The New York Giants have one more preseason game left until they have to make their final cuts down to their 53-man roster. That means many players on the roster bubble have just one more opportunity to make enough of an impression to force the coaches’ hands.
By the same token, there are also players up the depth chart who are still in competition for playing time and haven’t staked a clear claim on their role. We don’t know if the Giants will play their starters against the Jets, or how many snaps they’ll get if they do play. But the fringe starters are likely to play, and this game could help coaches decide if those players are real factors.
So which five (or six) players could have the most on the line Friday night against the Jets?
WR Odell Beckham Jr.
The injury to Calvin Austin changes the calculus around the Giants’ wide receiver position. This is purely speculation on my part, but I do tend to agree with the initial reporting that the Giants didn’t want to sign Beckham unless it was likely that he’d make the team. I also believe that he was on the roster bubble before Austin’s injury due to the numbers game and special teams concerns. Losing Austin opened a spot on the wide receiver depth chart that seems as though it makes Beckham’s chances much more likely.
In fact, playing Beckham out of the slot may even be his best alignment at this point.
That said, there’s a difference between Beckham making the roster and being inactive on game day and being a real factor for the Giants.
So far, Beckham has largely put good play on tape. His drop against the Miami Dolphins was bad, however he has played well away from the ball. His routes are well-run with the type of savvy and nuance we came to expect from him a decade ago, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him hustle to block downfield like he did against the Dolphins.
That all matters, and probably matters more to coaches than any individual play.
But if he wants to make the roster and be a factor, he needs to take the opportunity to prove definitively that he’s one of the Giants’ four best receivers on the field.
RB Tyrone Tracy Jr.
Despite a rough preseason that has seen Tracy have a brutal missed block as well as a bad fumble, I don’t believe that Tracy is in danger of being cut. However, he is in danger of tumbling down the depth chart to the point while he rebuilds trust with the coaches.
Or he could find himself on the trading block.
I don’t think the Giants really want to trade Tracy, however if they don’t trust Tracy and are content with a 1-2 punch of Cam Skattebo and Devin Singletary (perhaps giving way to Najee Harris), that could leave Tracy on the inactive list looking in. That, in and of itself, would be a stunning fall from grace for the only player from his draft class to eclipse 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons.
Meanwhile, the Giants could receive calls for Tracy. After all, both Jeremiyah Love and Ashton Jeanty suffered ankle injuries in the preseason that has Week 1 in doubt for them. At the same time, both the Raiders’ head coach Klint Kubiak and Cardinals HC Mike LeFleur are direct descendants of the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree. The “New West Coast” school of offense excels at attacking defenses from unexpected angles and using pass catching backs to rack up yardage. Tracy’s background as a receiver, as well as his track record of production, could make him an attractive target for teams from that school of offense.
A big (and clean) game from Tracy could either re-cement his status as a primary runningback for the Giants, or boost his trade value if a needy team comes calling.
DL Darius Alexander
I plan on diving into Alexander’s tape in full after the Jets game. However, based on what I’ve seen so far (and I’ve watched quite a bit), I do believe the narrative being spun up around Alexander is being overblown. There is a pretty significant difference between believing a player is capable of playing better, and the player being bad.
I tend to agree that Carl Banks that Alexander needs to show the Giants more, because I tend to believe that he’s capable of more. Perhaps even much more.
This game won’t put paid to his career as a Giant, but Alexander does need to show continued growth, particularly as a run defender. This is the last chance he has to show the Giants that their defensive line situation isn’t so dire as to need to go on a shopping spree. It’s also true that it’s easier to build trust than rebuild it, so Alexander needs to use every opportunity to keep himself firmly at the top of the defensive line rotation.
CBs Deonte Banks and Paulson Adebo
I’m going to cheat (What? It’s my piece and I make the rules) and do a bit of a two-fer with this one. However, I think both have a similar amount on the line — though they’re coming from different directions. On Adebo’s side of things, he’s slipped down the depth chart and needs to show that he deserves to be a starter, not just a rotational corner.
Banks, meanwhile, has built a strong case for himself as a starter. He’s given great effort throughout spring practices and training camp, been sticky in coverage, and physical at the point of attack. He started with minimal opportunities, seized them, and clawed his way up the depth chart. However, things are snapping into focus with a matchup against CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens looming. Banks has been more impressive this summer, but Adebo has a much more established track record. If Banks doesn’t play against the Jets, that’ll tell us everything we need to know, but he also needs to continue to take advantage of every opportunity to build trust if he does play.
Granted, it’s possible that the Giants consider Banks, Adebo, and Greg Newsome II all starting caliber players and plan to use Newsome’s inside-out versatility to match up on a game-by-game basis. However, it’s incumbent on both Banks and Adebo to inspire that kind of trust and confidence in the coaches.
OC Bryan Hudson
Hudson saw his stock (potentially) surge lately. That’s because Hudson still took the second-team reps at center even with Lucas Patrick healthy this past week. The best ability is availability, and Patrick has been dealing with “an old knee” (to use John Harbaugh’s description). That opened the door for Hudson, and it seems he got his foot in.
If he gets the chance to play with the second team, he has the opportunity to not just make the Giants’ roster, but potentially push Patrick off the roster entirely. Hudson is primarily a center, though he also has experience at guard. That versatility could give him an edge in the battle for spots on the offensive line depth chart.
I’ve also seen fans confuse Bryan Hudson with 2025 backup offensive tackle James Hudson III. They are different men, and hopefully a good game from Bryan Hudson will hopefully cement that for folks.
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