Updated NY Giants depth chart after trimming roster to 85

After three weeks of battling for positioning, the NY Giants roster has now been reduced by five. The first round of cuts took place on Tuesday, as all 32 NFL teams lowered their roster size from 90 to 85, beginning the three week transaction frenzy in the NFL.

The Giants cut six players to get their roster down to 85; CB Gavin Heslop, WR Austin Proehl, DB Micheal Jacquet, G Josh Rivas, DB Jarrod Wilson, and FB/TE Jeremiah Hall. The Giants had to cut six players instead of five because they claimed DB Olaijah Griffin off waivers from Buffalo, the son of rapper Warren G, to add additional depth to the cornerback position.

The first round of cuts were difficult for the Giants because they are ravaged by injuries. The Giants need healthy bodies to help them get through the preseason, especially at the offensive line and defensive back positions, and the closer we get to the regular season, the less players the Giants will have at their disposal.

After the Giants form their initial 53 man roster, you can be sure Joe Schoen and Brandon Brown will be scouring the wavier wire looking to add veteran help to both the cornerbacks and offensive line positions. Here is the Giants updated depth chart after the first round of cuts.

NY Giants quarterback depth chart

QB starter-Daniel Jones

QB reserves-Tyrod Taylor, Davis Webb

This is pretty straight forward. Daniel Jones is the starter, at least for now. Tyrod Taylor is apparently going to receive some first teams reps at quarterback during practice this week, but Brian Daboll said that Taylor receiving first teams reps is not an indictment on Jones’ play.

That is hard to believe. You would think if the coaching staff was really sold on Jones this season, they would give Jones all the first team reps because of how valuable they are. The silver lining: Daboll wants to win and win in any way possible. Webb, who played well in the first preseason game will also likely be on the roster.

NY Giants running back depth chart

RB starter-Saquon Barkley

RB reserves-Matt Breida, Gary Brightwell, Jashaun Corbin, Antonio Williams

The first preseason game showed us that the Giants running back depth chart is in much better shape than expected. While Barkley is the slam dunk starter and will likely play all three downs, his backups look more than capable to play if needed.

With veteran Matt Breida out due to injury during the Giants preseason win over New England, Brightwell surprisingly took the backup reigns and performed exceptionally well. Corbin flashed his explosive speed during the second half and Williams balled out during the last drive, leading the Giants down the field for a game winning field goal.

While Brightwell is regarded as a special teams star, Corbin performed well as the kick returner and Williams made a great open field tackler as the gunner. All of the reserves are capable of contributing on special teams, so it will be interesting to see which one or two running backs get left off the initial roster, as the Giants are likely to keep three or four running backs.