New York Giants: Projecting the 53-man roster on cut day

By Saturday 4 p.m. ET, New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman and head coach Joe Judge must cut the roster to 53 players.

Following the New York Giants‘ final scrimmage on Thursday, the next task for head coach Joe Judge and general manager Dave Gettleman is to cut the roster down to 53 by Saturday.

Without the benefit of preseason games to see how rookies perform against someone wearing a different helmet, trimming the roster down to the 53 best players will be a difficult task.

Here’s who we believe will be the Giants 53 man roster.

Quarterback (3): Daniel Jones, Colt McCoy, Alex Tanney

McCoy is clearly the backup to Jones as he’s taken the bulk of the second-team snaps in camp. The only question is who will be the third quarterback? We’ll give Tanney the nod over Cooper Rush.

Running backs (4): Saquon Barkley, Dion Lewis, Wayne Gallman, Eli Penny

No surprise here as Gallman has had a solid training camp and did well in the scrimmages to secure his spot on the roster.

Wide receivers (6): Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate, Darius Slayton, Corey Coleman, C.J. Board, Alex Bachman

Many outside the Giants organization question the talent and depth of this unit. But the top four—Shepard, Tate, Slayton, and Coleman—is very solid. Board has had a solid camp as well and with David Sills on IR with a fractured foot, Bachman will get a roster spot.

C.J. Board sneaks it in for six ?

The Play of the Scrimmage, presented by @Gatorade

Watch the Giants Blue-White Scrimmage on @NBCNewYork at 7PM ET and our YouTube channel at 8PM ET! pic.twitter.com/tlUCSs3NUr

— New York Giants (@Giants) September 4, 2020

Tight End (4): Evan Engram, Kaden Smith, Garrett Dickerson, Levine Toilolo

Engram has looked terrific in camp and Smith showed that he’s ready for a bigger role in the offense. We know Jason Garrett likes to use two-tight end formations which means Dickerson and Toilolo will be in Big Blue’s plans for 2020.

Offensive line (9): Andrew Thomas, Will Hernandez, Nick Gates, Kevin Zeitler, Cameron Fleming, Shane Lemieux, Matt Peart, Jon Halapio, Spencer Pulley

The recent addition of Halapio makes how many linemen the Giants will keep very intriguing. The Giants could cut Pulley and not have any dead cap space. But given the fact the Giants face strong defensive fronts in the first part of the season, it would behoove the Giants to have as many quality offensive linemen as possible to keep Jones upright.

Defensive line (5): Dalvin Tomlinson, Dexter Lawrence, Leonard Williams, B.J. Hill, Austin Johnson

This might be the most talented unit on the Giants roster. Tomlinson is one of the most underrated players in the league, and Lawrence could have a huge year in his second season.

Linebacker (9): Markus Golden, Blake Martinez, Lorenzo Carter, Oshane Ximines, Kyler Fackrell, Ryan Connelly, David Mayo, Devante Downs, Cam Brown

How this unit performs will play a large role in determining if the Giants will have a credible defense. Having their best pass rusher in Golden back is a huge plus, but the Giants will need someone else coming off the edge such as Ximines or Carter to have a big year.

Cornerbacks (5): James Bradberry, Corey Ballentine, Logan Ryan, Darnay Holmes, Grant Haley

This is the unit to be most concerned about as they’re young and inexperienced. The addition of Ryan will help, but we may see continuity issues from this unit early in the season.

Welcome home ?

?: https://t.co/JY3BEXRpyC#TogetherBlue | @primepoint pic.twitter.com/iFG4aFI8ty

— New York Giants (@Giants) September 4, 2020

Safety (5): Jabrill Peppers, Julian Love, Xavier McKinney, Nate Ebner, Chris Williamson

If not for the injury to McKinney, this would be one of the biggest strengths of the team. The Giants are confident that Love will step and play well. But the Giants were banking on using three safety schemes with Pepper, McKinney, and Love often.

Special teams (3): Graham Gano, Riley Dixon, Casey Kreiter

No surprise here. The Giants have been set at special teams once they signed Gano and released Chandler Catanzaro.