It’s been an offseason for the books for the New York Giants, and after 248 days without regular-season football, we finally have our first unofficial depth chart for the 2026 season.
The Giants will be taking on the Dallas Cowboys in a primetime matchup on Sunday Night Football in Week 1 at home at MetLife Stadium. Funny enough, the last time the G-Men took the field in a non-preseason game, it was against the Cowboys at MetLife. Let’s hope their season opener goes similarly to their 34-17 Week 18 drubbing of those pesky division rivals.
We’ve gone through minicamps, OTAs, training camp, preseason, and roster cuts to get here. On Tuesday, the Giants revealed their unofficial initial Week 1 depth chart, and naturally, there were some winners and some losers.
Let’s get into it.
Giants’ Week 1 depth chart wasn’t everyone’s best Tuesday
Winner: Tyrone Tracy Jr., RB
The overreaction crowd about Tyrone Tracy Jr.‘s preseason blunders just got a little quieter. With Tuesday’s unofficial Week 1 depth chart release, the third-year back settled nicely in at RB2 behind Cam Skattebo.
After missing a block that led to a Jaxson Dart blue tent medical visit and then fumbling a handoff in back-to-back preseason games, it felt like TTJ’s grasp on a roster spot was dwindling right before our very eyes. Add in the arrival of free agent Najee Harris, and many fans took a Neil Armstrong-sized leap into assuming the 26-year-old’s time in North Jersey was coming to an end.
Well, here he is. After “surviving” roster cuts, he’s firmly entrenched as the second back, looking to add a third straight 1,000-plus scrimmage-yard campaign to his résumé.
Winner: Chauncey Golston, DL
The G-Men having a defensive line battle was on several bingo cards entering the offseason. What wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card was Chauncey Golston coming away with a starting spot.
Big Blue spent the majority of the offseason overhauling one of its weakest units, completely shifting away from the Dexter Lawrence, Roy Robertson-Harris, and Rakeem Nuñez-Roches line that led the way last year.
Veteran additions DJ Reader and Shelby Harris were expected to be starters as soon as they were signed, with Darius Alexander (more on him in a moment) widely penciled in as the third starter. Golston obviously had other plans.
The former Cowboy signed a three-year, $18 million deal last offseason, and his first year in East Rutherford was rather forgettable. It looks like he’s doing everything he can to make sure that’s not the case in Round 2.
Winner: Deonte Banks, CB
Well, hello again, Deonte Banks.
Three years after the Giants selected him 24th overall in the 2023 Draft, Banks entered this offseason with really any job very much up for grabs. New York declined his fifth-year option earlier in the offseason, and the arrival of a new coaching staff gave the former Maryland star one last chance to rewrite a story that was quickly heading toward draft-bust territory.
Consider the first chapter rewritten.
Banks put together the best summer of his career under new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, and the Giants rewarded him for it. Greg Newsome II sits atop the depth chart at CB1, while Banks beat out $54 million man Paulson Adebo for the other.
After three years of wondering when Big Blue would finally get the version of Banks they thought they drafted, maybe we’re about to find out -- a guy can dream.
Half-loser: Darius Slayton, WR
We’ll consider Darius Slayton half a loser, seeing as he’s no longer on the team. Still, it’s pretty telling that the Giants would rather head into Week 1 with only four receivers on the active roster than keep their longest-tenured player around.
The 29-year-old apparently already has suitors interested in his services, so it’ll only be a matter of time before he finds a new home.
For now, though, seeing four names under “wide receiver” and none of them being Slayton is a pretty wild ending to his seven years in New York.
Loser: Braxton Berrios, WR/KR
So is he on the practice squad or nah? Seeing Braxton Berrios initially slotted in as the second punt returner and fourth kick returner is... interesting.
We knew when the G-Men originally released him during their 53-man roster cutdown that the veteran special teams ace would be back on the active roster for Week 1. What wasn’t quite as obvious was where he’d land once he got there.
Apparently, not particularly high.
Jevón Holland is listed ahead of him at punt returner, while Banks, Devin Singletary, and Tracy are all ahead of him on kickoffs. Depth charts are unofficial for a reason, and Harbs could shuffle things around before Sunday night, but being buried in the two areas that largely earned Berrios his roster spot isn’t exactly an encouraging start.
Loser: Paulson Adebo,CB
There’s an argument to be made that general manager Joe Schoen also deserves to be included here, but for now, I’ll single out Paulson Adebo.
Entering the second year of the three-year, $54 million contract he signed last offseason, the expectation was that the 27-year-old corner would become Big Blue’s premier outside blanket. Instead, he’s opening Week 1 behind both Newsome and Banks.
Things got off on the wrong foot in Year 1, with Adebo struggling to work his way back from the gruesome leg injury he suffered in 2024. That was understandable. Seeing him enter Year 2 under a new defensive coordinator who’s literally a defensive backs guy and lose a starting job to Banks is a little harder to explain.
Adebo carries a massive $21.4 million cap hit this season. That’s an awful lot of money to spend on CB3.
Loser: Darius Alexander, DL
Just when you thought second-year defensive lineman Darius Alexander was going to turn the exodus of last year’s starting defensive line into a breakout opportunity, Golston snatched the job instead.
Alexander entered the offseason with a pretty clear path to a much larger role. Dexter Lawrence is in Cincinnati, Roy Robertson-Harris is on season-ending IR, and Rakeem Nuñez-Roches is beach-chilling in Tampa.
Just because he's on the bench doesn’t mean he won’t play. The Giants will rotate plenty of bodies up front, and the 26-year-old should still get his opportunities. For a player who looked like one of the easiest breakout candidates on the roster entering training camp, though, starting Week 1 as a backup wasn’t exactly how this was supposed to go.
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