projections for what the Giants 53 man roster will look like when they open the season on Sept. 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars:

Quarterback (3)

1. Eli Manning
2. Davis Webb
3. Kyle Lauletta

This is the easiest and most obvious position to go over for the Giants. Thirty-seven-year-old Eli Manning is entering his 15th season and is equipped with the best arsenal of weapons he’s had in his career. He should throw for over 4,000 yards for the seventh time in his career.

Second-year quarterback Davis Webb has established himself as the backup, and rookie fourth-round pick Kyle Lauletta is the third string QB.

Running Back (4)

1. Saquon Barkley
2. Wayne Gallman
3. Jonathan Stewart
4. Jalen Simmons

The Giants ground game will rely heavily on rookie phenom Saquon Barkley. Wayne Gallman who averaged 4.3 yards per carry last season will be Barkley’s primary backup, while Stewart will be the Giants short-yardage and goal-line back. Simmons will make the roster for added depth especially after Stewart subpar performance in the preseason.

Fullback (1)

1. Shane Smith

The Giants finally have a fullback and they will use Smith to pave the way for their tailbacks.

Wide Receiver (6)

1. Odell Beckham Jr.
2. Sterling Shepard
3. Cody Latimer
4. Hunter Sharp
5. Russell Shepard
6. Kalif Raymond

Beckham and Shepard are the established starters and Latimer will come in when the Giants are in three-wide receiver formation. Sharp and Raymond will make the roster in large part to their ability to help in the return game, and Russell Shepard is a dependable receiver that has had a solid preseason.

Tight End (3)

1. Evan Engram
2. Rhett Ellison
3. Jerell Adams

After a solid rookie campaign, Engram is poised to be a star in this league. Behind him are sure-handed and powerful Ellison and Adams who’s entering his third season in the league.

Engram is a great pass catcher, but still needs to work on his run blocking. Expect Ellison in Adams to be in the game when the Giants are in short yardage situations.

Offensive Line (8)

1. Nate Solder (LT)
2. Will Hernandez (LG)
3. Jon Halapio (C)
4. Patrick Omameh (RG)
5. Ereck Flowers (RT)
6. Chad Wheeler (T)
7. John Jerry (G)
8. John Greco (G/C)

The biggest question surrounding the Giants offense is how the revamped offensive line will hold up. This unit is better that vastly better than last year’s unit with the addition of Solder and Hernandez, but the right side of the line is still a question mark so the Giants need to keep as many quality linemen as possible.

Wheeler can play either tackle position in case something happens to Solder or Flowers, and John Greco is now the backup center after the Giants traded Brett Jones to the Vikings.

Defensive End (4)

1. B.J. Hill
2. Dalvin Tomlinson
3. Kerry Wynn
4. A.J. Francis

The Giants will rotate their defensive ends throughout the game to make sure they’re fresh for the fourth quarter. Everybody has been raving all summer about rookie B.J. Hill who should make an immediate impact.

Nose Tackle (2)

1. Damon Harrison
2. Robert Thomas

Harrison is one of the best interior linemen in the league and Thomas is a quality backup that’s had a good preseason. They’ll make it difficult for teams to run up the middle on the Giants

Outside Linebacker (5)

1. Olivier Vernon
2. Kareem Martin
3. Lorenzo Carter
4. Connor Barwin
5. Romeo Okwara

This is the unit that the Giants will rely on to pressure quarterbacks. Vernon seems to be thriving converting from a 4-3 defensive end to a 3-4 outside linebacker. Martin will start on the opposite of Vernon but will be pushed by Carter.

Barwin and Okwara provide solid depth as just the case is with the defensive ends, the Giants will rotate this unit to keep them fresh.

Inside Linebacker (4)

1. Alec Ogletree
2. B.J. Goodson
3. Ray-Ray Armstrong
4. Mark Herzlich

Ogletree and Goodson are the starters and are solid against the run. Armstrong is the best of the unit in pass coverage and Herzlich’s contribution to special teams will have him edge out Tae Davis for the last inside linebacker spot.

Cornerback (5)

1. Janoris Jenkins
2. Eli Apple
3. B.W. Webb
4. Donte Deayon
5. Leonard Johnson

Aside from Jenkins, there’s a lot of outside concern about this unit. But internally the coaching staff is confident that this unit is deep and talented.

Safety (5)

1. Landon Collins (SS)
2. Curtis Riley (FS)
3. Darian Thompson (FS)
4. Michael Thomas (SS)
5. Andrew Adams (SS)

The star of this unit is two-time Pro Bowler Landon Collins who is one of the best defensive players in the league. Curtis Riley will start alongside Collins as the free safety, but everyone else in this unit has seen significant time as a starter in this league, making this one of the deepest units on the Giants roster.

Special teams (3)

• Aldrick Rosas (PK)
• Riley Dixon (P)
• Zak DeOssie (LS)

Outside of one shank earlier this week in practice, Dixon has been excellent punting the football in camp and in the preseason. After a shaky season last year where he missed seven field goals, Rosas has converted all six of his field goal attempts in the Giants first three preseason games.

DeOssie is always a reliable long snapper.