NY Giants: A look at the full 2020 roster and practice squad

The NY Giants have released the official roster and practice squad for 2020, and here’s a quick take on the list.

NY Giants football officially returns this week, as Big Blue is set to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in a huge opening-week test for head coach Joe Judge and his squad. Without any preseason games this year, the Giants must be prepared, know their assignments, and come ready for a dogfight.

Knowing who will be taking the field and standing on the sidelines is step one, and we now know who those players are.

The team has announced the NY Giants roster for the year, so here’s a quick breakdown of the roster, and the practice squad heading into the start of the 2020 season.

FULL NY GIANTS ROSTER

Quarterback (2): Daniel Jones, Colt McCoy

Big Blue opted to go with only two quarterbacks as they snuck Cooper Rush onto the practice squad. Jones is a team captain and the team will go as far as he takes them.

Running back (4): Saquon Barkley, Dion Lewis, Wayne Gallman, and Eli Penny (fullback).

No surprises here. The Giants took the three top guys expected at running back. Saquon will be the alpha dog, Lewis will help in the passing game, and Gallman will help with short-yardage situations. Penny returns to NY to be the team’s primary fullback.

Tight end (4): Evan Engram, Kaden Smith, Levine Toilolo, and Eric Tomlinson

There were some questions about whether the Giants would go with three or four tight ends. They opted to go with four, sneaking Tomlinson onto the roster for his special teams savviness.

Wide Receiver (5): Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate, Darius Slayton, C.J. Board, and Damion Ratley

This is where the intrigue starts.

Many people, including myself, were shocked to see Corey Coleman get cut especially after making the initial 53-man roster.

Board impressed enough in camp to make the team and Ratley will join the squad coming off waivers from the Browns.

Offensive Line (9): Andrew Thomas, Will Hernandez, Nick Gates, Kevin Zeitler, Cameron Fleming,  Spencer Pulley, Matt Peart, Shane Lemieux, and Jackson Barton.

The Giants went with nine o-linemen as expected. Jackson Barton took the last spot coming off waivers from Kansas City.

Defensive Line (6): Dalvin Tomlinson, Leonard Williams, Dexter Lawrence, B.J. Hill, Austin Johnson, and R.J. McIntosh.

This has to be the team’s most consistent, deep unit.

The starting three are all stout defenders. The rotation of Hill, Johnson, and McIntosh will be critical and must provide enough production to rotate with hopeful success.

Inside Linebacker (4): Blake Martinez, Devante Downs, Tae Crowder, and T.J. Brunson.

Shocking decisions here. You can’t underestimate how surprising the Ryan Connelly cut was.

The team is opting to go with youth and inexperience hoping that it’ll lead to immediate success on the field. Downs has no starting experience, and the two rookies behind him can’t be relied on full time as late-round developmental players.

EDGE (6): Lorenzo Carter, Markus Golden, Oshane Ximines, Kyler Fackrell, Carter Coughlin, and Cam Brown.

The Giants found a way to stash both EDGE rookies on the roster. This unit has intrigue, but far too much uncertainty and a lack of production. It’s put-up or shut-up time for the Giants pass rushers to go hunting for opposing QB’s.

Secondary (10): James Bradberry, Logan Ryan, Darnay Holmes, Corey Ballentine, Isaac Yiadom, Brandon Williams, Jabrill Peppers, Julian Love, Adrien Colbert, and Nate Ebner.

The secondary will be one to nervously follow as the unit jells together. Bradberry, Peppers, and Ryan will have clear-cut roles. From there, it’s a lot of guessing games and mystery as to who will play and when and where they’ll play.

Special Teams (3):

Punter: Riley Dixon

Kicker: Graham Gano

Long Snapper: Casey Kreiter

NY Giants Practice Squad

QB (1): Cooper Rush

RB (1): Rod Smith

OL (3): Tyler Haycraft, Kyle Murphy, and Chad Slade

WR (4): Austin Mack, Binjimen Victor, Alex Bachman, and Johnny Holton

DL (1): Niko Lalos

DB (4): Chris Williamson, Ryan Lewis, Jarren Williams, and Sean Chandler

LS (1): Carson Tinker

Punter/Kicker (1): Ryan Santoro

The team wisely stashed a quarterback, running back, three young, promising lineman, four intriguing receivers, a promising d-lineman, four young defensive backs, another long snapper in Tinker, and a hybrid kicker/punter in Ryan Santoro.

The team will need to be prepared for any unique complications that could affect the roster. Having a preparation plan at unique positions such as quarterback, long snapper, and kicker and punter will be useful if the team has a breakout of COVID-19.