For a team coming off back-to-back seasons with four wins or fewer, the New York Giants have a relatively complete roster. There are no flashing red lights for general manager Joe Schoen to take care of. That's great news for Giants fans, but it presents a difficult situation for the team's late-round rookies.
Sixth-round defensive tackle Bobby Jamison-Travis is part of New York's weakest position group, but he still has to fight to make the final roster this season.
If he's going to carve out a role for himself, Jamison-Travis will have to overtake a few Giants veterans in training camp.
Bobby Jamison-Travis must impress in training camp to make Giants' roster
The Giants spent a sixth-round selection on Jamison-Travis, but even that was viewed as a reach by some analysts. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com had the big defensive tackle graded as an undrafted free agent.
Having some draft capital behind him is encouraging for the rookie's chances to make New York's roster, but his spot is still far from being guaranteed. Depending on who you ask, he could currently be anywhere from the sixth to the ninth interior defensive lineman on the team.
DJ Reader will be the starting nose tackle for the G-Men, with Shelby Harris and Darius Alexander filling in next to him. Veterans Leki Fotu and Sam Roberts are the team's top depth pieces on the interior. Jamison-Travis is in the next group, battling Josh Tupou, Chauncey Golston, and Zacch Pickens for positioning.
Golston, more of a 4-3 defensive end, fills a different role, but his contract indicates that he'll take up one of the roster spots on the Giants' defensive line.
New York only carried six interior defensive linemen on its initial 53-man roster last season. Using that number as a benchmark, Jamison-Travis is likely to be on the outside looking in.
The rookie has the frame and the strength to hold up at nose tackle, and he showed some pass-rushing juice in college when lining up as a 3-technique. His versatile skill set could make him a valuable depth piece for the Giants, but he'll still need to have a strong training camp to win a spot on the final roster.
Jamison-Travis has already generated some buzz as an impact rookie this offseason, but buzz won't earn him a roster spot. The rookie needs to impress his coaching staff quickly, or he'll spend his first NFL season on the practice squad.
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