NY Giants make some interesting rookie tryout decisions
During this weekend’s rookie minicamp, the NY Giants will bring in veteran wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin and running back Corey Clement for tryouts
The NY Giants will not have any additional offensive linemen in for tryouts during the team’s rookie minicamp this weekend, sources tell FanSided, but the organization is going to get a look at a couple of veteran offensive skill position players alongside this year’s first-year players.
According to reports from ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, the NY Giants will host veteran wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin and running back Corey Clement for auditions during rookie minicamp on Friday and Saturday afternoons.
The decision not to bring in any veteran offensive linemen for a tryout further underscores the sentiment from NY Giants general manager Dave Gettleman during the NFL Draft that the organization is significantly higher on the offensive linemen on the roster, than those outside of Quest Diagnostics Training Center are. New York did not select a lineman during the NFL Draft.
Benjamin, 30, was a first-round pick of Gettleman during his time with the Carolina Panthers in 2014. Plagued by drops and inconsistency throughout his career, Benjamin has caught 209 passes for 3,021 yards and 20 touchdowns in 61 career games.
Bringing in Benjamin is another move that the NY Giants hope will boost Daniel Jones’ supporting cast of wide receivers, and if signed, the organization clearly hopes he can be an upgrade over some of the receivers lower on the depth chart.
Already this offseason, the NY Giants signed top free agent receiver Kenny Golladay, picked Kadarius Toney in the first-round of the NFL Draft, and even took a free agency flier on John Ross, before kicking the tires on Benjamin.
Clement, meanwhile, has a Super Bowl ring on his finger from the Philadelphia Eagles’ championship in 2017.
Giving Clement an audition is clearly an insurance policy on Saquon Barkley’s return from a torn ACL and could bolster the depth behind free agency addition Devontae Booker and sixth-round draft pick Gary Brightwell, fullback Eli Penny, Taquan Mizzell, and Jordan Chunn.
Clement has appeared in 46 games, rushing for 655 yards and seven touchdowns.
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Matt Lombardo is FanSided’s National NFL Insider, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday. Email Matt: Matt.Lombardo@FanSided.com, Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL