The New York Giants’ wide receiver room is finally starting to resemble a legitimately exciting group, a welcome change for a franchise that has spent years trying to find competent targets.
The Giants spent the offseason aggressively adding bodies to the 90-man roster, creating a fascinating logjam that will grab all the attention at training camp.
But according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, the picture from OTAs and minicamp is clearing up, and the top of the receiver room is all but sorted. Head coach John Harbaugh and Co. have seemingly already whittled a jam-packed bunch down to a fab five, leaving everyone else to fight over the last spot.
Missing out on that top five means a brutal summer lies ahead in North Jersey for those other guys.
Giants’ wide receiver room is starting to sort itself out before training camp
According to Raanan, the locks are Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton, Darnell Mooney, Calvin Austin III, and third-round rookie Malachi Fields.
This group gives the team a bit of everything -- explosive rookie talent mixed with reliable veteran experience. It's exactly what new offensive coordinator Matt Nagy wants for his offense.
Mooney and Austin give second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart pure speed to stretch the field, while Fields represents the ultimate high-upside wild card. The 22-year-old was the absolute star of the spring, constantly pulling down tough, contested catches with the first-team offense.
So what's the catch (pun intended)?
The bottleneck at the top leaves one open roster spot for a massive group of bubble candidates... unless Nabers’ ACL recovery lands him on PUP (physically unable to perform) to start the season, which would temporarily buy another receiver an extra month of employment.
This reality check hits Jalin Hyatt the hardest. Once viewed as a potential foundational piece, the former third-round barnburner unsurprisingly became the forgotten man of the offseason after the front office completely revamped the depth chart.
To his credit, Hyatt put together a monster minicamp, using his improved physical frame to bully cornerbacks at the catch point -- something he hasn't done since his days at the University of Tennessee. If this is the version of the 24-year-old the Giants will get at training camp and into the season, that final sixth spot might just be his to lose.
If Hyatt claims that seat, it triggers an absolute nightmare scenario for the remaining veterans and developmental pieces.
Nostalgia plays like Odell Beckham Jr. and JuJu Smith-Schuster -- who were brought in on cheap, non-guaranteed minimum deals after Gunner Olszewski’s Achilles injury -- are suddenly staring at the chopping block.
The same goes for Braxton Berrios, Isaiah Hodgins, Dalen Cambre, Xavier Gipson, Beaux Collins, and Ryan Miller who will all need highlight-reel summers just to force the front office into keeping a highly unlikely seventh receiver.
It's time to stop being polite, and start getting real about who actually belongs on this roster.
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