Updated NY Giants depth chart after the 2024 NFL Draft

Defensive backs/special teams

Cornerback:

• Deonte Banks

• Andru Phillips

• Nick McCloud

• Cor’Dale Flott

• Tre Hawkins

• Darnay Holmes

• Aaron Robinson

The Giants had been looking to replace Adoree’ Jackson’s spot since the start of the offseason. They tried to do so in free agency, but were priced out because they weren’t looking to spend big money on the veterans available. They brought back Nick McCloud, who for a bit, was thought of as a possible second corner to play opposite of Deonte Banks.

Last season, everyone thought Tre Hawkins could be that player, as he had a tremendous pre-season and training camp, but then he struggled in the regular season to hold up to what he had showed in the summer. So to fortify the cornerbacks room and to give the Giants another possible starter, the Giants used a third-round pick to select Andru Phillips, who should be the CB2 on the roster, though he could end up in the slot.

Some grumbling from Giants fans over the pick of Phillips was that he didn’t have any interceptions in college, but he makes up for that with being an extremely tough, physical player. We liked this pick quite a bit.

Safety

• Tyler Nubin

• Isaiah Simmons

• Jason Pinnock

• Dane Belton

• Jalen Mills

• Gervarrius Owens

Just like the cornerback position, the Giants didn’t want to spend money on replacing a key player, as the Giants saw Xavier McKinney depart and go to the Green Bay Packers after four seasons. The Giants did bring in Jalen Mills during free agency, but it was also an inexpensive deal. If the Giants were going to look to replace the void left by McKinney, they were going to do so in the draft.

So, with their second-round pick, the Giants got Tyler Nubin, who was the highest-graded safety in coverage at the time of the draft. McKinney was considered a great cover safety, so many felt the Giants had the replacement for McKinney in place with Nubin.

Last summer, the Giants made the trade for Isaiah Simmons to get him from the Arizona Cardinals. Under former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, many felt Simmons wasn’t used properly, as he was better in coverage than he was as a pass-rusher and blitzer. Under new defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, Simmons should be used to his strength, which is in coverage.

Simmons initially started out as a linebacker, but in Arizona, he transitioned to the hybrid linebacker/safety position that some saw with Landon Collins. With Bowen now running the defense as opposed to Martindale, Simmons should be better used to what once made him a first-round pick coming into the league.

Special teams:

Kicker:

• Graham Gano

Punter:

• Jamie Gillan

Long snapper:

• Casey Kreiter

Return specialists:

• Gunner Olszewski

• Isaiah McKenzie

• Tyrone Tracy Jr.

The first change that happened on special teams was the changing of the coordinator, as Thomas McGaughey was dismissed after six seasons with the team. Michael Ghobrial was brought over from the New York Jets to help with the unit that had some flaws in 2023.

The return game, especially for punt returns, was a mess. Some of that fell on the shoulders of McGaughey, as many felt he should have handled it during training camp. Some thought it was a mistke to let Jamison Crowder go, as he could have filled that role. Instead, NY saw Gray and Sterling Shepard struggle with it. Eventually, the signing of Gunner Olszewski stabilized the position and he gets a second season to return to continue that.

Tracy could be the leading candidate to be the team’s kick returner, replacing the departed Parris Campbell, who never fit into the team last season. With the new kickoff rules, Tracy could have a chance to show off his speed and elusiveness, and potentially shine for the Giants as the team’s kick returner.

One of the issues we saw for the Giants in 2023 was the revolving door we saw at kicker. Graham Gano dealt with a knee injury and eventually had to be placed on season-ending Injured Reserve to get surgery on it. Had Gano been healthy in 2023, the Giants might have won at least two or three more games.

But because Gano was dealing with a bad knee, the Giants trotted out three other kickers and two of them were used during the season in Randy Bullock and Mason Crosby. With Gano healthy, he should fortify the Giants kicking game and get back to being the dangerous threat he always has been to make any kick from any distance.