The New York Giants Have A Good Problem At The Wide Receiver Position

The 2015 New York Giants had a passing game that was 7th best in yards and 1st in touchdowns, yet, with Victor Cruz out, the team struggled to find depth at the wide receiver position beyond Odell Beckham, Jr. The 2016 Giants don’t appear to have that problem.

The past two seasons have been a bag of mixed of emotions for Giants fans. There’s been questionable coaching calls, non-stop parade of injuries, and heart-wrenching late game meltdowns, but we’ve also been privileged to see the once-in-a-lifetime combination of superstar Odell Beckham Jr. and the overlooked, often forgotten Eli Manning. Fans have turned to the Eli-Odell Connection as the team’s lone bright spot. But the question still remains, where will the offense turn if that connection isn’t working, and more importantly, will this pass-happy offense ever carry the team to a winning record?

The Giants will enter training camp with a bevy of receiving options and a crop as talented as any in the past decade. Over the past two seasons, the Giants no. 2 receiver has been inadequate at best. This year, both Victor Cruz and rookie Sterling Shepard are poised to be playmakers. Though we judge every step Cruz takes on the field – and gasp when he slips and falls – Vic is taking his time with his comeback this go ’round and should be counted on for a productive season.

Shepard, on the other hand, is years younger than Cruz but has already garnered comparisons to the one time slot specialist. His routes are crisp, defined and precise, and he has shown a pass-catching ability and route tree versatility that rookies don’t often grasp. The second round pick is poised to excel no matter where he plays or how often he sees the field in his first year.

The top three positions appear to be set for the Giants, and barring significant injury, the trio looks to be one of the more imposing groups heading into 2016. After those three, however, remains a backlog unprovens or players with limited experience. The most accomplished is Dwayne Harris, an adept return man who has shown more production returning kickoffs and punts than catching passes.

Last year was Dwayne’s first in which he caught more than 20 passes in a season and more than 2 touchdowns. He also started 6 games, twice as many as his first three seasons combined, but this was mostly due to injury and a lack of depth at the position. As of now, Harris figures to be the fourth receiver behind the prior three mentioned, but he does not show the promise and intrigue that the other receivers on the roster project.

Myles White has managed to stick around despite uneven performance. Geremy Davis is the longest tenured of this group and after being picked in the sixth round of the 2015 draft, has much to prove especially after taking first team snaps in mini-camp.

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Two intriguing rookies are Darius Powe out of California, who caught touchdown passes from Jared Goff, and Roger Lewis out of Bowling Green, whose incredibly productive college career was bypassed in the draft and potentially overlooked because of a sexual assault charge in high school.

After being pegged as a 3rd or 4th round selection, Lewis went undrafted amid discussions of his decision-making and overall professionalism. While the two counts brought against him did not result in jail time (one he pleaded not guilty and the other determined in a plea deal), he did not report for many regular “community control” obligations, which stemmed from a separate charge of falsification when he lied to an officer during the rape investigation. The 6’0, 196 lb. rookie has made the best of his opportunity thus far with the Giants, and if his play continues he could find himself on the roster come September.

Other rookies Kadron Boone, out of LSU, and 27-year-old Frenchman Anthony Dable, also hope to land with the Giants or at least make it through the first series of cuts in August. Other experienced newcomers on the Giants are Tavarres King and Donte Foster, both expected to be more competition for the beginning of training camp.

King has already been a part of four teams, most recently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2014 where he recorded two catches; he signed on with the Giants the next season and spent it on the practice squad. Foster, meanwhile, was a two-sport athlete in college, playing basketball for Seminole State College, before transferring to Ohio University and excelling as a receiver. He went undrafted in the 2014 season and most recently played for the Dallas Cowboys before signing with the Giants in May.

The front end of the Giant’s receiving corp is set, but as evidenced by previous seasons’ lack of winning, the numbers and highlights do not amount to much if the team isn’t winning. A large part of this winning is contingent on the passing game; Eli has attempted more than 600 passes in each of the past two seasons, and with Ben McAdoo’s promotion and a seemingly healthier receiving group, that number figures to stay the same.

Next: Sterling Shepard Must Do This To Be The Best #87 In Giants History

The New York Giants are now a pass-first offense, with a run game to offset the 30 plus passes every game. The G-Men have certainly acknowledged this, and beginning with Odell Beckham, they hope to field a team that can simply outscore their opponent every week.

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