NY Giants Roster Projection 2.0: Who will make the final 53?
By Zak Musso
The summer is rapidly flying. We are already halfway through New York Giants training camp, and in only a few weeks, the New York Giants will open the season under the bright lights of MetLife Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys.
The Giants put the pads on and faced another team last week for the first time this summer. Big Blue held joint practices with Dan Campbell's Lions at Detroit's team facility, giving us our first chance to see the Giants face opposing starters. The joint practices culminated with Big Blue's preseason opener last Friday. Seventeen of the Giants projected regular starters were held out of the opener, and the Lions beat the Giants 21-16.
Many players improved their chances of making the Giants after last week, while others' chances fell. Here is our 53-man roster projection after Week 1 of the preseason:
NY Giants quarterbacks
In: Daniel Jones, Tyrod Taylor
Out: Tommy DeVito
The Giants have a sneaky good quarterback room. You will be hard-pressed to find a better 1-2 combo than Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor.
Jones was held out of the preseason opener, but had a big week in Detroit. After a rough first practice last Tuesday, Jones lit up the Lions defense on Wednesday, completing 12 of his 17 passes, five of which were touchdowns. Two touchdown passes were to Darius Slayton, two to Parris Campbell Jr., and one to Darren Waller. Jones is distributing around the ball like he's in midseason form. Jones also went undercover at the Boss store in East Rutherford this past week, which was undeniably hilarious.
Taylor only played two drives on Friday, but the Giants posted field goals on both. All 32 NFL teams would sign up to have the veteran as their backup quarterback in a heartbeat.
Third-stringer Tommy DeVito was the star of the preseason opener. Despite being under constant pressure (DeVito was sacked five times), the undrafted rookie completed 15 of his 24 passes for 155 yards and one touchdown. DeVito also posted a solid 77.6 passer rating, the best among the four quarterbacks who played in the game, including Taylor.
His strong performance should solidify his spot on the Giants practice squad, though he may still steal one of the final 53-man roster spots.